The Healthy Eating Index is a measure of diet quality used to assess how well a set of foods aligns with key recommendations and dietary patterns published in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Dietary Guidelines). The Dietary Guidelines is designed for nutrition and health professionals to help individuals and families consume a healthful and nutritionally adequate diet.
CNPP uses the Healthy Eating Index to provide a data-driven understanding of diet quality in the United States over time. The HEI-2015 can be used to see how well the diets of Americans align with the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is a measure of diet quality used to assess how well a set of foods aligns with key recommendations and dietary patterns published in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Dietary Guidelines). The Dietary Guidelines is designed for nutrition and health professionals to help individuals and families consume a healthful and nutritionally adequate diet.
This factsheet explains how USDA Foods support the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the school meal pattern requirements to make it easier for schools to prepare healthy meals using local foods.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 was released on December 29, 2020. These are the 9th edition of the Dietary Guidelines.
Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in School, Smart Snacks in Schools
The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 directed the USDA to establish nutrition standards for all foods and beverages sold to students in school during the school day, including foods sold through school fundraisers. The new Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards will help schools to make the healthy choice the easy choice by offering students more of the foods and beverages we should be encouraging – whole grains, fruits and vegetables, leaner protein, lower-fat dairy – while limiting foods with too much sugar, fat and salt.
The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 directed the USDA to establish science-based nutrition standards for all foods and beverages sold to students in school during the school day. The new Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards will help schools to make the healthy choice the easy choice by offering students more of the foods and beverages we should be encouraging —whole grains, fruits and vegetables, leaner protein, low-fat dairy, while limiting foods with too much sugar, fat and salt.
The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 directed the USDA to establish nutrition standards for all foods and beverages sold to students in school during the school day. The new Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards will help schools to make the healthy choice the easy choice by offering students more of the foods and beverages we should be encouraging – whole grains, fruits and vegetables, leaner protein, lower-fat dairy – while limiting foods with too much sugar, fat and salt.