Resources for School Nutrition Professionals

Millions of students and families depend on the USDA’s school meal program for a significant portion of their daily nutrition. For some, it’s the only meal they can count on. The benefits of school meals are well-documented – better classroom performance and improved health outcomes.

Milk is a required component in school breakfast and school lunch programs. Drinking milk and eating dairy foods makes it an easy and delicious ways for kids to get the bone-building calcium and other nutrients their growing bodies need. Childhood is a crucial time for dairy consumption, not only for important nutritional needs but to also establish healthy eating habits. Learn how school milk helps children meet nutritional needs.

Offering students breakfast at school is not only important to their health and but also to their academic success. In fact, less than half the number of students who eat school lunch also eat breakfast at school. Having the flexibility to eat in the classroom or buy their meal from a kiosk or cart and take it with them alleviates the time crunch and helps fill the gap by making meals more accessible to more students throughout the school building.

Alternative breakfast solutions like Breakfast in the Classroom, Grab ‘n’ Go Breakfast, and Second Chance Breakfast give students easier access to the meal. Learn more about alternative breakfast programs .

Did you know that even a few degrees can make a huge difference? In fact, cold milk tastes better when it’s kept at “ice cold” temperatures – 35°F-40°F, just above freezing. Cold milk lasts longer, too! In fact, for every five-degree rise in temperature over 40°F, the shelf life of milk is cut in half. The optimum temperature is 35°F to keep milk the freshest for the longest amount of time.

Click here to learn more about keeping it cool.

Under the guidance of the USDA and in accordance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, school lunch and breakfast programs must meet specific criteria to ensure children are receiving the nutrition their bodies need. Each meal must offer low-fat or fat-free white or flavored milk. In addition, schools must also provide meat/meat alternatives across the menu, and these alternatives can include milk, cheese and yogurt or dishes that include these foods as ingredients.

Students crave creativity, and US Dairy has many creative, kid-friendly, dairy-inspired recipes like Double Cheese Spiral, Kicked Up Queso Totchos, and Peaches-n-Cream Waffle Dunkers that can all be included in school meal programs.