Meal Appeal for School Nutrition Programs

Texas Department of Agriculture, National School Lunch Program Banner

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 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 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 Nutrition Education One-Pager

Resources

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, 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/ad-3027.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.

Texas Department of Agriculture Logo

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.