Keep Fruits, Vegetables Flowing to K-12 Schools

Opportunities abound for businesses to build strong alliances with schools and help drive up fresh produce consumption.

There’s a fourth “R” in U.S. schools today. Reading, writing, arithmetic, and reaching for more produce at breakfast, lunch and snack time.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 aligned school meal programs with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, thus requiring fruits and vegetables to be served in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Programs (SBP). The USDA’s Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program (FFVP), first established in the 2002 Farm Bill and expanded nationwide in 2008, provided school foodservice directors with another avenue to offer fruits and vegetables to students in the classroom.

“The combination of updated guidelines, access to programs like FFVP, and our department’s investment in produce-centered menu strategies has led to a noticeable increase in student consumption of fruits and vegetables,” says Kashish Patel, MSPM, marketing manager for the food and nutrition services at Boston Public Schools, in Boston, MA.

Schools are the “largest restaurant in town.” Consider that 31 million children participate in the NSLP, and the program requires schools to offer both fruits and vegetables as part of a reimbursable meal. This meal, in addition to the SBP and the FFVP, presents a significant opportunity for the produce industry to partner with K-12 school foodservice buyers to meet these fruit and vegetable needs.

NUTS & BOLTS: LUNCH & BREAKFAST

For producers, shippers, and distributors to effectively sell to the K-12 foodservice segment, the first step is to understand the requirements of the NSLP and SBP.

“Currently, students must take at least one-half cup of fruit or vegetable at breakfast or lunch for the meal to be reimbursed,” explains Mollie Van Lieu, vice president nutrition and health policy for the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA), headquartered in Washington, D.C. “Since HHFKA was passed, meal patterns have been further strengthened, most recently in April 2024, and there are set minimums for how many cups of fruits as well as vegetables must be offered per week. Research has shown that with these produce-forward updates, consumption of vegetables increased 16% and fruits 23% at lunch.”

At lunch, schools must offer weekly servings of red/orange and dark leafy green vegetables.

“Carrots fulfill the red/orange vegetable subgroup requirement in the school lunch programs, and as a result, we have witnessed significant growth in carrot sales over the past several years,” says Lisa McNeece, vice president of foodservice and industrial sales at Grimmway Farms, in Bakersfield, CA.

These subgroup color requirements also extend to breakfast.

“For breakfast, schools often choose our convenient individual packs of sliced honeydew, cantaloupe and oranges. While vegetable options see lower demand in the morning, these fresh fruit offerings are a perfect fit for early meals,” says Henry Webb, national school specialist for Taylor Farms, based in Salinas, CA.

Beginning in SY 2025-26, schools substituting vegetables for fruits at breakfast two or more times per week must offer at least two vegetable subgroups, namely red/orange and dark green leafy.

Beyond carrots, other red/orange vegetables recognized in this subgroup include acorn and butternut squash, cherry peppers, Hubbard squash, orange peppers, pimientos, pumpkin, red chili peppers, red peppers, salsa (made with 100% vegetables), spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, winter squash and yams.

Dark leafy green vegetables count as arugula, beet greens, Bok choy, broccoli, broccoli rabe (rapini), broccolini, butterhead lettuce (Boston, Bibb), chicory, cilantro, collard greens, endive, escarole, fiddleheads, grape leaves, kale, mesclun, mustard greens, parsley, spinach, Swiss chard, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, turnip greens and watercress.

Additionally, new rules limit added sugars and sodium in school meals. By the 2027-2028 school year, schools will also need to ensure that less than 10% of weekly calories in school lunches and breakfasts come from added sugars and that there is a 10% sodium reduction in breakfasts and 15% in lunches.

“The USDA’s sugar and sodium limits have opened doors for school nutrition teams to add more protein-and-vegetable-packed and savory breakfast items to the menu, such as mushrooms,” says Adriane Rippberger, director of marketing for the Mushroom Council, headquartered in Lee’s Summit, MO.

“For example, the Richland-Bean Blossom School in Ellettsville, IN, wanted to bring back a student favorite, biscuits and gravy, without high sodium levels. The school nutrition team collaborated with a dietitian and a chef to create a scratch recipe for cauliflower mushroom sausage gravy paired with a Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuit.”

Produce on NSLP and SBP can be purchased fresh, frozen, or canned.

