Overview

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

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) regulations for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) (7 CFR 210.10(a)(1)(i)) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) (7 CFR 220.8(a)(1)) require that schools and institutions must make plain potable water available without restriction to students at no charge during the service of reimbursable meals and afterschool snacks. Potable water is water that is safe for human consumption.

“Available without restriction” means that students can freely access the water in the location where the meals and afterschool snacks are served. For example, if the school food authority (SFA) meets the water requirement with a water fountain that is in the cafeteria or immediately adjacent, students must be allowed to leave their tables to access the water fountain during the meal service.

The water must be unflavored. Schools cannot add sliced fruits or vegetables to water for flavor, such as orange and lemon slices or sliced cucumbers.

Applicable Programs

The requirement for water availability applies to the NSLP, SBP, Seamless Summer Option (SSO) of the NSLP, and Afterschool Snack Program (ASP) of the NSLP.

• NSLP (including SSO school sites): Water must be available at any location where lunch is served. This includes the cafeteria and any other meal service areas outside of the cafeteria, such as lunch carts, meals served in the classroom, and meals served during in-school suspension.
• SBP (including SSO school sites): Water must be available when breakfast is served in the cafeteria. The water requirement does not apply to breakfast meal service outside of the cafeteria, such as breakfast in the classroom.
• ASP: Water must be available during the afterschool snack service. 

All schools implementing the NSLP, SBP, SSO, and ASP must meet these requirements. The water requirement does not apply to field trips where reimbursable meals are served. However, the USDA encourages schools to make water available for all school-related functions, including field trips.

Considerations for Offering Water

• While water must be made available to students during the meal and afterschool snack service, water is not a meal component and is not part of reimbursable meals or afterschool snacks. Students are not required to take water.
• SFAs cannot promote or offer water or any other beverage as an alternative selection to fluid milk throughout the food service area. Commercially packaged water and potable drinking water should not be made available in any manner that interferes with students’ selection of the components of reimbursable meals, including low-fat or fat-free milk. For example, water cannot be served from the milk cooler.