Production Records are required in federal statutes to document that the meals that received federal reimbursement dollars had enough and the right food to meet federal requirements.   (NSLP: 7 CFR 210.10(a)(3) and SBP: 7 CFR 220.8(a)(3))  They are also a useful tool in the kitchen.

School food service must maintain DAILY production records for each school and each meal service.  A production record is a working tool that outlines the type and quantity of foods that need to be available for the meal service.

School food service is not required to use any one form for production records, such as the North Dakota production record template for lunch or breakfast.  You may revise our template to fit your needs, find another state’s template, or design your own that works in your kitchen if the required information is included on each day’s record.  Make the tool work for you!

• Name of the site
• Date of the meal
• Meal type (breakfast or lunch)
• Menu for the meal – this includes
  • ALL planned items for all meal choices that must have all food components,
  • the types of milk,
  • leftovers that will be served in the meal
  • other food that is not creditable such as condiments
• Recipe name and number OR Product name and code (i.e., Bake Boy hamburger bun #12345) for homemade entrees or commercially prepared meat and grain, homemade salads, and any other item that will be credited to the meal components.
• Planned serving size for each of the menued items that will be credited to meal components
• Planned number of students and adults for whom food is being prepared.
• Substitutions made to the original menu OR for special dietary needs.

The above information could all be completed before meal service begins.  Required information that will be completed on the production record after meal service is:

• Total amount or quantity of food prepared for each food item (pounds, cans, pieces, servings)
• Amount of leftover food for each food item
• Number of reimbursable meals served to students
• Number of non-reimbursable meals served to adults or as second meals

Other notes can be included on a production record, such as the temperature log for hot and cold items, or notes about the service, such as what to order, comments about likes and dislikes, etc.  Add whatever information you need to make this tool work for you.

Production records can be set up to capture each day's meal service on one piece of paper, including breakfast, lunch, fresh fruit and vegetables, and after school snacks.  They may also be separated, such as the vegetable bar production record, so the responsibility of documenting the different areas required can be divided among staff members. In this instance, the staff member filling out the information should initial the production record to ‘certify the information is correct’.

Production records for each meal must be kept for three years plus the current school year unless an audit of these past meal services is being conducted.

Calculating the meat, grain, vegetable, and fruit amount in homemade recipes: 

1.  USDA Food Buying Guide tool – Recipe Analysis Workbook.

  https://foodbuyingguide.fns.usda.gov/Home/Home

The USDA Food Buying guide requires a login username and password to be set up before you access it.  If you order DOD Fresh in FFAVORS, the same login will work.  Otherwise, request the log-in the first time you click into the Food Buying Guide.

• The Recipe Analysis Workbook (RAW) will be under the ‘Tool’ tab.  There is a video tutorial on how to use RAW under the ‘Help’ tab.  OR call our office, and we will walk you through RAW with a few of your recipes.

• The USDA Food Buying Guide can also help calculate certain food items that have a ‘standard of identity,’ including purchased Beef stews, Chicken Chili, and Bologna.  For these items, you must ensure that the label states the name exactly and the ingredient list does not include cereals, byproducts, or extenders.

2.  The Coop Food Bid has this information: 

• If you belong to the Cooperative Purchasing Connection’s North Dakota State School Food Service Coop bid, please request a copy of the information for each bid item.  This will include the nutrition facts label, the child nutrition label, allergens, and possibly the Buy American statement.

• Contact Lori Mittelstadt for this file at info@purchasingconnection.org

3.  USDA Food items that you are receiving as commodities (there are two places to look)

• For the processed items, look on our website under the School/Child Nutrition Food Programs tab: USDA Foods Processing | North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (nd.gov)

• For the brown box items like pulled pork, diced ham, and chicken fajita strips, check out the individual Production Information Sheets here: USDA Foods in Schools Product Information Sheets | Food and Nutrition Service

4.  For calculating grain items

• Use the Exhibit A chart.  (located on pages 24 and 25 of the Lunch Production Record book)

5.  Ask your food distributor for this documentation.

• Contact the product manufacturer or switch to a different brand that has the information.

For ALL other items that are commercially prepared where you do not have a recipe to know how much of each ingredient was put into the item, you must have a child nutrition label from the box that the food came in OR a product formulation statement from the manufacturer who made the brand item.

• Example: The USDSA Commodity Processed meatballs have a child nutrition label on the side of the box that says: Five 0.50 oz. Fully Cooked Beef Meatballs Provide 2.00 oz. Equivalent Meat For Child Nutrition Meal Pattern Requirements. (Use of this Logo and Statement Authorized by the Food and Nutrition Service, USDA 08-14.)

This documentation will clearly tell you how much must be served to credit a specific amount of meat, grain, fruit, and/or vegetable to your meal pattern. Your food distributor should have this information for you before you order the item, or you can contact the company directly for this information.  If you do not have this information available, the food item does not credit to your meal pattern, and therefore, you may not be serving a reimbursable meal. 

