The HCPSS Food & Nutrition Services Program serves 3 million school lunches annually. Although new federal regulations for school meal patterns go into effect this year, Howard County students will not even notice a difference because the school system began implementing the changes long before they were mandatory. Students are still free to choose the foods they want for lunch but at least one of their choices must be a fruit or vegetable. To help students decide, a U.S. Department of Agriculture MyPlate poster, which depicts the foods available in every category that day, hangs at the entrance to each serving line. Students may still choose from multiple entrées daily, fill their plates from an extensive fresh salad bar, select from trays of vegetables and fruits, and partake of whole grain rolls and breads. Also available is flavored and unflavored fat-free milk or one-percent white mil. Research done in the fall of 2008 by the USDA Economic Research Service found that school lunches are more nutrient-dense than lunches brought from home - an excellent reason for every child to participate in the lunch program.