The purpose of this memorandum is to remind schools, sponsors, and institutions participating in any USDA Child Nutrition Program, including the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Special Milk Program for Children , Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program, and the Seamless Summer Option , of the many ways they can purchase local foods to serve in program meals.
Learn more about the nutritious, 100% American grown USDA Foods that are designed to meet the needs of the specific population each program serves.
USDA foods are required to meet a minimum criteria to be considered for purchase.
References for user roles, status codes, material codes and reports, and business partners and relationships are provided to understand how WBSCM data connects with business operations.
Find resources to implement, sustain and maintain your farm to school program.
FNS has a variety of resources to assist CNP operators in determining how traditional Indigenous foods may contribute toward a reimbursable meal.
The Integrated Food Management System replaces the legacy, Automated Inventory System. IFMS consolidates food distribution transactions into a seamless, easy-to-use cloud-based platform.
Factsheets are available under the following topics: Farm to School Grant Program, Farm to School Program Resources, Local Food Resources, School Gardens, Farm to School in Tribal Communities, Food Safety, Producers, Farm to Preschool. Farm to Summer, State Agencies and Cooperative Extensions, En Español.
This fact sheet outlines a number of additional resources for those seeking to directly purchase or raise food products for school nutrition programs.
"Food Safety Frequently Asked Questions: The Food Safety Modernization Act and its Impact on Farm to School Activities": This document includes common questions related to food safety when purchasing locally grown and raised food products directly from producers as well as food safety considerations for edible campus gardens.