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School Meal Requirements

Our menus comply with USDA'S 2024 Final Rule on Nutrition Standardsensuring all children in America have access to healthy, balanced meals, providing the nutrition they need to grow into healthy adults.

Schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs must meet standards in the following areas:

  • More Fruits and Vegetables
  • Whole Grains
  • Calorie Limits
  • Sodium Limits
  • Sugar Limits
  • Limits on Unhealthy Fat
  • Low-Fat and Fat-Free Milk

All CPS sites have implemented Offer Versus Serve (OVS), which allows students to decline some of the food offered in a reimbursable lunch or breakfast. At breakfast, students are offered four components. Students must choose at least three of these items, and one must be a fruit or vegetable.

At lunch, students are offered five components. Students must choose at least three of these components, and one must be a fruit or vegetable.

What Makes a Lunch 2324

USDA's Final Rule

USDA's 2024 Final Rule titled, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans continues to improve school meals as well as advance USDA’s commitment to nutrition security. The changes are based on a comprehensive review of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, robust stakeholder input on the CNP meal patterns, and lessons learned from prior rulemakings. Our menus exceed the USDA standards for nutritional content.

Key nutritional benefits to school menus:

  • Menu planning is required for three grade groups: K-5, 6-8 and 9-12.
  • Portion sizes and recipes must be designed to meet the specific group.
  • There are calorie minimum and maximum levels and limits as to how much meat/meat alternate (cheese, yogurt, etc.) and grains can offer in a week.
  • More fruits and vegetables will be available, including a vegetable salad bar in each school every day.
  • All students may continue to take two ½ cup servings of vegetables and  two ½ cup servings of fruit.
  • Students must select at least ½ cup of fruit or vegetable component for their trays
  • No trans fats are allowed, and there are continued limits on saturated fat.
  • We add no butter to our vegetables, use only low-fat cheeses and lean proteins, and oven bake instead of frying all items.
  • All flavored milk will continue to be reduced sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, and fat free.