1. School Breakfast Meal Pattern and Nutrition Standards
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3. Topic 1: School Breakfast Meal Pattern
Participants will:
State the component requirements for school breakfast
Describe the required limits on the offering of juice at breakfast
Explain the requirements regarding substitution of vegetables for fruit at breakfast
Describe the options for offering meat/meat alternates at breakfast
Explain how components credit in smoothies at breakfast
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | General Meal Pattern Requirements
School Breakfast consists of three required components:
Fruit
Grain
Milk
The daily breakfast must consist of at least: 1 cup of fruits, 1 ounce equivalent (oz eq) of grains, and 1 cup of milk. Additional grains must be offered over the course of the week to meet the weekly requirements for each age/grade group.
There are three age/grade groups for breakfast:
K-5
6-8
9-12
There is overlap in the requirements for all three groups. This means the same menu could be planned for grades K-12.

4. Topic 1: School Breakfast Meal Pattern
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | Breakfast: Fruit Component
Schools must offer at least 1 cup of fruit/day to all grades.
Fruit may be fresh; frozen with or without sugar; canned in light syrup, water, or fruit juice; or dried.
One hundred percent, full-strength juice may also be offered. The amount of 100% juice offered cannot exceed half of the weekly fruit requirement. For example, because 1 cup of the fruit component is required each day at breakfast, ½ cup of juice may be offered along with ½ cup of whole fruit or fruit pieces:
Example: If fruit is offered every day as follows, juice may be offered every day.
Juice concentrates can be used only when reconstituted with water to 100% full-strength juice and can be credited in the forms of liquid (including 100% carbonated juice), or frozen juice only.
Juice cannot be credited when used as an ingredient in another food or beverage product with the exception of smoothies.
Continued on next slide.

5. Topic 1: School Breakfast Meal Pattern
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | Breakfast: Fruit Component (Continued)
Dried fruit credits as twice the volume served (e.g., ¼ cup of dried fruit credits as ½ cup of fruit).
Vegetables or vegetable juice may be substituted for fruits or fruit juice. However, the first 2 cups of vegetables planned for the week must be from the:
Dark green;
Red/orange;
Beans/peas/legumes; or
“Other vegetable” subgroup.
Starchy vegetables may be offered if the above requirement is met for the week.
Schools may offer a single fruit/vegetable/juice or a combination of fruits/vegetables/juice to meet the required 1 cup fruit component.
Pureed fruits, vegetables, and 100% juice (fruit, vegetable, and fruit/vegetable blends) can credit in smoothies. Pureed fruits/vegetables in a smoothie are credited by volume after being pureed, and count toward the weekly juice limit. Reference: PDE708 - Smoothies Offered in Child Nutrition Programs SP (v.3).

6. Topic 1: School Breakfast Meal Pattern
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | Grain Component
Schools must offer a minimum of 1 ounce equivalent (oz eq) of grains daily to all grades.
The minimum weekly requirement for grains varies by grade level:
K-5: 7 oz eq per week
6-8: 8 oz eq per week
9-12: 9 oz eq per week
All grains must be whole grain-rich (containing 50% or more whole grains) to credit in the meal. (For guidance on identifying whole grain-rich products and meeting the whole grain-rich criteria, see USDA’s “Whole Grain Resource for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.” -
NOTE: State agencies that administer the NSLP and SBP have the option to grant an exemption to a School Food Authority (SFA) that demonstrates a hardship in procuring compliant whole grain-rich products that are acceptable to students in school year PDE has developed a process for evaluating and responding to SFA’s exemption requests. Please see PDE-SNP-720 “Request for Exemption from the School Meals’ Whole Grain-Rich Requirement for School Year ” on PEARS for more information.

7. Topic 1: School Breakfast Meal Pattern
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | Milk Component
Schools must offer 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) of milk per day for all grades.
Schools must offer a daily variety (at least two) of the following:
Fat-free unflavored milk
Fat-free flavored milk
Low-fat (1% or less) unflavored milk
Fat-free or low-fat lactose-reduced/lactose-free milk
Whole milk, 2% milk, and low-fat flavored milk are not allowable.
There are no fat or flavor restrictions on USDA-allowable milk substitutes for children with documented special dietary needs.
The milk quantity included in smoothies prepared in-house may credit toward the required milk component. However, fluid milk must also be offered separately in order to meet the milk variety requirement.

