Thank you for celebrating National School Lunch Week with us!

Please share your feedback with us here. Don’t forget to send your photos and success stories to Nutrition@TexasAgriculture.gov.

The Texas Department of Agriculture's (TDA) Food and Nutrition Division now has an online Civil Rights Training course available on SquareMeals. Participants will receive a certificate upon successful completion of the course.

To access the Civil Rights Training Information, visit the Annual Civil Rights Training page.

Children receiving and enjoying nutritious meals is essential for their health, development, and overall well-being – throughout the school year and during the summer. 

That’s why it’s never too early to start considering summer meals service. If you are a rural school district that is mandated to operate a summer program but is considering opting out via a waiver, or if your organization has never participated in a summer meals program, rural non-congregate service flexibilities such as grab-and-go service, parent/guardian pick-up, and home delivery can broaden accessibility of meals to students and potentially provide less cost and time-prohibitive ways to serve those meals.

Be on the lookout for updated materials and guidance on operating SFSP or SSO rural non-congregate sites to be released early next year, including the 2026 Non-Congregate Request Form and an updated Summer Rural Non-Congregate FAQs. 

To learn more and stay informed about non-congregate summer meal service, visit SquareMeals.

The Annual NSLP Financial Report opens in January 2026 and closes March 27, 2026. School food authorities (SFAs) will use data from school year 2024-2025 to complete this report.

If the Annual NSLP Financial Report identifies an excess fund balance of the SFA's six-month average operating expenses, the SFA must complete an Excess Net Cash Resource Plan and submit to School.Operations@TexasAgriculture.gov. The Excess Net Cash Resource Plan can be found here.

SFAs who submit the Annual NSLP Financial Report to TDA after the March 27, 2026, deadline will receive corrective action.

The following resources are available on Squaremeals.org:

• Blank NSLP Financial Report

• Preparing for the Financial Report

These resources can be found here.

November’s important USDA Foods updates for schools includes reminders for SFAs and Recipient Agencies to maintain WBSCM access, meet USDA Foods usage requirements, follow DoD Fresh Program fund and receipt guidelines, and prepare for PY27 ordering with resources and ESC support. 

Click here to see the USDA Foods Ordering Updates for December.

Visit USDA for more information on the Final Rule and upcoming changes. Let us know what kind of resources would best support you in implementing these new meal standards – Click here!

Mark your calendar for Thursday, December 11 from 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. (CDT)!

TANS Talk is an office hours session that will allow Organizations (formally known as CEs) to review TANS related updates. We are excited to share all of the new updates about this platform and answer any questions.

How to Participate in TANS Talk:
Use this TANS Talk Feedback Form to submit any TANS questions you would like to see reviewed during the call. We will cover questions received at least 48 hours prior to the call, allowing our team time to prepare for the meeting. Visit the TANS homepage and Resources page for access to past TANS Talks, updates, trainings, and more.