USDA Goes Digital With A Food Buying App – FBG

The Lempert Report
February 23, 2018

It’s called the Food Buying Guide and the question is whether or not those people that already have been using similar apps on their smart phones for 5 years or more will make the switch.

There is a difference – this one is designed specifically for the more than 280,000 child nutrition  program operators, but many of them have sought other resources while the USDA was playing catch up. The other mistake in the Beltway was not to make this available to consumers – as frankly it is one of the best, and non-biased, food app resources available. 

FNS sought feedback from stakeholders, and it’s goal is to become the essential resource for food yield information for all child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Summer Food Service Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Back of the house resources include information that helps operators know how much food to purchase and how that food will contribute to the meal pattern requirements to ensure that children are getting proper nutrition through the programs. 

The new app includes food yield search, comparison, and navigation features for more than 2,100 foods typically served in child nutrition program settings, and can help users create favorite foods lists. The app also provides program-specific information for meeting each meal pattern component, as well as additional menu planning resources.

USDA says that using the App can result in cost savings and increased program efficiency and also help improve program integrity by making it easier for program operators to adhere to federal nutrition requirements. 

It’s also a great tool for retail dietitians to help their customers plan meals for their families. The FBG Mobile App is free and available at https://fns.usda.gov/tn/team-nutrition and on the Apple App Store for the iOS platform.