Heartland Payment Systems School Solutions Receives USDA Approval for NUTRIKIDS Software

Heartland School Solutions, a division of Heartland Payment Systems

, one of the nation's largest payments processors, has received USDA approval for use in certification of compliance with lunch meal requirements for its NUTRIKIDS Menu Planning & Nutritional Analysis software. This approval is in compliance with the new National School Lunch Program meal pattern requirements under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA). More than 8,000 school districts currently using Heartland's NUTRIKIDS software will now be able to apply for six-cent reimbursement for school lunch meals to help offset the cost of compliance with the new law. NUTRIKIDS is one of only four menu-planning tools currently certified by the USDA. The expensive implementation of HHFKA is expected to dramatically affect school meal revenue, making it important for districts to become compliant with the new law in order to receive the additional reimbursement, especially for larger districts serving millions of meals annually. "The purpose of NUTRIKIDS is to give districts a faster, more efficient way to develop school breakfast and lunch menus that are compliant with USDA regulations," said Terry Roberts, executive director of Heartland School Solutions. "The move toward providing more fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains in school meals is important to instill healthy eating habits in American children, which aids in reducing childhood obesity. Though the school meals are more expensive under the new requirements, the certification of our NUTRIKIDS software will help districts provide healthier options to kids without risking the financial sustainability of their meal programs. Overall, this further demonstrates our market leadership position in partnering with school districts to help improve their bottom line while delivering healthy meals to their students." Under HHFKA, school meals are evaluated for a balance between meat, grain, vegetable, fruit and milk components. Meals must be analyzed for calories, saturated fat, sodium content and portion size, with compliant meals including more whole grains, less sodium and zero trans fats. The nutritional guidelines put forth by HHFKA are easily tracked with Heartland's NUTRIKIDS software, which also creates an automatic process to submit for the six-cent reimbursement. More information about NUTRIKIDS Menu Planning & Nutritional Analysis software can be found by visiting NUTRIKIDS.com.