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  • School Meal Menu Requirements

School Meal Menu Requirements

Schools that participate in any Child Nutrition Program are required to follow a set of regulations or rules, around the foods they are allowed to serve. Meals and menus served in schools are designed to be both healthy and appealing for the students that eat them. Schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs must meet the following standards: 

  • More fruits and vegetables: Since 2012, schools offer students larger portions of fruits and vegetables with every lunch. Vegetable choices must include weekly offerings of legumes, dark green and red/orange vegetables. Every school breakfast must offer students a full cup of fruits or vegetables. Students are required to take at least one half-cup serving of fruits or vegetables with every school breakfast and lunch.  
  • Whole grains: All grains offered with school meals must be whole grain-rich.  
  • Sodium limits: Schools must gradually reduce sodium levels in school meals to meet limits. 
  • Limits on unhealthy fat: Meals cannot contain added trans-fat and no more than 10 percent of calories can come from saturated fat. 
  • Low-fat and fat-free milk: Every school meal offers one cup of fat-free or 1% milk. 
  • Calorie limits: School meals must meet age-appropriate calorie minimums and maximums: 
GradesBreakfastLunch
K-5350-500 calories550-650 calories
6-8400-550600-700
9-12450-600750-850

 

It seems like my child’s school isn’t always serving what shows on the school menus. What is going on?
Schools are facing the same challenges many grocery stores and other places are having with getting all the food and supplies they need. When this happens, school nutrition professionals are doing everything they can to serve healthy meals to your child. Sometimes that means needing to swap out some foods for others because some foods are easier to get. Please be patient with the school nutrition professionals striving to serve our kids. They are committed to making sure our kids get the healthy meals they depend on during this challenging time.

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Contact

  • Health & Nutrition Services
  • (602) 542-8700
  • [email protected]zed.gov

From the Health and Nutrition Services Blog

Health and Nutrition Services Announces the Availability of the 2023 Summer Food Service Program Wed, Feb 1 2023

The Arizona Department of Education Health and Nutrition Services (HNS) is pleased to announce the availability of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) during summer 2023. 

Congratulations to the School Year 2021-2022 BRAVOcado! Excellence Awardees! Tue, Oct 11 2022

The Arizona Department of Education Recognizes Schools for Exemplary Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Programs  

The Arizona Department of Education Health and Nutrition Services is pleased to announce the Program Year 2021-2022 BRAVOcado! awardees for excellent Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) operations. The BRAVOcado! Excellence Award is given to schools that demonstrate exemplary FFVP service and commitment to promoting fruit and vegetable consumption and healthy lifestyles to their students.

The FFVP BRAVOcado! Excellence Award recognizes schools that go above and beyond to operate a phenomenal FFVP program. To be eligible for the award, sites must meet criteria related to variety of produce items served, frequency of service, frequency of nutrition education, frequency of serving local produce, development of site-level and outside partnerships, and more!

The following three School Food Authorities went above and beyond and received the award this year. Congratulations to all awardees!

  • Concho Elementary School 
  • Concordia Charter School 
  • Southgate Academy, Inc.

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