USDA Announces Changes to School Meals and Lunches: What You Need to Know

The nearly 30 million children who eat school meals every day in the United States will soon see some changes in the food served to them.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a series of changes to nutrition standards for school meals, including a historic first.

Here are three things to know about the changes to breakfast and lunch meals served at school.

1. Added sugars in meals are now limited

The biggest change announced by the USDA is the introduction of limits on added sugars in school meals for the first time.

Currently, according to the USDA, schools are only required to meet weekly calorie limits regardless of the added sugar in the food they serve.

With this new change, effective July 1, 2025, breakfast cereals served in schools will be limited to no more than 6 grams of added sugars per dry ounce; yogurt should contain no more than 2 grams of added sugars per ounce; and flavored milks must contain no more than 10 grams of added sugars per 8 fluid ounces.

In addition, a second rule, which takes effect July 1, 2027, requires added sugars to be less than 10% of calories in school lunch and breakfast programs during the week, according to the USDA.

“USDA heard concerns from parents and teachers about excessive amounts of added sugars in some foods, which took this new limit into account,” the agency said in a news release announcing the changes. “Research shows that these added sugars are most commonly found in typical school breakfast products.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children under 2 years old should not have added sugars in their diet.

According to the CDC, for people 2 years and older, added sugars should make up less than 10% of their daily calories. For example, if a child consumes 1,600 calories per day, no more than 160 of those calories should come from added sugars.

Eating too much added sugar — common in processed foods, desserts and sugar-sweetened beverages — is linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, tooth decay and heart disease, according to the CDC.

2. Sodium is gradually reduced in school meals

Beginning July 1, 2027, school lunches will be reduced by 15% from current limits, while sodium in breakfast meals will be reduced by 10%, according to the USDA.

The USDA said it is allowing current sodium standards to remain in place for the next three years to give schools, manufacturers and the general public time to adapt.

“USDA projects approximately three years for implementation of the sodium reduction in response to public comments suggesting that it will take approximately three years for manufacturers to reformulate products,” the agency said. “Public comments also indicated that children are more likely to accept low-sodium school meals if the meals they consume outside of school contain less sodium. To that end, other federal agencies are supporting efforts to improve the dietary behavior of the U.S. population.”

Eating too much sodium, most of which comes from processed foods, can “raise your blood pressure and your risk of heart disease and stroke,” according to the CDC.

3. Chocolate milk is still served, but with restrictions

The USDA said it will allow schools to continue selling fat-free, low-fat, flavored and unflavored milk to students.

However, from July 1, 2025, flavored milk sold in schools must comply with the new added sugar limits.

Flavored milk offered to elementary and secondary school students during breakfast and lunch at school may contain no more than 10 grams of added sugar per 8 fluid ounces, according to the USDA, while flavored milk sold a la carte at middle and high schools may contain no more than 15 grams of added sugars per 12 fluid ounces.