Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs)

Child Nutrition Programs go beyond K-12 school lunches.  The many different Child Nutrition Programs have different needs when it comes to food purchasing, which can mean different opportunities for you. ​Child Nutrition Programs can drive demand for local products with their large volume of purchasing and provide a steady market opportunity for local producers. 

Be sure to click on the information about the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program. This program offers grants, research, technical assistance, and training.

National School Lunch Program (NSLP) 

Provides lunch for students at K-12 schools (including public and nonprofit private schools and residential child-care institutions). 

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) 

Provides additional fresh fruit and vegetable snacks throughout the school day in eligible elementary schools.  ​

School Breakfast Program (SBP)

Usually operates in conjunction with NSLP, but ensures students have access to breakfast. 

Child and Adult Care Food Program/At Risk After School (CACFP)

Provides meals and snacks for children in early care and education (which includes preschools, child-care centers, family child-care homes) and after-school programs. The Child and Adult Care Food Program also serves adult day care; however, our focus today is Child Nutrition Programs.  

Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) 

Ensures children have access to healthy meals over summer break when school is not in session.   

Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program

The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program helps child nutrition program operators incorporate local foods in the National School Lunch Program, the Summer Food Service Program the Child and Adult Care Food Program and all associated programs. In addition, USDA staff work with tribal communities by promoting food sovereignty and the integration of traditional food ways into tribal meal programs.

How can your farm support Farm to School? There are a wide variety of sizes of programs and ways of purchasing for the National School Lunch Program. In a small community, these Child Nutrition Programs may serve only a few students whereas in a large community Child Nutrition Programs may feed tens of thousands of children each day.  

Bringing the Farm to School Agricultural Toolkit

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a look at school meals

There are slight differences across the programs in the food components they serve, but food service directors will work with the same five required food components: milk, grain, protein (meat or meat alternative), fruit, and vegetables.   

Click on any image to see how Idaho Preferred Producer Maps will give your farm visibility when ordering for Farm to School and consider your local producers. Fruits, vegetables, and meats are large categories and the links will take you to the general producer map for Idaho Preferred producers. Use the search tool or filters on the map to find the specific product you want to know about.

Click the USDA logo to learn more about current updates to the Child Nutrition Program Standards and how the updates are supporting children’s access to locally sourced foods.

Milk

Fat-free or low fat (1%)  

Grains

Half of grain products served must be “whole grain-rich” meaning greater than 50% whole grain. All other grain products must be enriched.    If you are selling a grain product, it is important to communicate that it is greater than 50% whole grain, so programs know it fits in their requirements.  

Fruit

Limited juice (offer whole fruits instead)   

Vegetables

Dark Green vegetables can include bokchoy, spinach, kale, chard, collard greens, broccoli, dark green leafy lettuce.    Red or orange might be winter squash, carrots, red peppers, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes.    Beans and peas can be black beans, black-eyed peas, lentils, pinto beans  Starches include cassava, corn, green peas, plantains, potatoes    Other vegetables could be celery, zucchini, cauliflower, green beans, cucumbers

Meat/Meat Alternatives

This includes meat, poultry, fish, cheese, yogurt, dry beans and peas, whole eggs, alternate protein products, soy yogurt, tofu, peanut butter or other nut or seed butters, and nuts and seeds. 

USDA National Nutirion Standards

Regulations, policy memos, and other guidance materials relating to the nutrition standards for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program

Bringing the Farm to School Agricultural Toolkit

cost and price points

School Food Authorities/school districts get reimbursed for serving a complete (aka “reimbursable”) meal that includes all the components and meets the nutrition standards.    Reimbursement is tied to participation, so the more students participate in the meal program, the higher the reimbursement. Participation rates are important to schools, so they are always looking for ways to increase participation. Farm to school is a great strategy for this. 

The National School Lunch Program  is reimbursed at $0.32 – $3.65 and the School Breakfast Program is reimbursed at $0.31 – $2.20

Small numbers add up: 28.9 million meals each day x $1.71 per meal = $49.4 million!   

These reimbursements change slightly from year to year and are always published in the  Federal Register.   The level of reimbursement depends on student eligibility for free and reduced-price meals. This eligibility is dependent on family income.   

According to the School Nutrition and Meal Costs Study released in 2019:   

•The average cost to produce a school lunch is $3.81.   

•The average cost to produce a school breakfast is $2.72.   

•The breakdown of that cost is: 45% for food, 45% for labor, and the remaining 10% for all other costs (supplies, contract services, etc.)   

•That equals $1.69 spent on food for a school lunch and $1.22 spent on food for a school breakfast.   

Bringing the Farm to School Agricultural Toolkit

school meal program models

Bringing the Farm to School Agricultural Toolkit

Food service cycles

As a producer, it’s important to understand the unique timing of School Food Authority planning and procurement to best work with School Food Authorities. As you are learning, all child nutrition programs are different, but here are some general school food service trends:

•The start and end of the school year are busy times for schools and the summer is typically a busy time for producers! Use winter months to connect with schools or find out the best time for the school district and begin relationship development.   

•Most schools do menu planning in January/February. 

•School purchasing cycles vary and solicitations are issued throughout the year.    

•Formal solicitations (Request for Proposals/Invitation for Bid) are often issued in early spring (Feb/March), and have a set time frame for response and a common duration of one school year (though timing and duration may vary).  (Module 2 will go further in-depth on solicitation)   

•Informal purchases are made throughout the year and can vary in duration (one-time, limited duration).   

Bringing the Farm to School Agricultural Toolkit

access the farm to school producer workbook here!