The USDA School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children provides school food authorities with the flexibility to choose different menu planning systems.
School districts can choose more than one system if needs within the district vary.
The new regulation requires states to review school menus every five years. The nature of the review will depend on the menu planning option the school selects. When the food based option or traditional method is selected, NDE will review whether component and quantity requirements are being met and will also perform a nutrition analysis to determine the degree to which the school is using the meal pattern to meet the nutrition standards. Current nutrition research has established that over consumption of certain dietary components such as cholesterol, fat, and saturated fat can have severe consequences for future health and well-being. Therefore, USDA updated the nutrition standards to include compliance with the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines.