NSLP and SBP Meal Patterns

Meal Pattern Requirements for Breakfast and Lunch

Infant

Breakfast Meal Pattern for Infants
A reference chart with the SBP meal pattern requirements for infants.

Lunch Meal Pattern for Infants
A reference chart with the NSLP meal pattern requirements for infants.

Note: Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Operators should refer to the CACFP Meal Patterns web page on the California Department of Social Services website for information on CACFP meal pattern requirements.

Preschool

Breakfast Meal Pattern for Preschoolers
A reference chart with the SBP meal pattern requirements for preschoolers.

Lunch Meal Pattern for Preschoolers
A reference chart with the NSLP meal pattern requirements for preschoolers.

Note: CACFP Operators should refer to the CACFP Meal Patterns web page on the California Department of Social Services website for information on CACFP meal pattern requirements.

Grades K-12

Breakfast Meal Pattern for Grades K-12
A quick reference chart with the meal pattern requirements for the SBP for grades K-12.

Lunch Meal Pattern for Grades K-12
A quick reference chart with the meal pattern requirements for the NSLP grades K-12

Breakfast Meal Pattern: Short and Long Weeks
A quick reference chart with the meal pattern requirements for regularly operating short and long weeks for the SBP for grades K-12.

Lunch Meal Pattern: Short and Long Weeks
A quick reference chart with the meal pattern requirements for regularly operating short and long weeks for the NSLP for grades K-12.

Additional Meal Pattern Requirements

In addition to ensuring federal requirements for meals served as a part of the Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) 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, 49431, 49431.2, 49431.5, 49501.5, and 49531]

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 (CAS [Chemical Abstract Service] 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.

Additional Meal Pattern Information

Vegetable Subgroup List for Breakfast and Lunch for Grades K-12
The list of vegetables found in each of the required vegetable subgroup categories for the NSLP and SBP.

Milk Requirements in the Child Nutrition Programs
The milk requirements for the child nutrition programs, including the meal pattern requirements, types of milks offered, milk substitute forms, nutrient standards for milk substitutes, policy guidance, frequently asked questions, and contacts.

Online Trainings

This section includes online trainings that assist participants in the NSLP and SBP in implementing the meal pattern requirements.

Nutrition

Operations

Additional Online Training Databases

To find additional online training databases, visit the:

• USDA's Professional Standards for School Nutrition Professionals web page to search for trainings related to the key areas nutrition, operation, administration, and marketing.
  
  
• Institute of Child Nutrition Courses and Learning Plans web page in the Search field type "School Nutrition".
  
  
• Chef Ann Foundation The Lunch Box web page to access Webinars related to increasing participation, implementing farm-to-school with recipes and cycle menus, implementing and growing a successful After-the-Bell breakfast program and much more!

For more related meal pattern online trainings, you can visit the California Department of Education (CDE) Child Nutrition Program Course Catalog.

Resources

Guides, Manuals, and Worksheets
Forms
Whole Grain Resources
Recipe Resources
Salad Bar Resources
Nutrition Education Resources
General Resources

Guides, Manuals, and Worksheets

Resource	Description
USDA Nutrient Analysis Protocols: How to Analyze Menus for USDA’s School Meals Programs (NAP Manual)	The online manual includes processes for selecting nutrient analysis software, obtaining nutrient analysis of menus, and guidance for calculating nutrient analysis of menus offered in the NSLP and SBP.
USDA Food Buying Guide	The online manual assists sponsors in buying the appropriate amount and type of food and to determine the specific contribution each food makes toward the meal pattern requirements for the NSLP and SBP.
USDA Offer Versus Serve: Guidance for the NSLP and the SBP	The online manual for School Year 2015–16 assisting with the implementation of Offer Versus Serve (OVS). OVS allows students to decline some of the food offered in a reimbursable lunch or breakfast. This is the latest version of the OVS manual.
USDA Energize Your Day with School Breakfast	This toolkit provides various resources to assist program operators interested in establishing or expanding breakfast service. The toolkit includes implementation and marketing information on various innovation service delivery methods.
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Serving Up a Successful School Breakfast Program (PDF)	The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction developed a guide for implementing school breakfast programs called Serving Up a Successful School Breakfast Program.
USDA Certification of Compliance Worksheets: 5-day Schedule web page	The certification worksheets to assist in determining if your menu is meeting the requirements.
USDA Approved Nutrient Analysis Software	A list of nutrient analysis software approved for use in the NSLP and SBP.
USDA Foods Product Information Sheets	Fact sheets categorized by food type that describe the items expected to be available for schools participating in the NSLP and SBP.

