Teacher of the Year Ceremony
Due to inclement weather, the Teacher of the Year Ceremony has been postponed to December 16, 2025 from 5-7pm. Doors will open at 4pm. The Ceremony will take place at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford, and the order of events will remain the same.

Overview

School Nutrition Programs  |   Program Guidance  |   Forms  |   Resources  |   Nutrition Education


What’s in a Meal: Meal Patterns for Grades K-12 in the School Nutrition Programs

What's in a Meal logo

The CSDE's What’s in a Meal training program is a series of recorded modules that provide comprehensive guidance on complying with the meal patterns for grades K-12 in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Afterschool Snack Program (ASP) of the NSLP, and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) of the NSLP. 

  • Target audience: This training program is intended for school food service professionals in the NSLP, SBP, ASP, and SSO, including food service directors, managers, and staff.
  • Accessing the modules: The training module videos are housed in Qualtrics. Click on each module title below to register and view the video.
  • Navigating the modules: The videos include a toolbar that can be used to pause, rewind, and resume the video, adjust the sound, turn on closed captioning, and search for topics. The chapters feature (the icon with three dots and three lines on the far right of the toolbar) allows easy navigation to each topic. To access the toolbar during the video, move the mouse to the green bar at the bottom of the video.
  • Knowledge check and training documentation: After viewing each module, participants will complete a brief knowledge check. The score will display after all questions are complete. Participants may print their knowledge check score to document participation in each module. Note: Scores below 80 percent indicate that certain topics require additional review. Participants should review the relevant materials and retake the assessments.
  • Professional development training hours: School nutrition personnel may use this training program to count toward the annual training hours required by the USDA’s Professional Standards for School Nutrition Program Professionals. For more information, refer to the CSDE’s Professional Standards Topics and Training Hours for the What's in a Meal Training Modules.

What’s in a Meal for School Year 2025-26

The What’s in a Meal training modules for school year 2025-26 reflect the current meal pattern requirements and nutrition standards for the NSLP, SBP, and ASP, including the updates required by the USDA final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.


1: Introduction to Training  |   2: Introduction to School Meal Patterns
3: NSLP Meal Pattern  |   4: SBP Meal Pattern  |   5: ASP Meal Pattern
6: Dietary Specifications  |   7: Documentation School Menus
8: Documentation Commercial Processed Products  |   9: Milk  |   10: MMA
11: Fruits  |   12: Vegetables  |   13: Grains  |   14: Whole Grain-rich (WGR)
15: Grain Ounce Equivalents  |   16: Water Availability
17: OVS Lunch  |   18: OVS Breakfast


Module 1: Introduction to Training (length 15:47)

This module introduces the What’s in a Meal training program, provides an overview of the modules and training objectives, identifies common acronyms and abbreviations, and describes key resources for guidance and training.

Module 2: Introduction to School Meal Patterns (length 48:56)

This module introduces the meal patterns for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP) and Afterschool Snack Program (ASP). Topics include an overview of the federal legislation for school meals, the requirements for food-based menu planning (including meal components, servings, and meal pattern requirements), and key resources for guidance and training on the school meal patterns.

Module 3: National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Meal Pattern (length 20:02)

This module reviews the requirements of the NSLP meal pattern for grades K-12. Topics include the daily and weekly servings of each meal component, the weekly requirements for vegetable subgroups and whole grain-rich (WGR) foods, the weekly limits for grain-based desserts and juices, the optional meal pattern for grades K-8, the weekly dietary specifications, and key resources for guidance and training on the NSLP meal patterns.

Module 4: School Breakfast Program (SBP) Meal Pattern (length 25:2)

This module reviews the requirements of the SBP meal pattern for grades K-12. Topics include the daily and weekly servings of each meal component, the weekly requirement for WGR foods, offering meats/meat alternates (MMA) at breakfast, the weekly juice limit, the optional breakfast meal patterns (grades K-8, grades 6-12, and grades K-12), the weekly dietary specifications, and key resources for guidance and training on the SBP meal patterns..

Module 5: Afterschool Snack Program (ASP) Meal Pattern (length 27:29)

This module reviews the requirements of the ASP meal pattern for grades K-12. Topics include the meal components and minimum servings, menu planning requirements and considerations (including the limit for creditable beverages, the weekly juice limit, the weekly WGR requirement, and the prohibition of grain-based desserts), water availability during snack service, additional state requirements for public schools, menu planning strategies for healthy snacks, and key resources for guidance and training on the ASP meal pattern.

Module 6: Dietary Specifications (length 18:51)

This module reviews the three dietary specifications for school meals (calories, saturated fat, and sodium) and the new specification for added sugars effective July 1, 2027, and describes key resources for guidance and training on meeting these requirements.

Module 7: Meal Pattern Documentation for School Menus (length 1:02:16)

This module reviews the documentation requirements for menus for the NSLP, SBP, and ASP meal patterns for grades K-12 and preschool. Topics include menus, production records, standardized recipes, the USDA’s Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, documentation for the Buy American Requirement, nutrition information for commercial processed foods, and key resources for guidance and training on documentation for school menus.

