Meal Appeal for School Nutrition Programs

Programs > National School Lunch Program > Meal Appeal

Meal Appeal Initiative for National School Lunch Program (NSLP) consists of easy-to-use information and resources that provide child nutrition professionals inspiration and tools to create healthy meals that look appealing, taste great, and comply with school nutrition guidelines.

If you would like to share quick tips, ideas or resources for how to boost meal appeal, please email MealAppeal@TexasAgriculture.gov.

Meal Appeal Toolkit

We’ve made it even easier for you to boost your meal appeal! Use our Meal Appeal Toolkit for tips on menu planning, meal presentation, customer service, promotion, and more!

Texas Recipe Development

The Texas Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), developed 3 standardized recipes funded by the USDA Team Nutrition Grant for School Meal Recipe Development. These recipes celebrate Texas agriculture and feature Texas beef, mushrooms, and hydroponic lettuce.
Watch Chef Will Packwood from the CIA demonstrate each recipe and provide helpful tips! You can also download these recipes to use during meal service.

	Texas Beef and Chimichurri Rice Bowl A brown rice and roasted pepper and onion bowl topped with Texas Beef marinated in chimichurri. Standardized Recipe Recipe Demonstration Watch it in English or Spanish. English Spanish Nutrition Education One-Pager
	Texas Mushroom Queso A Texas twist to a favorite dish; this Mexican-inspired creamy, cheesy sauce made with roasted Texas grown mushrooms is sure to be popular with your students’ tastebuds! Standardized Recipe Recipe Demonstration Watch it in English or Spanish. English Spanish Nutrition Education One-Pager
	Asian-Inspired Chop Salad with Ginger Sunbutter Dressing This crunchy, tasty Asian-inspired salad features Texas grown hydroponic lettuce, fresh vegetables, edamame, whole grain wonton strips, and a creamy ginger sunbutter dressing. Standardized Recipe Recipe Demonstration Watch it in English or Spanish. English Spanish Nutrition Education One-Pager

Resources

	Meal Appeal Training The training provides more meal appeal tips for school meals to be used with the Meal Appeal Toolkit.
	TDA’s USDA Foods Recipe Suggestion Book This recipe book contains standardized recipes for black-eyed peas, chickpeas, pepper and onion mix, and kidney beans for NSLP, SBP, and SFSP menus.
	Top 10 Easy Wins – Lunch Learn these 10 tips for improving service and boosting meal appeal for lunch.
	Top 10 Easy Wins – Breakfast Learn these 10 tips for improving service and boosting meal appeal for breakfast.
	Food Photography Basics Food Photography Basics offers a step-by-step guide for taking great photos that showcase delicious school meals.
	Menu Planner for School Meals This is a technical resource that is designed to help school nutrition professionals plan, prepare, provide, and market great tasting, nutritious, and safe meals that meet the nutrition standards.
	ICN – 20 Grab and Go Recipes Explore these 20 ICN Grab & Go Recipes to add to your NSLP, SBP, and Summer menus!
	NKH – School Meals Design Guide This No Kid Hungry-created guide contains ready-to-use activities and tools for nutrition teams to make meal programs more student-centered. Explore resources to hep connect with the community and engage students and caregivers.

Newsletter Archive

2021	January	April

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.

The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) lists these resources and providers as a service to school nutrition professionals.
This list does not constitute an endorsement or verification of accuracy on the part of TDA.