Meeting Federal Guidelines

Making student favorites healthier
Opaa! is constantly looking for healthy ways to keep student favorites—like pizza and French fries—on the menu. For instance, we use whole wheat flour when making our pizza crusts. Our spaghetti and rotini pastas are made from a mixture of white and whole wheat. We serve 100 percent whole grain sandwich bread. As often as possible, we offer fresh fruit instead of canned. And we use healthier cooking techniques, like baking instead of frying, at every opportunity.

Age-appropriate serving sizes
It's a fact that children who participate in the National School Lunch Program consume twice the servings of fruits and vegetables and greater amounts of grains and dairy than children who bring their lunches from home. Opaa! meals also meet the requirements for age-appropriate serving sizes—no super sizing here. In fact, the National School Lunch Program is one of the last places in the U.S. where you can purchase a meal with the recommended serving sizes for students.

MyPlate replaces Food Pyramid
The USDA's new MyPlate icon has replaced the complicated Food Pyramid. We're excited about this new tool that will help us educate even the youngest students about making healthier food choices.

School Menu Planning Federal Guidelines

School Menu Planning State Guidelines