School Lunch Program

President Joe Biden has declared this week as National School Lunch Week.  The annual declaration highlights how school meals remain a vital lifeline, supplying well-balanced, free or low-cost meals to kids across the country since the program began in 1946.  USDA’s ...

Thanks to an adjustment in school meal reimbursements, district across the U.S. are receiving more money to runs their 2022 school meal programs. “There was an annual adjustment that typically occurs in the reimbursement rates," said USDA Nutrition Service Administrator Cindy Long. "Bu ...

Last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the agency made an adjustment in school meal reimbursements to help schools continue to serve children healthy meals. The move will add an estimated $750 million more into school meal programs across the nation ...

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, Stacy Dean, and USDA Food and Nutrition Service Administrator Cindy Long recently held a listening session focused on school meals. The session took place with 19 school food industry executives to discuss their critical role in strengthening access to nutritious foods for school meals programs, both now and into

A new survey of 1,300 school meal program directors reveals serious financial and operational challenges for the upcoming school year. The School Nutrition Association’s Back to School 2021 Survey also revealed grave concerns regarding the impact of future sodium regulations. T ...

Ag Secretary, Tom Vilsack, says when it comes to efforts to ensure all school aged children across the country are fed, the American Families Plan offers needed assistance. "We're going to make permanent, this incredible and historic effort to feed kids during the summer months ...

On Tuesday, the Department of Agriculture issued flexibilities to allow school meal programs and childcare services return to serving healthy meals in fall 2021. Several meal service flexibilities that enable social distancing are now extended through June 30, 2022 ...

The Department of Agriculture announced Monday a new effort funded by the American Rescue Plan to provide adequate nutrition to more than 30 million children over the summer. The effort expands the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer, or P-EBT benefits ...

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the wait for the most part is over now: "I certainly understand that schools are waiting to know precisely how the system's going to work during the next school year." Schools will be allowed to serve meals under the National School Lunch "Seamless Summer" option this fall, and throughout the next school year until the end of June ...

When the pandemic caused schools around the country to close, how did USDA's Food and Nutrition Service respond? "At USDA our emergency response was defined by frantic issuances of waivers, and then extending the waivers, and then extending the waivers again as necessary ...