Usda Mcp Server
Let your coding agent query USDA FoodData Central for food search, nutrient profiles, and comparisons while you build nutrition, fitness, or meal-planning products.
Overview
USDA MCP server is a Build-phase MCP integration that lets coding agents search USDA FoodData Central and compare nutrients using your data.gov API key.
What is this MCP server?
- Search the full USDA FoodData Central catalog from the agent
- Compare nutrients across foods without leaving the editor
- stdio and streamable-http transports with Bun/npm package @cyanheads/usda-mcp-server
- Requires USDA_FDC_API_KEY from data.gov for all requests
- Configurable MCP_LOG_LEVEL for debugging integration issues
- Targets the full USDA FoodData Central database via official API
- Package version 0.1.4 with stdio and streamable-http transports
Community signal: 1 GitHub stars.
What problem does it solve?
Nutrition features stall when every agent session reinvents FoodData Central HTTP calls and you cannot trust scraped food labels.
Who is it for?
Indie builders adding USDA-backed nutrition search to APIs, mobile apps, or agent-assisted meal features.
Skip if: Teams that only need static nutrition PDFs or non-U.S. food databases without FDC coverage.
What do I get? / Deliverables
After you add the server and USDA_FDC_API_KEY, your agent returns structured food and nutrient lookups you can map straight into product code.
- Agent-callable food search against FoodData Central
- Side-by-side nutrient comparison results for product modeling
- Repeatable MCP setup for nutrition-related features
Recommended MCP Servers
Journey fit
Solo builders wire third-party datasets into apps during the build phase; this server is an integration layer, not a launch or ops tool. Food and nutrient lookups are backend/API integrations agents call from Claude Code or Cursor while implementing features.
How it compares
USDA-backed data MCP for agents, not a Claude skill that teaches meal-planning methodology.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is USDA MCP server for?
Solo builders and small teams shipping products that need official U.S. food and nutrient data inside Claude Code, Cursor, or other MCP-capable agents.
When should I use USDA MCP server?
Use it during build when you are implementing food search, macro calculations, or ingredient comparisons and want the agent to hit FoodData Central directly.
How do I add USDA MCP server to my agent?
Install @cyanheads/usda-mcp-server, set USDA_FDC_API_KEY from data.gov, run start:stdio (or HTTP on port 3010), and point your agent MCP config at that command or URL.