WELCOME TO THE FOOD BUYING GUIDE

The foods in this section do not meet the requirement for any component in the meal patterns. These items are included for your convenience since they are frequently used as condiments and seasonings to round out the meal, improve acceptability, and satisfy participants’ appetites. Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) operators may include these foods in small portions.

While these extra foods do not credit toward meal pattern components, Program operators need to make sure they are provided within the weekly dietary specifications for calories, saturated fat, added sugars, and sodium. If menus exceed any of the weekly dietary specifications, the menu planner should evaluate how these noncreditable foods contribute to the excess calories and other required nutrients.

The calories supplied by these foods help meet the energy needs of growing children. They also contribute varying amounts of protein, vitamins, and minerals essential to good nutrition. However, many of these foods are high in salt, sugar, and/or fat. For that reason, you may want to consider carefully how often and in what amount you serve them. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating patterns that are low in added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium.

The data on other foods in the yield tables includes yield information on common types and customary serving sizes of products that you can buy on the market.

The columns are as follows:

• Column 1: Food As Purchased, AP
  The individual foods are arranged in alphabetical order.

  
  

• Column 2: Purchase Unit
  The purchase unit is specified, for example, 1 can (generally No. 10, No. 2½, or No. 300), 1 pound, or 1 package. You can use data for one purchase unit to determine how much product you need for a specific number of servings.

  
  

• Column 3: Servings per Purchase Unit, EP (Edible Portion)
  This column shows the number of servings of a given size (found in Column 4) from each purchase unit (found in Column 2). Numbers in this column have sometimes been rounded down in order to help ensure enough food for the number of servings.

  
  

• Column 4: Serving Size per Meal Contribution
  The size of a serving is given as a measure and/or weight or number of pieces.

  
  

• Column 5: Purchase Units for 100 Servings
  This column shows the number of purchase units (found in Column 2) you need for 100 servings. Numbers in this column are generally rounded up in order to help ensure enough food is purchased for the required number of servings.

  
  

• Column 6: Additional Yield Information
  This column gives other information to help you calculate the amount of food you need to prepare meals. Column 6 information is not available for every food item.