Module 8: Meal Pattern Documentation for Crediting Commercial Processed Products (length 1:05:12)

This module reviews the documentation requirements for crediting commercial processed products in the NSLP, SBP, and ASP meal patterns for grades K-12 and preschool. Topics include an introduction to crediting foods, crediting documentation for commercial processed foods, i.e., Child Nutrition (CN) labels and product formulation statements (PFS), key resources for guidance and training on crediting documentation, and a knowledge check on how to review the creditable ingredients in a PFS.

Module 9: Milk Component (length 42:33)

This module reviews the requirements and crediting information for the milk component in the NSLP, SBP, and ASP meal patterns for grades K-12. Topics include the required servings, allowable types of milk, requirements for fluid milk substitutes in school meals, a knowledge check on milk substitutes for non-disability reasons, serving requirements for milk, noncreditable milk, and key resources for guidance and training on the milk component.

Module 10: Meats/Meat Alternates (MMA) Component (length 1:07:33)

This module reviews the requirements and crediting information for the MMA component in the NSLP, SBP, and ASP meal patterns for grades K-12. Topics include the difference between MMA and protein, the required servings, offering MMA at breakfast, main dish requirement for lunch, crediting requirements for different types of MMA (commercial processed products, dried meats, cheeses, eggs, beans, peas, and lentils (including roasted beans, peas, and lentils and pasta made of 100 percent bean, pea, or lentils flour), nuts and seeds, nut and seed butters, yogurt and soy yogurt, tofu, tempeh, surimi, alternate protein products (APPs), noncreditable MMA, and key resources for guidance and training on the MMA component..

Module 11: Fruits Component (length 50:06)

This module reviews the requirements and crediting information for the fruits component in the NSLP, SBP, and ASP meal patterns for grades K-12. Topics include the required servings, the weekly juice limit, crediting requirements for different types of fruits (whole fresh fruits, frozen fruits, canned fruits, dried fruits, fruit juice, coconut, and pureed fruits including fruit smoothies), noncreditable fruits, a knowledge check on crediting fruits, and key resources for guidance and training on the fruits component.

Module 12: Vegetables Component (length 1:12:38)

This module reviews the requirements and crediting information for the vegetables component in the NSLP, SBP, and ASP meal patterns for grades K-12. Topics include the required servings, vegetable subgroups for lunch, the weekly juice limit, crediting requirements for different types of vegetables (vegetable juice, raw leafy greens, canned vegetables, hominy, dried vegetables, pureed vegetables, vegetable smoothies, soups, mixed vegetables, vegetable and fruit mixtures, and vegetable flour pasta), noncreditable vegetables, a knowledge check on crediting vegetables, and key resources for guidance and training on the vegetables component.

Module 13: Grains Component (length 1:01:14)

This module reviews the requirements and crediting information for the grains component in the NSLP, SBP, and ASP meal patterns for grades K-12. Topics include the required servings, allowable grains and grain products, creditable grain ingredients, how to identify whole and enriched grains, the crediting requirements for different types of grains (breakfast cereals, commercial grain products, commercial combination foods, and grain foods made from scratch), restrictions for crediting grain-based desserts, and key resources for guidance and training on the grains component.

Module 14: Whole Grain-rich (WGR) Requirement (length 1:15:35)

This module reviews the weekly WGR requirement and the WGR criteria for the grains component in the NSLP, SBP, and ASP meal patterns for grades K-12. Topics include the WGR criteria for different types of grains (commercial grain products, commercial combination foods, ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, and grain foods made from scratch), the limit for noncreditable grains and when to ignore noncreditable grains, how to determine if commercial grain products and standardized recipes are WGR, the required WGR documentation for commercial grain products, and when a PFS is required for WGR foods. This module also includes a knowledge check on how to determine if commercial grain foods meet the WGR criteria and describes resources for guidance and training on the WGR criteria.

Module 15: Grain Ounce Equivalents (length 1:01:06)

This module reviews the required ounce equivalents (oz eq) for the grains component in the NSLP, SBP, and ASP meal patterns for grades K-12. Topics include the USDA’s oz eq chart for nine different grain groups (groups A-I), Exhibit A: Grain Requirements for Child Nutrition Programs, the required quantities for each grain group to provide 1 oz eq, considerations for crediting sliced breads, how to determine the oz eq contribution of a commercial grain food or standardized recipe using the two allowable methods (Exhibit A and creditable grains), choosing a calculation method, rounding rules for oz eq calculations, when method 2 (creditable grains) is required for commercial grain products, and examples of how to use methods 1 and 2. This module also describes resources for guidance and training on grain oz eq.

Module 16: Water Availability During Meal Service (length 14:37)

This module reviews the USDA’s requirement for making plain potable water available to students during the meal service in the NSLP, SBP, and ASP for grades K-12. Topics include an overview of the water requirements, examples of how to offer water, implementation considerations, allowable costs, and key resources for guidance and training on the water requirement.

Module 17: Offer versus Serve (OVS) in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) (length 1:00:09)

This module reviews the OVS requirements for grades K-12 in the NSLP. Topics include the requirements for meal components and reimbursable meals with OVS, salad bars, identifying reimbursable meals, strategies for OVS success, meal identification signage, and key resources for guidance and training on OVS.

Module 18: Offer versus Serve (OVS) in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) (length 1:01:06)

This module reviews the OVS requirements for grades K-12 in the SBP. Topics include the requirements for reimbursable breakfasts, menu planning considerations, required signage, identifying reimbursable meals, best practices for OVS, and key resources for guidance and training on OVS.