Menu Planning Approaches For School Breakfast Programs

To be eligible for Federal cash reimbursement, a breakfast planned using the food-based menu planning alternative shall contain, at a minimum, the following food components in the quantities specified:

• A serving of fluid milk served as a beverage or on cereal or used in part for each purpose;
• A serving of fruit or vegetable or both, or full-strength fruit or vegetable juice; and
• Two servings from one of the following components or one serving from each:
  -->grains/breads
  
  -->meat/meat alternate

Minimum quantities: At a minimum, schools shall serve meals in the quantities provided in the following chart:

Minimum Quantities Required for Food-Based Menus Meal Components

Offer Versus Serve: Each school shall offer its students all four required food items as set forth. At the option of the school food authority, each school may allow students to refuse one food item from any component that the student does not intend to consume. The refused food item may be any of the four items offered to the student. A student's decision to accept all four food items or to decline one of the four food items shall not affect the charge for breakfast.

Nutrient Standard Menu Planning (NuMenus) and Assisted NuMenus:

Menu item means, under Nutrient Standard Menu Planning or Assisted Nutrient Standard Menu Planning, any single food or combination of foods. All menu items or foods offered as part of the reimbursable meal may be considered as contributing towards meeting the nutrition standards except for those foods that are considered as foods of minimal nutritional value which are not offered as part of a menu item in a reimbursable meal.

For the purposes of a reimbursable breakfast, a minimum of three menu items must be offered, one of which shall be fluid milk served as a beverage or on cereal or both.

Under the offer versus serve, a student may decline only one menu item. Under offer versus serve, senior high students must select at least two menu items and may decline a maximum of one menu item offered. At the discretion of the school food authority, students below the senior high level may also participate in offer versus serve. The price of a reimbursable breakfast shall not be affected if a student declines a menu item or requests smaller portions