Forms

Whole Grain Resources

Recipe Resources

Resource	Description
CDE Culinary Centers Standardized Recipes	A collection of California school district culinary center recipes. Each recipe includes a photo, student taste tasting score, contribution to the meal pattern, and nutrient analysis.
The Institute for Child Nutrition Child Nutrition Recipe Box	A collection of standardized recipes, including vegetable subgroup crediting information as well as recipes made with legumes, whole grains, and/or dark green, red, and/or orange vegetables.
Chef Ann Foundation Plant Forward Recipes	A collection of student-tasted and approved plant-forward recipes, which includes the ingredients, instructions, and contribution to the meal patterns.

Salad Bar Resources

Resource	Description
CDE Salad Bars in School Nutrition Programs	Information about salad bars in the NSLP and SBP, including policy changes, resources, website links, and updated USDA Questions and Answers (Q&A).
Chef Ann’s The Lunch Box Salad Bar Resources	An assortment of information, resources, and training materials to assist with salad bar implementation.
Chef Ann Foundation Salad Bars to Schools	Information about applying for funding to receive salad bar equipment.
USDA Handling Fresh Produce on Salad Bars	This resource provides best practices for handling fresh produce on salad bars during preparation and set up, ensuring proper temperature control and supervision of the salad bar as well as clean up.

Nutrition Education Resources

Resource	Description
California Department of Public Health Communication Resource Library Harvest of the Month Curricula web page	Teacher Guides and Student Workbooks featuring six produce items. This resource provides lesson plans and activities that support access to fruits and vegetables, participation in physical activity, preferences of fruits and vegetables, encourages consumption of locally grown fruits and vegetables, and familiarizing students with California-grown fruits and vegetables.
USDA Team Nutrition	Information and resources to support the child nutrition programs (CNP) through training and technical assistance for foodservice and nutrition education. Free USDA Team Nutrition materials are available to school nutrition professionals and are designed to motivate children into making healthier choices in the cafeteria and beyond.

General Resources

Resource	Description
USDA Kosher and Halal Foods in CNPs	This webinar is for state and local agencies administering CNPs on serving halal and kosher meals to observant students.
USDA Recipe Standardization Guide for School Nutrition Programs – Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition	This is a “how-to” guide on recipe standardization for school nutrition recipe developers. The guide is designed to be a complete source of information on recipe standardization from recipe conception to implementation.
USDA Reducing Added Sugars at School Breakfast	This training guide for school nutrition professionals presents how to identify sources of added sugars and specific ways to reduce the amount of added sugars in school breakfast meals to align with new final rule added sugar limits, beginning in July 1, 2025 and beyond.
USDA Crediting Tip Sheets in Child Nutrition Programs	These five tip sheets address CNP requirements for fruits, grains, meats/meat alternates, fluid milk, and vegetables. Each crediting tip sheet provides basic component crediting information and includes a skills based test to test your component crediting knowledge.
USDA Offering Meats and Meat Alternates at School Breakfast	This training guide shows school nutrition professionals how to offer meats and meat alternates at school breakfast by providing menu planning ideas, crediting information, sample menus, and more.
CDE Plate Waste Prevention in Child Nutrition Programs web page	Information and resources for preventing plate waste.
CDE Smarter Lunchrooms Movement Resources web page	Information and resources to implement the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement principles that use low or no-cost solutions to promote healthful eating behaviors and reduce waste.
USDA Food Loss and Waste web page	Information and resources for preventing plate waste.
State of California CalRecycle School Waste Reduction web page	Information and resources for waste reduction and recycling.
CDE Competitive Foods and Beverages web page	Information about the rules for competitive foods in California.
CDE Modifications to Accommodate Disabilities web page	Information about accommodating children with disabilities in the SNPs.
CDE Milk Requirements in the Child Nutrition Programs web page	Information about the milk requirements for the CNP, including the meal pattern requirements, types of milks to offer, milk substitute forms, nutrient standards for milk, policy guidance, frequently asked question (FAQ)s, and contacts.

