KEY ISSUES:

Easy ways to 

follow the 2010 

Dietary Guidelines for 

Americans

We eat with our eyes – then our mouths. If it looks good, we’ll taste it. If it tastes good, we’ll eat it. Because fruits are colorful 

and delicious, they have built-in kid appeal. And because they are 

available in so many forms – fresh, frozen, canned, dried, or juice 

– they give you a quick and easy way to boost the nutrition of your 

school meals and snacks.

Just the Facts!

for Healthier School Meals

Jazz Up Your Menu With Fruits

Recipe for Success

Boost the nutritional value!

 Go easy on juice. Offer most fruit whole or cut up to get more dietary 

fiber. 

 Vary fruit choices. Offer fruits with more potassium often, such as 

bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and dried plums, peaches, 

and apricots.

 Select fruit canned in 100 percent fruit juice or water.

 Trim the fat content with fruit. Try applesauce as a fat-free substitute 

for some of the oil, butter, or margarine when making grain-based 

desserts such as cookies. 

Add fruit to meals and snacks!

 Buy fresh fruits in season when they may be less expensive and at 

their peak flavor; seasonal fruits like strawberries, blueberries, or grapes 

are great on a salad bar. 

 Add crushed pineapple, mandarin oranges, 

fresh apples to your favorite salad mix or 

coleslaw.

 Offer baked apples, fruit cobbler, or a fruit 

salad for a dessert treat!

Make fruit look good and easy to eat!

 Choose a variety of fruits with contrasting 

colors and shapes to catch kids’ attention.

 Slice fruits, especially apples and oranges, to 

make them kid-friendly and easy to eat.

■ People who eat a variety of 

fruits as part of a healthy 

diet are likely to have a 

reduced risk of some chronic 

diseases.

■ The 2010 Dietary Guidelines

for Americans recommend 

that children eat 1-2 cups of 

fruit every day (depending 

on age, gender, and activity 

levels). 

■ At lunch, students in grades 

K-8 must be offered 1⁄2 cup of 

fruit and grades 9-12 must be 

offered at least 1 cup daily. 

Beginning in school year 

2014-2015, the meal pattern 

also requires schools to offer 

at least 1 cup of fruit every 

day at breakfast for all grade 

levels.

■ Offer a variety of fruits every 

week.

■ Contact local farmers to start 

a farm-to-school program 

to obtain high quality fresh 

produce. To get started, go 

to: www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/

F2S/

■ Remember, fruits:

•	 Provide nutrients that

we need for good health, 

such as potassium, fiber,

vitamin C, and folate.

•	 Are naturally low in fat,

sodium, and calories.
USDA Foods Program

You can stretch your food budget and ensure high quality by ordering a wide variety of fruits through the USDA 

Foods Program and the Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. To learn more 

information about the DoD Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, go to www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/dod/. To 

check the list of fruits available through the USDA Foods Program, go to the USDA Foods Toolkit at http://www.

fns.usda.gov/fdd/foods/healthy/Professional.htm to review the Foods Available List for Schools

 Serve fat-free or low-fat yogurt as a dip for fruits. 

 Try a fruit smoothie at breakfast! Blend 100% 

fruit juice with fresh or frozen fruit like bananas, 

peaches, or berries.

 For fresh fruit salads, mix apples, bananas, or 

pears with acidic fruits like oranges, pineapple, or 

lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.

 Serve individual containers of fruits like peaches 

or applesauce as part of a grab-and-go lunch or 

snack.

Messages for Students

 Cut-up fruit makes a great snack. Or, try whole 

fresh berries or grapes. 

 Dried fruits also make a tasty portable snack. 

Try dried apricots, apples, bananas, cherries, figs, 

dates, cranberries, blueberries, plums (prunes), 

and raisins 

 When you’re craving something sweet, think 

fruit. It tastes delicious—with no added sugar.

Did You Know?

 It’s best to wash all fruits (including melons, 

bananas, and oranges) before cutting, preparing, 

or eating them. Under clean, cold, running water, 

rub fruits briskly with your hands or a vegetable 

brush to remove dirt and surface micro-organisms. 

Pat dry with a paper towel after washing.

 Remember to keep fruits separate from raw 

meat, poultry, and seafood while receiving, 

storing, or preparing.

For More Information: 

Team Nutrition (http://teamnutrition.usda.gov)

USDA Choose MyPlate (www.ChooseMyPlate.gov)

MyPlate (http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/myplate.html) 

MyPlate for Kids: Make Half Your Plate Fruits and Vegetables 

Poster (http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/Resources/myplate_

halfplateposter.html)

Kid-Friendly Veggies and Fruits (http://www.

choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/downloads/TenTips/

DGTipsheet11KidFriendlyVeggiesAndFruits.pdf)

Fruits and Vegetables Galore: Helping Kids Eat More (http://

teamnutrition.usda.gov/Resources/fv_galore.html)

Best Practices: Handling Fresh Produce in Schools (http://www.

nfsmi.org/documentlibraryfiles/PDF/20100826093915.pdf)

Let’s Eat for the Health of It (http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/

Resources/letseat.html)

Fruits & Veggies: More Matters (www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov) 

Fuel Up to Play 60 (http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/HealthierUS/

futp60.htm)

Changing the Scene – Improving the School Nutrition 

Environment (http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/Resources/changing.

html)

USDA Recipes for Schools (http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/

Resources/usda_recipes.html)

USDA Recipe Finder (http://healthymeals.nal.usda.gov/

schoolmeals/Recipes/recipefinder.php)

U.S. Department of Agriculture ● Food and Nutrition Service ● August 2012 ● FNS 449-C ● USDA is an equal opportunity employer and provider.

Just the Facts: Jazz Up Your Menu With Fruits http://teamnutrition.usda.gov