School Lunch Meal Pattern Requirements

Course Description

Learn the requirements for serving meals in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). This training provides all the information needed to plan daily and weekly reimbursable school lunch menus. You will also be able to identify valuable resources to help you successfully implement the lunch meal pattern requirements.

• Course Number: 226
• Training Length: 45 minutes
• Certificate: Available at the end of the training
• Target Audience: Food Service Director and Staff
• Mandatory: No
• Cost: Free
• Date Recorded: October 2019

Online Course

Please note that this training reflects the 2018 final meal pattern rule which codified three menu planning flexibilities for milk, whole grains and sodium in the NSLP. On April 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), posted the Final Rule for Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. As of July 1, 2024, this final rule offers new flexibilities for School Nutrition Programs and implements updates to nutrition standards, the most notable being added sugar and further sodium limitations. These updates will be phased in through school year (SY) 2027–2028.

This final rule also offers new flexibilities for Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) to meet the needs of vegetarian diets and other dietary preferences. Additionally, CNP operators may now include the term ‘local’ in bid specifications and procurements to support more fresh local foods. Review the following for additional details for meal pattern updates contained in the final rule:

Whole grain-rich

• The final rule did not include any major change to the meal pattern requirement requiring whole grain-rich products; for grades K-12, at least 80 percent of all grains offered weekly in school lunch  must be whole grain-rich. The remaining 20 percent or less of grains, if any, must be enriched. Preschoolers must be offered whole grain-rich foods at least once per day.

The final rule codified a definition for whole grain-rich products as those that contain between 50 and 100 percent whole grain, with any remaining grains being enriched.

Flavored Milk

Effective July 1, 2025, flavored milk must contain no more than 10 grams of added sugar per 8 fluid ounces. Program operators may continue to offer flavored fat-free or low-fat (1 percent) milk as part of the reimbursable meal for children in grades K-12.

At least two milk choices must be offered. Pasteurized, fluid types of milk must meet state and local standards and contain vitamins A and D at levels specified by the Food and Drug Administration. All milk must be fat-free or low-fat. Milk with higher fat content is not allowed. Review the California Department of Education (CDE) Milk Requirements in Child Nutrition Programs for additional information.

Sodium Limits

The maximum sodium allowance for lunch remains at Sodium Target 1A through June 30, 2027. Beginning July 1, 2027, the maximum sodium allowance for lunch is reduced by 15 percent.

Sodium limits apply to the average meal offered during the school week. It does not apply daily or per-meal.

Added Sugars

The final rule establishes a two-phased approach for implementing limitation for added sugars in school meals:

• Product-based limits: Effective July 1, 2025, added sugar limits apply to breakfast cereals (≤ 6 grams of added sugar per dry ounce), yogurt (≤12 grams of added sugars per 6 ounces or 2 grams of added sugars per ounce), and flavored milk (≤ 10 grams of added sugars per 8 fluid ounces) as noted in the Flavored Milk section above.
  
  
• Weekly dietary limit: By July 1, 2027, the weekly dietary specifications will now include added sugars, requiring that less than 10 percent of calories per week in the school lunch and breakfast programs be from added sugars.

Refer to the California Department of Education (CDE) Lunch Meal Pattern (Grades K–12) web page for the most up-do-date information on the meal pattern requirements.

For more information on the final rule, visit the USDA Final Rule - Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) web page or the Federal Register: Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 DGA web page.

Begin the School Lunch Meal Pattern Requirements course.

California-specific Requirements

In addition to ensuring federal requirements for meals served as a part of the CNPs are met, program operators must also meet state requirements. Recently two new acts were passed in California that impact foods served in schools:

California Food Safety Act (Health and Safety Code Section 109025)

Prohibits the manufacture, sale, or provision (delivering, distribution, holding, and offering) of food products that contain brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and red dye number 3 beginning January 1, 2027.

California School Food Safety Act [California Education Code (EC) sections, 49501.5, 49431, and 49431.5]

Amends the definition of a nutritionally adequate breakfast and a nutritionally adequate lunch found in EC 49501.5, as of December 31, 2027, to meals that do not contain any of the following substances: Blue 1(Chemical Abstracts Service[CAS] 3844-45-9), Blue 2 (CAS 860-22-0), Green 3 (CAS 2353-45-9), Red 40 (CAS 25956-17-6), Yellow 5 (CAS 1934-21-0), and Yellow 6 (CAS 2783-94-0). Additionally, the act amended EC sections 49431 and 49431.5 to prohibit, effective December 31, 2027, the same additives in competitive foods sold in elementary, middle and high schools.

Referenced Resources

The following resources are referred to throughout this online course:

• CDE Lunch Meal Pattern (Grades K–12) web page
  
  
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Whole Grain Resource for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs .
  
  
• USDA Food Buying Guide for CNPs web page
  
  
• CDE Competitive Foods and Beverages web page
  
  
• CDE Modifications to Accommodate Disabilities web page
  
  
• CDE Final Rule: Fluid Milk Substitutions web page
  
  
• USDA SP 40-2019 Smoothies Offered in the CNPs policy memo
  
  
• USDA Certification of Compliance Worksheets: 5-day Schedule web page
  
  
• USDA Offer versus Serve Guidance for the NSLP and the School Breakfast Program (SBP)
  
  
• CDE Plate Waste Prevention in Child Nutrition Programs web page
  
  
• CDE Smarter Lunchrooms Movement Resources web page
  
  
• USDA Food Loss and Waste web page
  
  
• State of California CalRecycle School Waste Reduction web page

Crediting

• Crediting: 1.0 hours

• Key Area: Nutrition (1000)
  • Training Topic: Menu Planning (1100)
    • Learning Objective: USDA Nutrition Requirements (1110)

For more information on crediting, visit the USDA Professional Standards Learning Objectives and Training Topics web page.

Additional Information

For more information about nutrition education training and resources, visit the CDE Healthy Eating and Nutrition Education web page.

General Resources

• The CDE's NSLP and SBP Meal Patterns web page
  
  
• USDA Nutrient Analysis Protocols (NAP): How to Analyze Menus for USDA’s School Meals Programs (NAP Manual) provides you processes selecting nutrient analysis software, obtaining nutrient analysis of menus, and guidance calculating nutrient analysis of menus offered in NSLP and SBP.

Contact Us

If you have technical difficulties, please contact the Education and Nutrition Policy Unit by phone at 916-445-9127 for assistance. For questions regarding the course content, email your School Nutrition Program questions to SNPinfo@cde.ca.gov.