Compliance

The California Department of Education (CDE) monitors compliance of the meal pattern during the SNP Administrative Review (AR) in accordance with Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations 210.18. When conducting the SNP AR, CDE follows the guidance in the USDA’s most current AR manual. USDA Food and Nutrition Service provides general guidance to state agencies and school food authorities on the areas of review. To download the AR Manual in CNIPS, select SNP, select applications, download forms, and Form ID MANUAL AR. For meal pattern information, refer to pages 66-109.

For more information regarding SNP ARs, please visit the CDE’s School Nutrition Programs Administrative Review web page.

Policy Memoranda Guidance

The USDA and the California Department of Education (CDE) issued the following policy memoranda related to the NSLP and SBP meal patterns. When merited, the CDE will release a subsequent management bulletin to include state specific policy guidance and/or further explain or clarify the topic. Note that this is not a comprehensive listing of all state and federal guidance.

To view all of the policy memos related to the SNP, visit the USDA School Meals web page .

To view all management bulletins related to SNP, visit the CDE School Nutrition Programs Management Bulletins web page.

Calendar Year 2025

Calendar Year 2024

Release Date	Issued by	Topic	Subject	Reference Number
12/2024	The CDE	Final Rule Fluid Milk	Final Rule: Fluid Milk Substitutions - School Nutrition	SNP-11-2024
10/2024	The USDA	Vegetables at Breakfast	Substitution of Vegetables for Fruit Flexibility in the School Breakfast Program: Questions and Answers for Program Operators	SP 02-2025
10/2024	The USDA	Fluid Milk	Fluid Milk Requirements for School Meals	SP 01-2025
4/2024	The USDA	Final Rule	Final Rule - Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA)s	0584-AE88

Calendar Year 2022

Release Date	Issued by	Topic	Subject	Reference Number
3/2022	The USDA	Meal Pattern	Meal Requirements Under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program: Questions and Answers for Program Operators Updated to Support the Transitional Standards for Milk, Whole Grains, and Sodium Effective July 1, 2022	SP 05-2022

Calendar Year 2020

Calendar Year 2019

Release Date	Issued by	Topic	Subject	Reference Number
9/2019	The USDA	Salad Bars	Salad Bars in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program	SP 41-2019
8/2019	The USDA	Crediting Updates for Child Nutrition Program (CNP)s	Crediting Coconut, Hominy, Corn Masa, and Masa Harina in the Child Nutrition Programs	SP 34-2019
7/2019	The USDA	Donated Traditional Foods and Civil Liability	Farm Bill Implementation Memo: Donated Traditional Foods and Civil Liability	SP 31-2019
4/2019	The USDA	Crediting Updates for CNPs	Crediting Pasta Products Made of Vegetable Flour in the Child Nutrition Programs	SP 26-2019
4/2019	The USDA	Crediting Updates for CNPs	Crediting Tempeh in the Child Nutrition Programs	SP 25-2019
4/2019	The USDA	Crediting Updates for CNPs	Crediting Surimi Seafood in the Child Nutrition Programs	SP 24-2019
4/2019	The USDA	Crediting Updates for CNPs	Crediting Popcorn in the Child Nutrition Programs	SP 23-2019
4/2019	The USDA	Crediting Updates for CNPs	Crediting Shelf-Stable, Dried and Semi-Dried Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Products in the Child Nutrition Programs	SP 21-2019

Calendar Year 2018

Release Date	Issued by	Topic	Subject	Reference Number
12/2018	The USDA	Meal Pattern Crediting	Update of Food Crediting in the Child Nutrition Programs	SP 08-2019, CACFP 02-2019, SFSP 02-2019
2/2018	The CDE	Donation of Leftover Food	Guidance on the Donation of Leftover Food in the Child Nutrition Programs	CNP-02-2018
2/2018	The CDE	The Use of Share Tables	Share Tables	CNP-03-2018

Calendar Year 2017

Calendar Year 2015

Release Date	Issued by	Topic	Subject	Reference Number
11/2023	The USDA	CNPs and Traditional Foods	Crediting Traditional Indigenous Foods in Child Nutrition Programs	TA 01-2024

Calendar Year 2014

Calendar Year 2013

Release Date	Issued by	Topic	Subject	Reference Number
3/2013	The USDA	Final Rule	Nutrition Standards in the NSLP and the SBP - Final Rule	0584-AD59

Calendar Year 2012

Questions and Answers (Q & A)

Contacts

For questions email your School Nutrition Program meal pattern questions to SNPinfo@cde.ca.gov. To join the Nutrition Services Division's mailing list, you can subscribe to the School Nutrition Program Mailing List.