National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) are federally assisted meal programs through the United States Department of Agriculture operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free breakfast and lunches to children each school day. The USDA Foods Program supports domestic nutrition programs and American agricultural producers through purchases of 100% American grown and -produced foods for use by schools and institutions participating in the federal programs.
If your entity would like to become a School Food Authority of the National School Lunch Program, please contact (602) 542-8700 or email [email protected]. The first step towards providing healthy meals to your students begins with the Prospective Sponsoring Entity Form.
The USDA Foods and the Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Produce Programs provide nutritious foods for schools to use in their school nutrition programs. For information please email [email protected] or call (602) 542-8700 Option 2.
The Arizona Department of Education conducts administrative reviews (ARs) of all School Food Authorities (SFAs) operating the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast Program (SBP) at least once during each three-year review cycle. The AR consists of an off-site portion where the reviewer will request documents for the SFA to submit and an on-site portion where the reviewer will observe meal service at a select number of sites within the SFA. The reviewer will notify the SFA of the deadline for the off-site portion, the date of the on-site portion, and the sites that will be reviewed. The following programs will also be reviewed, if applicable: Afterschool Care Snack Program, At-Risk Afterschool Meals, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, and Seamless Summer Option of the Summer Food Service Program.
Beginning in School Year 2022--2023, ADE will also conduct the required Procurement Review alongside the NSLP AR.
The upLIFT webpage is created for you, the school nutrition professional, to learn and get inspired in how and what you feed your students. We hope you share your successes and ideas to teach your colleagues of Arizona. Together we can influence positive dietary behaviors in students!
The School Nutrition Programs Advisory Council (SNPAC) is comprised of dedicated school nutrition professionals who will advise ADE on issues that impact growth, compliance, and nutrition integrity in Arizona school nutrition programs. The SNPAC consists of 13 individuals representing 38 LEAs and 178 sites in Arizona. The council members were carefully selected to create a diverse and representative sample of LEAs in Arizona. The SNPAC will be meeting monthly in Program Year 2021. SFAs are encouraged to contact the SNPAC member who best represents their LEA with any questions or concerns they would like to bring to the council.
The Arizona Farm to School Network envisions an Arizona food system in support of schools, producers and industry partners (distributors and processors) that work to engage children in healthy eating and connections made to where food comes from.
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is excited to announce a new partnership with the Chef Ann Foundation, Life Time Foundation, and Whole Kids Foundation! These organizations are part of the newly formed ScratchWorks Collective and are dedicated to improving the quality of school meals and love sharing their expertise with school nutrition professionals. These partners look forward to supporting 10 Arizona Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) in a three-phase program to help operators regain their kitchens and menus as they recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chef Ann Foundation will kick-off this collaborative work by sending a culinary trained school food operational expert to each of the selected LEAs for a one-day on-site consultation to create a two-year plan with built-in mentoring designed to transform your kitchens, develop your staff, and take control of your finances to support the menu of your dreams.
