National School Lunch Program

Programs > National School Lunch Program

National School Lunch Program

Establishing good eating habits by offering low-cost nutritious lunches to children during the school day

Download the Quick Reference for NSLP/SBP for more information!

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program that provides lunches to more than 3 million Texas children in school and residential child care institutions.

The NSLP serves nutritious, low-cost or free lunches to students in public and non-profit private schools in Texas. Lunches must meet federal nutrition guidelines, and are reimbursable to schools based on number of meals served.

Additional Tools and Resources

Capital Expenditure Resources:

Emergency/Sole Source Procurement Request

Apply for CACFP At-Risk

2023 State Match Awards:

March 31, 2023 - 2023 State matching payments were processed in TX-UNPS on March 31, 2023. Public/Charter schools that participated in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) last year should receive the funds within ten days.

Please be aware that because these payments were manually processed outside of TX-UNPS, they will not appear in the claim payment summary list in TX-UNPS. Please review the 2023 State Match Amounts for your specific information.

The reimbursement amounts were determined using a statewide rate of 0.024786675110 times the number of reimbursable school lunches reported on NSLP claims between September 2021 and August 2022 and SSO claims between September 2021 and June 2022.

Upon receipt, these funds should be deposited into the school food service fund under General Revenue, Fund 240, and Revenue Code 5829. These funds will be distributed by electronic funds transfer in the same manner as the monthly reimbursement claims.

State Match Amounts

Visit the Texas Comptroller to check payment status:

For contracting entities
For the public

Assistance available in English and Spanish. Please call 877-TEX-MEAL (877-839-6325) for help. Additional translations services available as well.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

1. Mail:

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

2. Fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

3. Email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.