Meal Planning & Production (for School Meals)

Offer versus Serve (OVS) is a provision in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Seamless Summer Option (SSO), and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) that allows students to decline some of the food offered. The goals of OVS are to reduce food waste in the school meals programs while permitting students to decline foods they do not intend to eat. 

• OVS is only required under NSLP/SBP for high school students in grades 9-12 unless the School Food Authority has an approved waiver for this requirement.

• Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) school sponsors that decide to use the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program (SBP) meal patterns must follow the OVS requirements for NSLP and SBP.  

• Seamless Summer Option (SSO) sponsors must follow the OVS requirements for NSLP and SBP.  

• All non-school sponsors and schools electing to follow the SFSP meal pattern that choose to use OVS must follow the SFSP requirements for the meal to be reimbursable.

OVS Policy and Regulatory Guidance

• National School Lunch Program (NSLP) | School Breakfast Program (SBP)
  • Offer vs. Serve - Updates in the Final Rule - Child Nutrition Programs:  Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020-2025 DGAs (Dietary Guidelines for Americans) Summary.  Allows beans, peas and lentils offered toward the M/MA meal component to also count toward the weekly beans, peas, and lentils vegetable subgroup requirement.  An additional beans, peas, and lentils vegetable serving will need to be provided during the school week if this provision is used to fully implement OVS.
     

• Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)

  • USDA Policy Memo SP10 SFSP06-2017 – Meal Service Requirements in the Summer Meal Programs, with Questions and Answers – Revised

  • SFSP Nutrition Guide for Sponsors – Refer to OVS guidance on pages 44-45

  • USDA Summer Meals Toolkit: How to Do Offer Versus Serve (OVS) – meal service best practices for implementing OVS under SFSP 

OVS Training and Educational Resources

• NSLP/SBP

  • I Decline!: Offer vs. Serve for Lunch and Breakfast [INSERT LINK FOR PPT FILE “idecline_8_16_21.pptx”; Link text = I Decline!: Offer vs. Serve for Lunch and Breakfast] - NCDPI presentation explaining Offer Versus Serve and how to identify a reimbursable meal at lunch and breakfast

  • Offer Versus Serve Tip Sheets and Posters from USDA