Overview
There are five required meal pattern components in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), including Meat/Meat Alternate (M/MA), Grain, Milk, Fruit, and Vegetable. There are three required meal pattern components in the School Breakfast Program (SBP), including Grain, Fruit (or Vegetable), and Milk. These must be offered by schools during each lunch meal and each breakfast meal, respectively.
Meat/Meat Alternate
- Meat/Meat Alternate In a Nutshell
- Webcast: The Meat/Meat Alternate Component
- Webcast: La Carne (en Español)
- Sample Product Formulation Statement (Product Analysis) for Meat/Meat Alternate (M/MA) Products
- Crediting Tofu and Soy Yogurt Products, 2/22/12, SP 53-2016, USDA
- Shelf-stable, Dried Snacks Made from Meat, Poultry, or Seafood, 6/15/11, USDA
- Information and Guidance on the Domestic Beef Market, 9/22/14, SP 66-2014, USDA
- Questions and Answers on Alternate Protein Products
Grain
- Grains In a Nutshell
- Webcast: The Grain Component
- Webcast: El Grano (en Español)
- Exhibit A: Whole Grain-Rich Ounce Equivalency Requirements for School Meal Programs
- USDA Whole Grain Resource for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs
- Whole Grain-Rich Best Practices Webinar, Recorded 5/19/15
- School Meal Flexibilities for School Year (SY) 2018-19
- Request for Information (RFI) - Whole Grain-Rich Pasta
- Clarification of the Policy on Food Consumption Outside of Foodservice Area, and the Whole Grain-Rich Requirement, SP-41-2014, 4/21/14, USDA
- Grain Requirements for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, 4/26/12, SP 30-2012, USDA
- Worksheets for Crediting Grain Products
- Nutrition Nugget - Whole Grains
- DPI - List of Common Whole Grains - HealthierUS School Challenge Application Kit
- DPI Educational Handouts
- Check the Label - Whole Grains in Bread Products
- Whole Grains Fact Sheet - Includes an exercise on determining if a product is considered whole grain.
- Whole Grains Council - How to identify whole grains, examples and sources for recipes.
- Whole Grains in Child Nutrition Programs - The Institute of Child Nutrition
- Whole Grain-Rich Pasta Cook Times - Texas Department of Agriculture
Vegetable
- Vegetables In a Nutshell
- Webcast: The Vegetable Component
- Webcast: La Verdura (en Español)
- Vegetable Subgroups Handout
- Half-Cup Crediting of Fruits and Vegetables Handout
- Questions & Answers on the Final Rule, "Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs", 8/3/15, SP 10-2012 (v.9), USDA
- See #2 under Meal Patterns for guidance on offering vegetable subgroups within a shorter or longer school week.
Multiple Components
- Child Nutrition Programs: Flexibilities for Milk, Whole Grains, and Sodium Requirements , 12/12/18, Federal Register V. 83, No. 238, USDA
- Smoothies Offered in Child Nutrition Programs, 1/14/15, SP 10-2014 (v. 2), USDA
- Smoothies Offered in Child Nutrition Programs, 7/22/15, SP 10-2014 (v.3), USDA
- Smoothie Crediting Flow Chart - DPI