Nutrient Standard Menu Planning (NSMP)

       Assisted Nutrient Standard Menu Planning (ANSMP)

       Enhanced Food Based Menu Planning (EFBMP)

       Traditional Food Based Menu Planning (TRAD'L)

       Alternate Menu Planning including Shaping Health As Partners in Education (SHAPE) California and other Menu Planning Approaches

Definition of Implementation

Implementation is defined as planning and preparing meals using one of the approved meal planning systems and actively moving toward compliance with the nutrition standards as outlined below.

Nutrition Standards for the National School Lunch Program

       Requires school lunches to meet one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, and specific levels of calories.

       Requires compliance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans for children over the age of two. These are: Eat a variety of foods; choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol; select plenty of vegetables, fruits and grain products; use sugar in moderation; and use salt and sodium in moderation. Menus are to contain no more than 30 percent of calories from total fat and less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat.

       Requires schools to decrease the levels of sodium and cholesterol and increase the amount of dietary fiber in meals.

       Requires schools to maintain menu and production records, which demonstrate that the required number of food components, food items, or menu items are offered each given day.

       SFAs must demonstrate that lunches meet the nutrition standards for specific age/grade groupings when averaged over each school week. (A school week is defined as a minimum of three consecutive days and a maximum of seven consecutive days.) Charts with the nutrition standards can be found in regulations 7 CFR sections 210.10 and 220.8.

       Allows any SFA operating the Summer Food Service Program, the Child Care Food Program, or the Adult Day Care Food Program to prepare meals using the NSMP alternative.

Enhanced Food Based Menu Planning (EFBMP) Lunch

       Requires a meal pattern to be followed, which includes two to three grade groupings and minimum food quantities. The groupings are:

Ages 1-2 and Preschool   Grades K-6
Grades K-3 (optional)   Grades 7-12

       Requires meals to provide minimums for calories and nutrient levels. The maximum levels of total fat are not to be more than 30 percent of the calories for the week. The saturated fat levels are set at no more than 10 percent of calories over a school week. During a technical assistance SMI review, State staff will complete this analysis based on the SFAs information.

       Meat/Meat Alternate - There is an increase in the minimum serving size for children in grades K-3 from 1½ ounces to 2 ounces if they are included in the K-6 grade group. However, if the optional meal pattern for grades K-3 is served separately, 1½ ounces may be served. Yogurt can be included as a meat/meat alternate.

       Fruits and Vegetables - Requires an increase in the amount of fruits and vegetables made available over the course of a week.

       For grades K-6, the minimum serving size is ¾ cup per meal plus an additional ½ cup served over a five-day period.

       For grades 7-12, the minimum serving size is increased to one cup per day.

       For the optional grades K-3 meal pattern, the minimum serving size is increased to ¾ cup per day.

       Grains/Breads - Requires an increase in the total serving of grains/breads over a five-day period. Retains a minimum of one serving each day for each group, and permits up to one serving of grains/breads per day in the form of a dessert. Requirements are:

       For grades K-6, 12 servings per week;

       For grades 7-12, 15 servings per week;

       For the optional grades K-3, 10 servings per week.

       Milk - Requires fluid milk to be offered. The types of milk offered are to be consistent with the types of milk consumed in the prior year. However, if a specific type of milk represents less than one percent of the total amount of milk consumed in the previous year, the school may elect not to offer that type of milk. There are no changes in the minimum serving sizes for fluid milk.

       Offer Versus Serve - Requires all five food items to be offered to students at lunch. Senior high students and, at the discretion of the SFA, students below senior high may be permitted to decline a maximum of two of the required five food items. Offer versus Serve provisions have not changed. The meal must be priced as a unit.