“Schools know students enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables and try to offer as much fresh produce as possible to encourage consumption and minimize waste,” says Diane Pratt-Heavner, director of media relations for the School Nutrition Association (SNA), in Arlington, VA.

In just the past six months, Taylor Farms sold hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh blueberries to schools. “The response from students was overwhelming — they loved them so much that we could barely keep up with demand. At one point, we were selling blueberries faster than they could be harvested,” says Webb.

New Buy American regulations for the NSLP and SBP, taking effect this month on July 1, 2025, are a benefit to U.S. producers and encourage farm-to-school programs. However, these rules cap the purchase of non-domestic foods at 10%. Only 5% of total food purchases can be non-domestic starting July 1, 2031. Two exceptions are: 1) when a product is not produced in the U.S. in sufficient and reasonable quantities of satisfactory quality and 2) when competitive quotes, bids, or proposals reveal the cost of a U.S. product is significantly higher than the foreign product.

“This year, we’ve seen more schools’ RFPs focus on buying local produce and increasing scratch cooking. This is partly due to the availability of additional funding and partly due to an increased focus on the Buy American provision. Although the Buy American provision has been around since 1998, when it was added to the National School Lunch Act, it’s been the subject of state and national policy changes in recent years,” says Erin Mittelstaedt, chief executive officer of The FruitGuys, a South San Francisco, CA-based supplier of fresh fruit, produce, and snacks to businesses, homes, organizations, and now over 75 school districts with more than 300,000 students.

Boston Public Schools offer a good example of translating nuts-and-bolts requirements to the plate. “At breakfast, we serve only fresh fruit, such as bananas and apples daily, along with smoothies that blend fruits and vegetables,” says Patel. “At lunch, we offer a daily rotating salad bar including Greek, Fiesta, and Cobb, giving students variety and choice while encouraging them to enjoy more fresh produce throughout the day.”

ARTICHOKES TO ZEBRA EGGPLANT

While the NSLP and SBP are designed to provide a full serving of domestically grown fruits and vegetables at breakfast and lunch, the FFVP allows eligible schools to offer a variety of fresh produce, both domestically and non-domestically grown, during the school day. Additionally, the FFVP is a grant that schools must apply for and is awarded based on the percentage of students on free and reduced lunch programs.

“The FFVP can introduce unique or new fruits and vegetables to students like dragon fruit, pink pineapple, starfruit, mangoes and more,” says the IFPA’s Van Lieu. “Coupled with nutrition education, students are introduced to a new-to-them produce item in a classroom setting versus seeing something for the first time in the cafeteria and perhaps not understanding how to eat it or what it is. Research shows that among students in schools participating in FFVP there was an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption of one-third cup per day, compared to students in similar nonparticipating schools.”

From a production standpoint, the requirements for FFVP align closely with those of NSLP and SBP, says Webb of Taylor Farms. “We apply the same rigorous food safety standards, including HACCP protocols, USDA inspections, and third-party audits. What sets our approach apart is the time we’ve spent understanding the unique needs of students and schools. We’ve developed a comprehensive year-round FFVP menu designed not only to nourish, but also to educate and excite students about fresh produce. As a result, our FFVP offering is experiencing rapid growth. This year alone, we supplied schools with items such as Gooseberries, Dino Melon and Whole Sweet Peppers.”

DNO Produce, a wholesaler in Columbus, OH, created its SnackTime Explorers educational toolkit in partnership with Pilot Light, a local food education nonprofit based in Chicago, IL, and Freshealth, for which DNO is the exclusive fresh-cut produce supplier.

“There’s been a gulf between the lunchroom and classroom and how to execute that education. SnackTime Explorers is a turnkey solution to that,” says Alex DiNovo, president and chief operating officer. “We’ve received several anecdotal stories about kids taking their parents to the supermarket’s produce aisle to find what they tasted that day.”

OPPORTUNITY FOR PRODUCE

From a procurement perspective, the Boston Public Schools’ food and nutrition department focuses on partnerships that support its operational needs and mission, according to Patel.

“We rely on USDA DoD Fresh, a primary distributor, and a local distributor to meet our volume and variety goals. Our most effective suppliers consistently maintain high quality, understand seasonal availability, and are candid about any limitations, such as stock or pricing. These relationships enable us to plan more efficiently and provide consistent, high-quality produce, even when sourcing from smaller farms. The flexibility and responsiveness of our suppliers have been critical to our success.”