Why Salad Bars?

Salad bars give students daily access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Installing a salad bar is an effective way to meet federal meal standards requiring students to take at least a half cup of fruit or vegetables at breakfast and lunch, consistent with the USDA My Plate guidance.

Salad bars also provide schools more opportunities to source produce from local farms, supporting community economies, as well as opportunities to reduce packaging and food waste.

Benefits of Salad Bars

Help schools meet USDA fruit and vegetable subgroup requirements.
Increase fresh fruit and vegetable consumption among students, supporting lifelong healthy eating habits.
Provide meal variety while ensuring compliance with reimbursable meal standards.
Streamline meal preparation and labor.
Foster student autonomy in food choices.
Reduce packaging waste by eliminating the need for pre-packed or individually wrapped produce.
Provides a gateway to incorporate scratch-cooking and other sustainability practices.

Apply for a Salad Bars to Schools Grant

For many schools and districts, salad bar equipment is out of their budget. Our Salad Bars to Schools program grants K–12 schools everything needed to install a salad bar — including salad bar equipment and all accessories, marketing materials, and comprehensive online training courses.

Learn more about Salad Bars to Schools

Salad Bar Resources

As school food professionals, it’s our responsibility to ensure salad bars are implemented in ways that meet federal requirements, are cost-effective, and deliver meals that are nourishing and appealing to students.

We've created many resources to help you effectively plan for and implement a salad bar in your school(s) that students love.

Plan your salad bar

Source ingredients

Operationalize your salad bar

Train your staff

Market your salad bar

Find salad bar recipes

Other salad bar resources