School Nutrition

regulations

Superintendent's memos related to school nutrition

Periodic memoranda from the Office of School Nutrition Programs to school nutrition directors and supervisors.

State Directors memos related to school nutrition

Periodic memoranda from the Office of School Nutrition Programs to school nutrition directors and supervisors.

Federal regulations & USDA policy memos

Direct link to the USDA FNS website for the federal regulations related to the school nutrition programs

Meal Pattern & Nutrition Standards in School Meals

The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–296) required the US Department of Agriculture to update the meal patterns and nutrition standards for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to align them with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The USDA regulations for these nutrition standards were released January 26, 2012 and became effective July 1, 2012. These federal regulations increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat fluid milk in school meals; reduce the levels of sodium, saturated fat and trans fat in meals; and meets the nutrition needs of school children within their calorie requirements. The improvements to the school meal programs are largely based on recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science and reflect current nutritional science for school age children.

School divisions that are Certified by VDOE to be in compliance with these new standards will receive an additional seven cents for every reimbursable lunch meal served after July 1, 2019.

The Virginia Department of Education Office of School Nutrition Programs conducted training throughout the Commonwealth for all school divisions

See related Training Resources

Certified for Compliance

Certification of Compliance with US Department of Agriculture Meal Patterns

Compliance with nutrition standards for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs is required under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA). The HHFKA provides for performance-based cash assistance for each reimbursable lunch served in school divisions certified to be in compliance with meal pattern regulations. School divisions certified by VDOE to be in compliance with nutrition standards receive an additional seven cents for every reimbursable lunch meal served. Compliance with nutrition standards is assessed as part of the federal program administrative reviews of the School Nutrition Programs.

Documents required for certification of compliance include:

Copies of the following school division menus (NOTE: breakfast and lunch menus must be for the same week ):
- One week of menus for breakfast for each grade group
- One week of menus for lunch for each grade group
  - For each distinct menu
  - Must reflect current practice for each menu type offered
Completed USDA Certification Tool (two parts) – for each grade group and distinct menu
- Module 1: Detailed menu worksheet
- Module 2: Simplified Nutrient assessment – Nutrient analysis of calories and saturated fat for each menu type
  - Special Considerations effective as of School Year 2019-2020:
    - Whole Grain Flexibility: At least half of the weekly grains offered as part of the NSLP and SBP must be whole grain-rich, the remaining grains offered must be enriched. Current menu worksheets specify that all weekly grains must be whole grain-rich. If only half of the total grains offered are whole grain-rich, a red flag will appear in the weekly report tab. School divisions are advised to ignore the red flag that will appear in the grain area in the weekly report tab of the Menu Planning worksheets as long as half of the weekly grains served are whole grain-rich and the remaining grains are enriched.
    - Milk Flexibility: School divisions have the option to offer flavored low-fat milk in schools without the need to demonstrate hardship and requires that unflavored milk be offered at each meal service. School divisions are advised to ignore the flag when a flavored low fat/1% type of milk is selected in the daily tabs. School divisions must ensure that unflavored milk is also available at each meal service.

Certification of Compliance Process

Step 1: Certification Request – The School Food Authority (SFA) completes and submits required documents to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).
Step 2: Review – VDOE reviews the certification request and notifies the SFA of a decision within 60 days.
Step 3: Approval – Once approved, the SFA begins receiving an additional seven cents beginning the month certification documents were submitted.
Step 4: Validation Review – VDOE reviews 25 percent of certified SFAs, including at least one large SFA (i.e. 40,000+). If not in compliance, a SFA will no longer receive the additional seven cents. If in compliance, a SFA will continue receiving the additional seven cents.
Step 5: Attestation of Continued Compliance
Step 6: Ongoing Compliance Review – Compliance becomes part of the normal federal review process.

Guidance and Memos

School Year 2014-2015

School Year 2013-2014

Superintendent's Memo 277-12 School Nutrition Programs: Requirements for Certification of Compliance with the New Meal Patterns and Nutrition Standards (PDF)
SNP directors Memo 2013-14-02 Certification of Compliance with New Breakfast Meal Patterns 2013-14 (PDF)
USDA Memo SP 31-2012r3: Q & As Certification of Compliance with meal requirements (6 cent rule) (PDF) – third revision January 22, 2013
USDA Memo SP 31-2012r2: Q & As Certification of Compliance with meal requirements (6 cent rule) (PDF)
USDA Memo SP 44-2012: Questions and Answers Related to the 6 Cents Certification Tool (revision) (PDF)
USDA Certification Tool: Menu Worksheet Instructions (PDF) – Updated July 10, 2013 for school year 2013-14
USDA Certification Tool: Simplified Nutrient Assessment Instructions (PDF) – Updated July 10, 2013 for school year 2013-14
USDA Instructions for Transferring Data from USDA Certification Tools (PDF)
USDA Certification Meal Pattern Requirement Specification (PDF)

Nutrition & Physical Activity Best Practices Database

The Nutrition & Physical Activity Best Practices Database provides a means for school divisions to research and share information about successful programs and local efforts to improve the well being of students and promote healthy lifestyles. Information submitted by school divisions on nutrition and physical activity best practices may include:

A description of the program or policy
Advice on implementation
Assessment of the effectiveness of the program or policy
Contact information

The database also provides access to annual state and division-level reports on wellness-related fitness testing. School divisions are encouraged by the Board of Education to contribute to the Nutrition & Physical Activity Best Practices Database by accessing the corresponding application through the Single Sign-On for Web Systems portal (SSWS).

For more information, read Code of Virginia §22.1-16.4 - Nutrition and physical activity best practices database.

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