A single priced meal that offers all of the USDA daily required meal pattern items for breakfast and components at lunch for each age/grade group served in the minimum required amounts is referred to as a “reimbursable meal.”
Quantities vary by age/grade group, but items remain constant and necessary for all student meals claimed for reimbursement. A reimbursable breakfast meal offers 4 items:
Students must select at least 3 items with one of them being a fruit for a reimbursable breakfast meal. It’s important to note that some foods may equal 2 items (i.e. “Pancake on a Stick” contains meat and grains; therefore, it counts as 2 items).
A reimbursable lunch meal offers 5 components:
Under a provision called Offer Vs. Serve, students only need to take 3 out of the 5 components being offered at lunch to count as a reimbursable meal (with at least one of those 3 components being a fruit OR vegetable serving). The meal is the same price if they select 3, 4, or 5 components.