Many more resources are available to you on what foods credit and what foods do not, common food crediting, and more are available behind the ‘Meal Pattern’ tab in the front of the Lunch Production book.  Please become familiar with these resources. 

Please contact the office if you have any questions about filling out the daily production records at dpicnfd@nd.gov.  We can answer quick questions immediately or set up a one-on-one meeting to dive deeper into the production record.  The information on the production record is required for a claim to be submitted for meals served in each school meal program. 

1. Offering Meats and Meat Alternates at School Breakfast: New for SY25, meats and meat alternates can be used as a component of the school breakfast.  This guide offers best practices to school nutrition professionals for their use.  Offering Meats and Meat Alternates at School Breakfast
2. Whole Grain Resource for NSLP and SBP: includes information on determining if an item is whole grain rich.  The final rule states that at least 80% of weekly grains must be whole grain-rich and the remaining grains must be enriched. Whole Grain Resource for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs
3. USDA Tip Sheet for Meat/Meat Alternates: Crediting Meats/Meat Alternates in the Child Nutrition Programs Tip Sheet
4. USDA Tip Sheet for Grains: Crediting Grains in the Child Nutrition Programs Tip Sheet - Part 3: Program Requirements

1. Offering Smoothies as Part of Reimbursable School Meals: Menu planning and serving ideas to incorporate smoothies in school breakfast or lunch: Offering Smoothies as Part of Reimbursable School Meals
2. CICNs video series on Fruits and Vegetables: Preparing Fruits and Vegetables – Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition
3. USDA Tip Sheet for Vegetables: Crediting Vegetables in the Child Nutrition Programs Tip Sheet
4. USDA Tip Sheet for Fruit: Crediting Fruits in the Child Nutrition Programs

1. USDA Tip Sheet for Milk: Crediting Fluid Milk in the Child Nutrition Programs Tip Sheet
2. Child Nutrition Programs: Transitional Standards for Milk, Whole Grains and Sodium: An at-a-glance look at key changes for SY22-23 that continue to present.

USDA-fact-sheet transitional.pdf

3. Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 DGAs: these are the rules that will be implemented starting July 1, 2025.  Find resources for Added sugars, Milk, Sodium and whole grains here: Updates to the School Nutrition Standards | Food and Nutrition Service
4. Basic Culinary Math: Recipes are full of fractions. This training helps cooks be comfortable with scaling recipes, planning quantities and measuring ingredients correctly: Basic Culinary Math for School Nutrition Professionals – Institute of Child Nutrition
5. Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs: This is an essential resource for food yield information that will help with purchasing the correct amount of foods and determining the contribution that the food makes toward the meal pattern requirement. This resource is available to use online FBG or as a mobile phone app or to download and print DownLoadFBG.

Training modules to help use the tools included in the Food Buying Guide are located here: Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs: Training Resources | Food and Nutrition Service 

1. Current Sodium Limits: School Lunch and Breakfast Sodium Limits and Timeline | Food and Nutrition Service
2. Shaking it Up: An ICN resource to provide practical guidance to school nutrition professionals on sodium reduction best practices and strategies: Shaking It Up – Institute of Child Nutrition
3. Reducing Added Sugars at School Breakfast is a training guide for school nutrition professionals on how to identify sources of added sugars and ways to reduce added sugars in school breakfast. Reducing Added Sugars at School Breakfast | Food and Nutrition Service
4. ICN’s Nutrition Standards for Added Sugars page: Nutrition Standards for Added Sugars Fact Sheets – Institute of Child Nutrition
5. 15 minute On-Demand training to Reduce Sugars
   1. Defining Added Sugars and How to Find Them On a Nutrition Facts Label
   2. Choosing Yogurt That Is Lower in Added Sugars
   3. Choosing Breakfast Cereals That Are Lower in Added Sugars
   4. Choosing Flavored Milk That Is Lower in Added Sugars
   5. Identifying Top Sources of Added Sugars and Simple Swaps
6. USDA’s Meal Talk Webinars: These are great professional development resources that highlight what other school strategies have been successful.
   1. Reducing Sodium in School meals
   2. Reducing Added Sugars in School Meals  Meal Talk: Reducing Added Sugars in School Meals
   3. Celebrate Lunch Trays Many Ways Meal Talk Celebrate Lunch Trays Many Ways Webinar | Food and Nutrition Service
   4. Taste Test Events Meal Talk: Taste-Test Events | Food and Nutrition Service
   5. Local School Wellness Policies: Meal Talk: Local School Wellness Policies | Food and Nutrition Service

1. Menu Planning for NSLP Afterschool Snack Program: Changes to the Afterschool Snack meal pattern will start July 1, 2025. Watch the USDA webinar to learn about these changes: Menu Planning for NSLP Afterschool Snack Service