Nutrition Standards
Reflecting the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, nutrition standards are established for menu planning by studying the nutritional needs of groups of children at different ages. The foundation of federal school nutrition programs, nutrition standards consist of the required food components, levels of calories, and key nutrients to meet the nutrition goals for specific age or grade groups of children for breakfast and lunch over the course of one week.
The nutrition standards include:
- offering both fruits and vegetables every day
- substantially increasing offerings of whole grain-rich foods
- offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties
- limiting calories based on the age of the children being served to ensure proper portion size
- reducing the amounts of saturated fat, trans fats, and sodium
Note: The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 established a requirement for making water available to children during meal periods.