Nutrition Services - National School Lunch Program

What is it?

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally funded school meal program administered by the USDA. Schools that participate in the NSLP receive cash subsidies and USDA Foods for each reimbursable meal they serve. Because this is a federally funded program, each meal must meet the Federal Meal Pattern Standards.

Offer versus Serve

To help students take ownership of their meals and reduce food waste, we provide our meals for students Kindergarten - 12th grade using the Offer versus Serve method. Rather than forcing students to take everything on the menu, and watching half of it end up in the trash, we give them the choice of what to take, and what not to. This means students don't have to take the milk that is offered if they do not want to, and they can choose between a required fruit or vegetable. They could even choose to not take the bun on a hamburger as long as their tray had 3 components.

A lunch is reimbursable if:

✅ The meal offered contains all five of the components AND

✅ The meal selected by the student contains at least three different components, including one fruit or vegetable.

The Five Components

Schools participating in the NSLP must offer five different food groups, called the "five components", each day. In order to be reimbursable, students must take at least three different components, including one fruit or vegetable. They may take all five components if they wish.

The Five Components Are:

Fruits
Vegetables
Grains
Protein
Dairy

Vegetables are further broken down into subgroups, with weekly requirements for each to ensure students are offered a wide range of vital vitamins and minerals.

Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash

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