Healthier School Meals Pledge
We are calling on states and food service companies, supported by school food authorities, to join a nationwide commitment to make school meals and snack programs healthier. By taking the Healthier School Meals Pledge, partners affirm their dedication to strengthening the health, well‑being, and academic success of America’s students.
The Pledge
Six Core Action Areas
This initiative outlines clear, practical steps schools can take to elevate meal quality. The pledge highlights six core action areas designed to ensure that every child has access to nutritious, real food options each day.
Replace Breakfast Pastries with Whole-Food Breakfast Options
- Replace pastries with whole-food options such as egg sandwiches, yogurt parfaits with fruit, whole grain toast with nut butter, oatmeal, or overnight oats.
- Adjust menu cycles to emphasize eggs, yogurt, and 100% whole grains.
- Implement the added sugars cap now, rather than 2027.
Food service companies will expand healthier breakfast options and will offer easy, allowable swaps.
Prepare Meats and Meat Alternatives Using Healthy Cooking Methods
- Prepare animal-based protein foods such as beef, poultry, pork, and seafood using healthy cooking methods like baking, roasting, broiling, steaming, and stir frying.
- Avoid deep fried and breaded meat products.
- Prioritize meats with limited added sugars, refined carbohydrates or starches, or chemical additives.
Food service companies will offer more un-breaded whole muscle meat products like roasted chicken, grilled chicken strips, and ground meats.
Serve 100% Whole Grain Products
- Replace whole grain-rich items with 100% whole grain breads and tortillas, brown rice or whole grain pasta, or whole grain breakfast cereals with low added sugar.
- Utilize commodity 100% whole grain items available through USDA Foods.
Food service companies will increase availability of 100% whole grain ingredients and decrease their catalog of products with unnecessary preservatives or other additives.
Improve Smart Snacks Served in Schools
- Don’t offer beverages containing added sugars or artificial sweeteners.
- Remove foods with artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, and artificial preservatives.
- Only offer real foods like cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs, nuts, 100% whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Food service companies will clearly identify healthier alternatives in ordering systems and automatically replace discontinued products with the healthiest comparable option.
Prioritize Whole Fruit
- Choose fresh, canned, unsweetened dried, or frozen whole fruit instead of syrup-packed fruit, sweetened dried, or fruit juice.
- Expand purchases of seasonal fresh fruit through produce distributors or local suppliers.
Food service companies will increase flexibility, allowing schools to replace national branded products with local or fresh options without contract amendments.
Serve Whole Milk
- Include whole milk as an allowable option for all students, reflective of The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.
Resources for Partners
Pledge Toolkit
The Pledge for Healthier School Meals toolkit includes resources to help school nutrition professionals improve meal quality and adopt healthier school meal practices. States and food service companies can support school nutrition professionals to make school meals and snack programs healthier. State agencies are encouraged to share this toolkit with school food authorities and collaborate with food industry to serve real food in schools.
Tip Sheets
Checklist, actionable tips, success stories, and implementation ideas for each key pledge area.
Flyers and Posters
Print-ready materials and promotional resources to support and showcase each key pledge area.
Call Backgrounds
Video call backgrounds that show your support for USDA's Harvest to Hallways initiative.
Next Steps
Join the Pledge
State agencies in states choosing to sign on to the pledge should notify their local FNA team. States agencies may also contact their local FNA team with additional questions. Thank you for your continued partnership and commitment to encouraging whole, healthy foods in school meals.
Ditch the junk. Serve real food.
