Tennessee DOE consultant outlines how to use USDA Food Buying Guide and calculator for school meal planning

A Northwest Regional Nutrition Consultant for the Tennessee Department of Education led a webinar demonstration of the USDA Food Buying Guide and the Food Buying Guide calculator, explaining how school nutrition staff can use the tool to determine how individual food items “credit” toward meal-pattern requirements and to compute purchase quantities.

The consultant said the Food Buying Guide is available as an interactive web tool and a PDF from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service and that users can sign in to save favorites and shopping lists. “Our mission statement is to cultivate a culture of integrity, knowledge, and collaboration by empowering school nutrition professionals to serve nutritious meals, fuel student success, and build thriving communities,” the consultant said at the start of the presentation.

Why it matters: The Food Buying Guide and related resources (including Exhibit A — the grain requirements chart, Child Nutrition or CN labels, product formulation sheets and USDA Foods product information sheets) are primary sources used to verify how menu items meet National School Lunch Program and breakfast program meal-pattern requirements. Accurate crediting affects menu compliance and ordering quantities for…