8. Topic 1: School Breakfast Meal Pattern
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | Breakfast: Meat/Meat Alternates (M/MA) Option
There is no requirement to offer meat/meat alternate (M/MA) in the School Breakfast Program meal pattern.
Schools may offer an optional M/MA to meet part of the grains component if the daily minimum grains (1 oz eq) are offered in the planned menu.
Schools that choose to offer a M/MA at breakfast have two options:
Credit the M/MA toward the grains requirement (if at least 1 oz eq grain is offered daily); OR
1 oz eq grain per day = 5 oz eq grain per week
School also offers 1 oz eq M/MA 3 days/week
3 oz eq M/MA per week may count as 3 oz eq grain
This equals a total of 8 oz eq of grains for the week, which meets the minimum weekly grain requirement for the 6-8 grade level
Continued on next slide.

9. Topic 1: School Breakfast Meal Pattern
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | Breakfast: Meat/Meat Alternates (M/MA) Option (Continued)
Example:
*Assume each is 1 oz eq.
Yogurt is the only creditable M/MA in smoothies. Although other M/MAs, such as peanut butter, or grains such as oatmeal may be added to improve flavor or consistency, these ingredients do not contribute to meal pattern requirements. All ingredients in a smoothie are counted toward the weekly limits on calories, saturated fat and sodium.
Continued on next slide.

10. Topic 2: Offer Versus Serve (OVS) in the School Breakfast Program
Participants will:
State the general requirements for Offer Vs. Serve in the School Breakfast Program.
Identify a resource for more detailed information about Offer Vs. Serve.
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | Breakfast: Offer Vs. Serve
Offer Vs. Serve (OVS) for breakfast is optional at all grade levels.
Under OVS, schools must offer three breakfast components in four items in at least the daily minimum required serving sizes:
Fruit (or substitute vegetable)
Grains (with optional meat/meat alternate)
Milk
NOTE: Unlike OVS for lunch, which is based on the number of components selected, a reimbursable breakfast under OVS is based on the number of items selected.
Student must select at least three food items for a reimbursable breakfast under OVS.
One selection must be at least ½ cup of fruit (or substitute vegetable) or ½ cup of juice.
Schools must offer 1 cup total of fruit/juice (or substitute vegetable) at breakfast. However, ½ cup of fruit may count as one item under OVS. This means a student may take 1 cup of fruit to count as two items.
Continued on next slide.

11. Topic 2: Offer Versus Serve (OVS) in the School Breakfast Program
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | Breakfast: Offer Vs. Serve (continued)
Example:
Large grain items (≥ 2 oz eq) may be planned as one food item or two food items at the discretion of the menu planner. Ex: A 2 oz eq bagel can count as two items under OVS.
All meals must be set at a single price no matter how many food items are declined.
Schools choosing not to implement OVS for breakfast must operate under serve-only. In this case, a student must be served all three components in their full serving amounts for a reimbursable meal.
Example:

12. Topic 3: School Breakfast Nutrition Standards
Participants will:
Identify the Nutrition Standards for school breakfast.
Identify common sources of sodium.
List ways to reduce sodium in school meals.
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | Breakfast: Nutrition Standards
Nutrition Standards (or Dietary Specifications) are set for calories, saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium. All are averaged over a school week.
There is a minimum and maximum requirement for calories, which vary by grade level but have overlap:
Saturated fat must be less than 10% of total calories.
The standard for trans fat is zero grams per offered portion. Naturally-occurring trans fat is excluded (e.g. beef, lamb, dairy products).
Continued on next slide.

13. Topic 3: School Breakfast Nutrition Standards
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | Breakfast: Nutrition Standards (Continued)
Target 1 sodium requirements for breakfast were implemented starting with the school year:
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | Reducing Sodium
Sources of sodium in the diet include
Table salt (1 tsp. salt = about 2300 mg. sodium)
Ingredients such as MSG, baking soda, baking powder, disodium phosphate, sodium alginate, and sodium nitrate or nitrite
Processed and prepared foods such as breakfast meats and frozen entrees
Some condiments such as hot sauce and ketchup
Naturally-occurring sodium in foods
Continued on next slide.

14. Topic 3: School Breakfast Nutrition Standards
School Breakfast Meal Pattern | Reducing Sodium (Continued)
Reducing Sodium in School Meals
Read Nutrition Facts labels to compare the sodium content for similar foods
Check with manufacturers for lower-sodium foods
Serve more fresh foods and fewer processed foods
Choose fresh or frozen vegetables, or lower-sodium canned vegetables
Modify recipes that use high sodium ingredients. Offer lower-sodium condiments
Remove or reduce salt from recipes where possible
Use herbs and spices rather than salt to flavor foods
NOTE: Salt substitutes containing potassium chloride can be harmful for some people and are not appropriate for use in schools