Universal Meals Resource Hub
School meals support student health and learning. On this page you will find resources to help you maximize the impact of your school meal program.
If you're looking for technical assistance or support in implementing Universal School Meals, we can help!
Please contact us: 
Laura Vollmer email: lvollmer@ucanr.edu
Angelina Gutierrez email: anguti@ucanr.edu
School Breakfast
Use this customizable letter template to inform families and parents about your Breakfast after the Bell program.
This program fact sheet provides an overall description of the National School Breakfast program and how it works.
Making Breakfast Part of the School Day
This guide walks you through three alternative breakfast service models to help you find the right fit for your school and successfully increase breakfast participation.
Farm to School
This toolkit helps you guide your school community in creating a vision for the future, document your action plan for working toward that future, and evaluate and celebrate your school's history and progress.
National Farm to School Network Fact Sheets & Resources
Look here for downloadable fact sheets and outreach materials from the National Farm to School Network. Included are policy resources, ECE resources, and equity resources. Many resources are also translated in Spanish.
National Farm to School Network Resource and Action Center
Check out this interactive web page to learn about the Farm to School Journey, and all who are involved in getting healthy and nourishing food to kids in school.
Grant Opportunities
Supporting the Use of Traditional Indigenous Foods in the Child Nutrition Programs Cooperative Agreement - Due April 8, 2024
The USDA FNS will award up to 4 organizations to provide training, technical assistance, and nutrition education to support the use of traditional Indigenous foods in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Summer Food Service Program, Seamless Summer Option, and/or Child and Adult Care Food Program At-Risk Afterschool Meals. The Lead Applicant entity must be led and staffed primarily by members of the Federally Recognized Tribes and/or Native Hawaiians but may have partners that are not.
Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Awards - Rolling basis through June 30th, 2025
Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) is offering Recognition Awards to celebrate School Food Authorities that have made significant improvements to the nutritional quality of their school meals. The Recognition Awards will spotlight innovative practices, student and community engagement activities, and strategies schools have used to provide meals that are consistent with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
No Kid Hungry - Rolling
No Kid Hungry provides school districts and community based organizations with funds to support their child nutrition program. Submit an inquiry to learn more.
Salad Bar Grant - Rolling
The Whole Kids Foundation Grant provides all the equipment required for a salad bar (the bar, chill pads, pans, and tongs). Any district or independent school participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is eligible to apply.
Recruitment and Retainment of School Nutrition Staff
This resource offers tips and tricks for valuing and recognizing team members, keeping morale high, hosting team-building activities, and avoiding burnout at work.
In this article, food service directors from across the country share ideas and tips on how to recruit school nutrition workers.
Strategies to Reduce Food Waste
Strategies to Reduce Food Waste in Schools and Child Nutrition Programs
This resource highlights some of the most effective strategies to help reduce, recover and recycle food waste from school meals.
Meal Applications
Application to determine and certify your students' eligibility for free or reduced-price meals or free milk benefits.
Alternative Income forms may be used in place of, or in conjunction with the federal meal application to determine eligibility for free or reduced-price meals.
California Universal School Meals
Overview of California Universal Meals, includes background, policy, webinars, resources, FAQ, and more.
Professional Development
Free Webinars and Training Videos
Pre-recorded videos for your food service team that covers a wide range of topics including culinary techniques, knife skills, food safety, parent advocacy, and more.
Online Courses for Food Service Professionals
Engaging and informative professional development training videos to support your food service team transition to scratch cooking. These courses can be used to fulfill the USDA's professional development requirements for food service professionals.
California Department of Education Resources
Information for the new School Nutrition Program (SNP) professionals and an overview of the School Nutrition and Summer Nutrition Programs, online trainings, resources, and program contact information.
Marketing Your School Meal Program
Promote school meals with these exciting and colorful educational resources, designed to be used by teachers and school staff, parents, and students. These resources include activity booklets, stickers, button images, thank you cards, and infographics.
Want to make your school meals look great? Check out this guide for tips on photographing school meals to boost enthusiasm, participation, and appreciation.
Tips for marketing your school meal program to families and caregivers to increase meal participation.
Strategies for engaging the local community in your school meal program with an emphasis on summer meals.
Increasing Participation Through Alternative Meal Service Models
This guide provides a variety of alternative meal service models for you to increase your students' access and participation in school meals.
Incorporating Local Food into School Meals
An online platform that supports school nutrition departments in connecting with local vendors, procuring local foods, and remaining in compliance with USDA standards.
This report includes surveys of frontline workers, case studies with food aggregators and processing plant workers, and interviews with farmers and advocates. Recommendations from the report will help guide the work of values-based food procurement, while implementing the principles of accountability, transparency, and racial equity throughout the process.
USDA Guide to Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs
A guide for menu planning, procurement methods, and other tips for integrating local foods into your school menu.
Integrating Local Foods into Child Nutrition Programs
This USDA fact sheet walks you through the steps to develope a farm-to-school program.
Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs
This resource provides an overview of federal procurement principles and covers a host of topics related to sourcing and purchasing local foods for state agencies and child nutrition program operators.
This fact sheet provides examples, tips, and information for incorporating local meat into school meals.
Foodwise Interactive Seasonality Chart
Use this interactive seasonality chart to see what foods are in season in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Learn how to use school gardens to grow healthy habits in cafeterias, classrooms, and communities.
Family & Community Engagement
Flyers Designed for Communicating Free School Meals
Flyers and prepopulated social media posts for your use to communicate about free school meals for all students.
Local School Wellness Policy Resources and Tools
Check out these infographics, quizzes, and resources to engage parents, teachers, school staff and others in your school districts local wellness committee.
Recommendations For Communicating With Students & Families About School Meals
Research-based recommendations on how to communicate, engage, and raise awareness about school meals to students and caregivers both in and out of session.
Gathering Feedback from Families to Inform Meal Service
Survey methods and ideas for gathering feedback from families about meal service to make informed decisions for your meal program and increase participation.