The purpose of this manual is to suggest strategies for identifying components that must be addressed to create and develop a successful food service and nutrition facility. It focuses on the process involved in creating such facilities, and it provides an overview of the planning phase, design and construction, and educational specifications. When designing school dining, serving, and kitchen areas, it is recommended that planners pay attention to adjacency considerations and activities, dining environment, meal periods and seating requirements, stocking considerations, serving areas, and kitchen areas. Five prototypical kitchen and serving area plans and equipment schedules are introduced, including high school food courts, as well as models for elementary and middle schools. Equipment is an important component of any design program, and advice on equipment selection, receiving equipment, storage equipment, preparation equipment, mobile equipment, serving line equipment, sanitation equipment, and ventilation equipment are provided. General design considerations, along with site design and regulatory considerations for school food, are detailed. Area guidelines for determining space requirements for the five prototypical food service program designs are also featured. (RJM)