Free Meals & Federal Meal Program

SVUSD Child Nutrition and Compliance with NSLP and SBP Meal Pattern Requirements

The Child Nutrition Department is very happy to continue serving free meals for the 2023-2024 School Year under the California Universal Meal Program! We are also thrilled to see so many new faces coming through our lines and hope to see many more in the days to come. We strive to not only meet, but exceed the guidelines of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Below is a quick refresher on the State and Federal guidelines SVUSD must follow when providing lunches to our kids. This information can also be found in full on the California Department of Education's website you can also find the meal pattern requirements here. More information about Universal Meals can be found here.

Every meal we serve must include at least three basic components in separate food groups, with at least one of them being a fruit or veggie. Most entrees include the protein and grain requirements and we always offer a variety of fruits and veggies that your student can pick from. Milk completes the meal and we always offer a choice of fat free chocolate or lowfat regular milk. 

For a meal to be free, a student must take at least three different items offered, one of which must be a fruit or vegetable. This can include:

• An entree, grain, vegetable, fruit and milk
• An entree, fruit or veggie, grain and milk
• An entree, fruit or veggie and milk
• An entree, fruit and veggie

Or

• A veggie, a fruit and milk

In order to provide a free meal, at least three of the components for that meal must be included. If a student only wants one thing, that item alone does not make a meal so we encourage that student to take more items that they may want. Milk alone is only one component, so if a student comes through the line and wants only a milk, they can take a fruit and a veggie with it to make up a free meal.

We love feeding our kids and making sure we meet all their nutritional needs! 

For more information and interactive ways to learn about balanced meal choices, please visit Choosemyplate.gov 

Please check out our menus to see all the different meal components we serve. We offer a variety of fruits and veggies daily to encourage our students to try new things and a few tried and true standbys to keep all our students eating well and ready to learn. 

We look forward to seeing your kids in the lunch line!

One breakfast and lunch per day will be available to all SVUSD students at no charge for the 2023-2024 school year through the California Universal Meal Program. Even if your child qualified for reduced-price meals or did not qualify for free or reduced through the NSLP program, your student can still get a free breakfast and lunch daily. At no point will your child be asked to pay for their meal unless they have already received a free one for the day and are returning for seconds. 

Single cartons of milk and bottles of water are sold at our Elementary Schools, and a variety of a-la-carte items are also offered daily during breakfast and lunch at our Secondary Schools. These items are not included in the free meals for 2023-2024. Any student who wishes to purchase a-la-carte items must either bring money to purchase the items, or have money in their lunch account. No student will be charged into the negative for a-la-carte items or second meals.