The Minnesota Department of Education provides School Nutrition Program (SNP) resources to help sponsors with menu planning, meal pattern compliance, food production, crediting food, and special dietary needs. Sample forms for use in maintaining records to document compliance with meal requirements are also available, as well as recipes, guidelines and forms. Information on snacks can be found under Afterschool Snacks.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Memos
Links to key USDA memos on Food Service Operations are provided below. For a complete set of USDA memos for School Nutrition Programs, see Policy Memos (USDA) under Related Offsite Resources.

• Q&A Salad Bars in School Lunch (SP 31-2013)
  
• Questions & Answers on the School Breakfast Program Meal Pattern in School Year 2013-14 (SP 28-2013)
• Extending Flexibility in the Meat/Meat Alternate and Grains Maximums for SY 2013-14 (SP 26-2013)
• Flexibility in the Meat/Meat Alternate and Grain Maximums for SY 2012-13 (SP 11-2013) 
• Q&A on 6 Cents Certification Tool (SP 44-2012) 
• Existing Inventory of USDA Foods and Commercial Products (SP 39-2012) 
• Separation of Vegetables/Fruit in the Food Buying Guide (SP 37-2012)  SP 37-2012 Attachment
• Certification of Compliance with New Meal Patterns (SP 34-2012) (attachments, including the Certification Worksheets by grade groups, are available from the USDA Policy Memos link)
• Q&A on Certification of Compliance with New Meal Requirements (SP 31-2012)
• Grain Requirements (SP 30-2012) 
• Formulated Grain Fruit Products (SP 26-2012)
  
• Q&A on Revised Nutrition Standards effective July 2012 (SP 10-2012)   Short and Long Week Calculations (SP 10-2012 Attachment 1).  Questions and Answers (SP10-2012 Attachment 2)
• Requirement to Offer Choices of Fat-Free and Low-Fat Fluid Milk (SP 29-2011)
• Water Availability During School Lunch Meal Period (SP 28-2011)
• Q&A Milk Substitutions for Medical or Non-disability Special Dietary Needs (SP 07-2010)
• Q&A on School Gardens (SP 32-2009) 

• Standardized Recipes    PDF
  A template for developing standardized recipes.
• HHFKA Lunch Meal Pattern - Tray Visual Format 
  Lunch meal pattern for School Nutrition Programs in a tray style format.
• School Breakfast Patterns - Enhanced Food-Based Menu Planning Alternative 
  Breakfast meal pattern for School Nutrition Programs for use through June 30, 2013.
• HHFKA Lunch Meal Pattern Four Day School Week 
  Lunch meal pattern for School Nutrition Programs with a four day week.
• HHFKA Lunch Meal Pattern Six Day School Week 
  Lunch meal pattern for School Nutrition Programs with a six day week.
• HHFKA Lunch Meal Pattern Seven Day School Week 
  Lunch meal pattern for School Nutrition Programs with a seven day week.
• Food Production Record Afterschool Care Program 
  Food Production Record for use with After School Care Programs.
• After School Care Program Meal Pattern 
  Meal pattern requirements for the Afterschool Snack component of the National School Lunch Program.
• Best Practices - Vegetables 
  New vegetable requirements for the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act
• Meal Pattern Charts - School Lunch 
  Meal pattern requirements for School Nutrition Programs as published in the USDA Food Buying Guide as of July 1, 2012.
• Exemptions Under the Competitive Food Services Regulation 
  A list of food products that are not considered to be of minimal nutritional value and may be sold in the school cafeteria during meal periods.
• Substitution of School Lunches for CACFP Meals 
  Option for National School Lunch Program (NSLP) menu planning approaches to be used at Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sites that obtain meals from schools participating in NSLP - September 2006 memo.