Meal Pattern

Breakfast

3 components required:

Milk (1 c)

Fruit or Vegetable (1/2 c)

Grain (1 oz serving)

 Lunch

4 components required:

Milk (1 c)

Vegetable (1/2 c)

Fruit (1/4 c)

Grain (1 oz serving or ½ c cereal or pasta)

Meat/Meat Alternate (2 oz meat/cheese/egg or ½ cooked peas or beans)

National School Lunch Program Requirements

The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 required the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to update school menu nutrition standards to reflect the Dietary Guidelines. On January 26, 2012, Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch & School Breakfast Program were published.   

Listed below are the requirements for all school meals where schools participate in the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program.

• All lunch meals will include the following choices: Meat/Meat Alternate, Bread/Grain, Vegetables (includes weekly minimums for the following vegetable subgroups- Dark Green (1/2 cup),Red/Orange (1 1/4 cups), Dry Beans or Peas (1/2 cup), Starchy (1/2 cup) and subgroups categorized as "Other" and "Additional." (3/4 cup), Fruit, and Milk.
• Amounts of fruit that each student is offered: One serving daily which must equal 2 1/2 cups per week for grades K-8 and 5 cups per week for grades 9-12.
• Students will be offered a weekly vegetable total of 3 3/4 cups for grades K-8 and 5 cups per week for grades 9-12.   Students are offered 3/4 cup of vegetables daily for grades K-8 and 1 cup for grades 9-12.
• At least half of the Breads/Grains offered must be WHOLE GRAIN. There is now a weekly minimum and weekly maximum requirement for the Bread/Grain Group.
• All Henry County School Cafeterias will serve Low-Fat Unflavored Milk and Fat-Free Flavored (Chocolate) Milk daily with lunch.
• Daily breakfast meals will include 1 cup of fruit, one ounce of whole grains, and 8 oz of milk along with at least one ounce of meat or meat alternative.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's school meals, please contact the School Cafeteria Manager or Alaina Sowell, Child Nutrition Program Director for Henry County Schools, asowell@henrycountyboe.org or 334.585.2206 ext. 1224