FNS Documents & Resources

To help schools deal with supply chain challenges brought on by the pandemic, USDA is providing up to: $1 billion in Supply Chain Assistance funds for schools to purchase food for their meal programs, $300 million for states to purchase USDA Foods to distribute to schools, and $200 million for cooperative agreements to purchase local foods for schools, focusing on historically underused producers.

USDA Foods in Schools product information sheets containing USDA Foods description and WBSCM ID for grains. 

This fact sheet summarizes the methods used in the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) to collect, process, and analyze data to estimate the cost of producing reimbursable school meals. The methods were based on approaches used in prior USDA studies.

This fact sheet describes the methods used in the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) to collect, process, and analyze data on students’ dietary intakes.

This fact sheet describes the methods used in the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) to collect, process, and analyze data to examine nutritional characteristics of school meals. 

This fact sheet describes the methods used in the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) to collect, process, and analyze data to assess plate waste in the school meal programs.

The School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study was a comprehensive study of the school meal programs. This fact sheet provides an overview of the design and implementation of the SNMCS, including the research objectives, sample design, data collection approach, and response rates. 

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and Education Secretary Cardona provide a brief message thanking school nutrition professionals for the work they do to ensure students receive nutritious meals.

 On August 26, FNS delivered a live webinar to state agencies and local program operators providing an overview of nationwide waivers for school year 2021-22. During the webinar, staff discussed scenarios where flexibilities may be utilized and suggestions for planning for the unexpected.  Lastly, resources were shared to further help state agencies and local program operators meet the unique needs of their community. 

This webinar discusses school meal procurement strategies and USDA school meal program flexibilities, waivers and training resources for school year 2021-22.