Field Trip Meals in the National School Lunch Program and School

Nebraska Department of Education/ September 2022

Field Trip Meals in the National School Lunch Program and

School Breakfast Program

This document provides guidance for SFAs on the USDA’s requirements for field trips and how to avoid

compliance issues.

Availability of Field Trip Meals

SFAs may choose whether to offer portable field trip meals for students. If offered, field trip meals must

be available to all students, regardless of eligibility for free, reduced-price, or paid meals; and must be

offered at regular meal prices.

SFAs should be aware of students with special dietary needs (such as food allergies) who request field

trip meals. Field trip meals may require collaborative planning with school food service staff, the school

nurse, and the child’s parents or guardians to identify meal modifications that meet the child’s dietary

needs and comply with the food safety requirements for off-site meals.

Overview of Requirements for Reimbursable Field Trip Meals

Field trip meals must meet the criteria below to qualify for NSLP and SBP reimbursement.

1. Field trip meals must meet the meal pattern requirements for the appropriate grade group. For

more information, refer to Meal Pattern requirements

on the NDE’s webpage.

2. SFAs must record field trip meals on the school’s daily food production record. For more

information on production records, refer to

NDE’s Production Records for School Nutrition

Programs.

3. Field trip lunches must be served between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Field trip breakfasts must

be served at or close to the beginning of the child’s day at school. For more information, refer

NSLP regulations

(7 CFR 2010.10 (1)).

4. SFAs must develop a local process to accurately count meals served during field trips. Field trip

staff must conduct POS meal counts for field trip meals. For more information, refer to

Meal

Counts and Claims on NDE’s website.

5. School food service staff and field trip staff (such as teachers, teacher aides, other school staff,

parents, and volunteers) must follow appropriate food safety practices for field trip meals. For

more information, refer to USDA Food Safety regulations (7 CFR 210.139C)) or

Food Safety in

Schools on NDE’s webpage.

Meal Counts

The USDA requires that NSLP and SBP meal counts for all grades must be

determined at the POS. For field trips, the POS is the point in the meal

service at the field trip site where staff can accurately determine that

they have served all required components for a reimbursable meal to the

child.

Nebraska Department of Education/ September 2022

Acceptable POS Meal Count Procedures

• The teacher supervising the field trip has an attendance roster of all the students on the

field trip. During mealtime at the field trip site, the teacher checks off the student’s

name after verifying that the student received all of the components for a reimbursable

meal. The teacher returns the completed student roster to the cafeteria after the field

trip, and the cafeteria manager reviews the information by comparing meal counts to

the number of leftover meals. Note: The number of leftovers CANNOT be used to

determine the field trip meal count. Instead, it is used to compare the recorded field

trip meal counts by staff and determine any meal count clarification that may need to

take place.

• Students come through the cafeteria serving line and purchase a bag meal at the POS

prior to leaving for the field trip. Bag meals that contain potentially hazardous foods

(PHFs) are stored in a transport container that can maintain temperatures at 41 degrees

Fahrenheit or below. Milk choices are transported separately in a container that can

maintain temperatures at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Milk must be provided with

the other meal items.

Staff Training

SFAs must provide appropriate job-specific training for all employees, including non-food service staff,

whose responsibilities include duties related to the operation of school nutrition programs. For example,

teachers and other applicable staff who conduct field trip meal counts must receive appropriate training

to ensure they perform their jobs effectively and in compliance with the USDA’s regulations.

In addition, the USDA requires annual civil rights training for all staff who interact with the NSLP and

SBP, including staff involved in field trips meal. More information on

Civil Rights requirements and

training can be found on NDE’s webpage.

Food Safety

Field trip meals must comply with HACCP procedures. The greatest food safety concern for field trip

meals is ensuring that Potential Hazardous Foods (PHFs) stay at proper temperature during

transportation and service. PHFs include milk and milk products; meat; fish; cut melons; cut tomatoes;

cut leafy greens; baked potatoes; cooked rice; beans; vegetables; and tofu or other soy proteins.

School food service staff and field trip staff must work together to ensure that field trip meals are safe to

eat. The following practices help to ensure he safety of field trip meals.

Meal Preparation

• Ensure that school food service staff follow all applicable HACCP procedures during the

preparation and storage of field trip meals.

Nebraska Department of Education/ September 2022

• Chill PHFs that will be served cold before placing in transport

containers. Examples include sandwiches (e.g., turkey, ham, roast

beef, tuna salad), cut fruit and vegetables, especially melons

tomatoes, and leafy greens (excludes whole fruit and pre-

packaged, shelf-stable fruit such as fruit cups and applesauce), and

dairy products (e.g., milk, cheese, and yogurt).

• If the transport container cannot maintain milk at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit, use shelf-

stable (aseptic) milk that does not require refrigeration.

Meal Transport

• Maintain PHFs at appropriate temperatures during transport and storage. Ensure that cold

foods are kept at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot foods must be kept at or above 135

degrees Fahrenheit. For more information, refer to the ICN’s sample SOP,

Hot and Cold Holding

for Time Temperature Control for Safe Foods.

• Transport PHFs in insulated portable food transport containers, such as coolers. Clean and

sanitize transport containers before use. Use ice or cold packs to maintain the temperature of

PHFs. Keep the containers tightly closed until meals are distributed. For more information, refer

to the ICN’s sample SOP, Transporting Food to Remote Sites (Satellite Kitchens).

• Store transport containers and food out of direct sunlight and away from engines.

Meal Service

• Ensure students eat meals at the appropriate time to ensure correct implementation of time

and temperature controls for food safety.

• Wash hands prior to distributing meals. Alcohol- based hand sanitizer is not a suitable substitute

for handwashing because it is not effective against foodborne illnesses and allergens. For more

information, refer to the ICN’s sample SOP, Washing Hands.

• Use disposable gloves or utensils when distributing any unwrapped or unpackaged ready-to-

serve foods, such as whole pieces of fresh fruit or sandwiches packages in bulk containers. For

more information, refer to the ICN’s sample SOP,

Using Suitable Utensils When Handling Ready-

to-Eat Foods.

• Have students thoroughly wash their hands before receiving meals and eating. To avoid

potential allergic reactions, ask students not to share foods.

• Discard all leftover food items returned in coolers from the field trip.

Best Practices

The Nebraska Department of Education strongly recommends the following practices to ensure

compliance with the USDA’s requirements for field trip meals in the NSLP and SBP.

Nebraska Department of Education/ September 2022

• Develop a SOP that includes clear written procedures regarding the requirements for field trip

meals. The SOP should address:

o how students provide field trip order to the cafeteria;

o appropriate food safety procedures for preparing, transporting, storing and serving field

trip meals, including temperature control, handwashing, and proper food handling

procedures;

o how to identify a reimbursable meal;

o instructions for conducting field trip POS meal counts;

o how to handle left over meals or foods (including milk); and

o a plan for informing substitutes of the requirements for field trip meals.

• Distribute the district’s SOP for field trip meals to food service staff and all applicable field trip

staff, including teachers, teacher aids, other school staff, parents, and volunteers; and post on

the SFA’s website.

• Provide regular training (at least annually) for all food service and non-food service staff

involved with field trip meals.

• Include POS meal count instructions for field trip staff with the delivery of the field trip meals.

For example, SFAs could laminate the meal count instructions and attach to the food transport

containers.

• Use clear signage on the transport containers to help field trip staff identify the required meal

components, refer to Signage to Identify Reimbursable Meals

found on NDE’s website.

• Reinforce proper procedure for field trip meals through various communication channels, such

as staff meetings, e-mails, employee handbooks, written instructions, and the SFA’s website.