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Q. What are meal equivalents?
A. If a school district uses food based meal planning, food products need to provide a designated amount of either bread/grain, meat/meat alternate, or fruit/vegetable to count as a serving. For example, a piece of pizza normally provides 2 bread/grain and 2 meat/meat alternate.
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Q. Can the same products be used in either a meal or sold a la carte?
A. No easy answer here —it really depends on the state. Some states have legislated nutritional content for ala carte foods and not menu items used in complete meals. It is best to develop your product to the highest standard and then it will work anywhere.
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Q. Do I need a National Processing Agreement if I am only going to process in one state?
A. No – but it makes sense if there is a planned expansion to more than one state.
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Q. What is commodity processing?
A. School districts have the option of taking commodities direct or what is called 'brown box' or send them to a processor for further processing. For example, cheese to be used in burritos or pizza, chicken to be processed into nuggets or patties, or beef into fully cooked hamburgers.
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Q. What do Child Nutrition Directors look for in a product?
A. First and foremost taste and whether the students like it which is why sensory testing is so important – and sensory testing in every region that you plan to sell product in. Next is cost, then distribution (or availability).
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Q. Are the nutritional requirements the same for elementary and secondary schools?
A. No – because both menu systems, food based and nutrient analysis, have different requirements based on age and grade level.
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Q. What are Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value?
A. USDA regulations state that "foods of minimal nutritional value" cannot be sold during meal time in the same area where reimbursable meals are served and consumed. Foods of minimal nutritional value are defined as foods that provide less than 5% of the RDI for each of these nutrients per serving or 100 calories: Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Niacin, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Calcium, and Iron.
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Q. Are school meals unhealthy?
A. No – the USDA has strict guidelines in place that insure that the meals served in schools meets 25% of the RDI for breakfast and 33% of the RDI for lunch.
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