Child nutrition programs (CNPs) including federal programs such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) have an overall goal to serve nutritious and appealing foods to help safeguard the health and well-being of the nation’s children. This study developed a performance criteria model for achieving the overall CNP goal for school foodservice by applying an analytic hierarchy process (AHP). A total of 39 performance criteria were identified and structured into a hierarchy of five major categories and 34 subcategories and criteria. Of the five major categories, the customer satisfaction category was rated as most important in achieving the overall CNP goal, followed by financial management, meal quality, program management, and operations management. Relative importance of subcategories and criteria were estimated. In addition, managerial implications of using the performance criteria model are discussed and future research ideas using AHP are suggested.