Visual Assets
Asset Library v10.0 -- Master Sourcing Reference
Asset
Library
Library
Every source. Every license. Every use case.
The definitive reference for sourcing photos, icons, illustrations, and compliance materials across all GFS customer segments -- K-12, USDA, healthcare, corrections, emergency feeding, distributors, and manufacturers.
Government
Photography
Icons
Illustrations
02Government & Public Domain Sources
Government agencies produce enormous volumes of photography, infographics, posters, and icons -- all public domain or freely licensed. These are the safest, most defensible assets GFS can use. No licensing fees. No attribution traps. No model release concerns for official program imagery.
USDA Team Nutrition
Posters, Cafeteria Graphics, Education Materials
School meal posters, MyPlate materials, cafeteria signage, nutrition education handouts. Essential for K-12 proposals and training decks.
Public Domain -- U.S. Government Work
USDA FNS Infographics
Infographics, Program Explainers, Standards Charts
School meal standards visualizations, SNAP/WIC program explainers, CACFP materials. Use in compliance documentation and customer presentations.
Public Domain -- U.S. Government Work
USDA Flickr
94,000+ Photos -- Agriculture, Food Programs
High-resolution agriculture photography, school lunch service, farm-to-table supply chain, commodity distribution. Best single source for food system imagery.
Public Domain / CC -- Check per image
USDA ARS Image Gallery
6,500+ Images -- Agriculture, Food Science
Raw commodity photography, food safety lab imagery, agricultural research, close-up product shots. Ideal for product sheets and technical documents.
Public Domain -- U.S. Government Work
FDA Retail Food Protection Posters
Training Posters, Handwashing, Temp Control
Food safety training materials in 9 languages. Handwashing posters, temperature control charts, employee health guidelines. Critical for facility compliance.
Public Domain -- U.S. Government Work
FDA Food Safety Infographics
Nutrition Labels, Consumer Education, Safety Graphics
Nutrition facts label guides, allergen awareness, food recall graphics, consumer safety education. Use in training materials and customer onboarding.
Public Domain -- U.S. Government Work
CDC PHIL
Public Health Imagery -- Inspection, Healthcare
Public health inspection photography, hospital foodservice environments, laboratory food testing, pathogen imagery. Use in food safety and healthcare verticals.
Public Domain -- U.S. Government Work (most)
HHS Image Galleries
Public Domain Health & Nutrition Images
Health and human services photography, senior nutrition programs, community health centers, institutional feeding settings.
Public Domain -- U.S. Government Work
FEMA Media
Disaster Response, Emergency Feeding, Logistics
Emergency feeding operations, disaster relief logistics, mass meal distribution, mobile kitchen deployments. Essential for emergency/migrant feeding proposals.
Public Domain -- U.S. Government Work
DVIDS
Military Foodservice, Emergency Ops, Warehousing
Military dining facility operations, MRE distribution, large-scale logistics, warehouse operations, cold chain transport. Excellent for institutional feeding imagery.
Public Domain -- U.S. Government Work
OCHA Humanitarian Icons
500 Public Domain Icons -- Emergency & Crisis
Emergency response icons, food distribution symbols, shelter/logistics/health icons. Industry-standard for humanitarian communications and emergency feeding dashboards.
Public Domain -- UN OCHA
WFP UI Icons
Food Aid, Logistics, Humanitarian Assistance Icons
Food aid distribution icons, supply chain logistics symbols, nutrition program icons. Purpose-built for food assistance operations and reporting interfaces.
Apache 2.0 -- Free Commercial Use
Government source priority. Always check government sources first. They are free, legally safe, and contextually appropriate for GFS's customer base. USDA Flickr alone has more relevant food system photography than any commercial stock service.
03Free Stock Photography
Free stock photography fills gaps that government sources do not cover -- modern kitchen environments, stylized food photography, abstract logistics imagery, and lifestyle shots. Always verify individual image licenses before commercial use.
Unsplash
Free Commercial -- Food, Manufacturing, Logistics
Food manufacturing facilities, warehouse interiors, logistics operations, modern commercial kitchens. High-quality, high-resolution. Best general-purpose free stock source.
Unsplash License -- Free commercial, no attribution required
Pexels
Free -- Foodservice, Kitchens, Schools, Logistics
Commercial kitchen scenes, school cafeterias, delivery trucks, food prep environments. Strong video library. No attribution required.
Pexels License -- Free commercial, no attribution
Pixabay
6.1M+ Images, Vectors, Videos
Massive library covering food, agriculture, packaging, industrial equipment. Includes vectors and video. Check for third-party content rights on identifiable subjects.
Pixabay License -- Free commercial (check third-party rights)
Foodiesfeed
Food Photography -- CC0, Free Commercial
High-quality food photography: plated meals, ingredients, cooking processes, restaurant settings. Perfect for product presentations and marketing collateral.
CC0 / Foodiesfeed License -- Free commercial
Openverse
800M+ Openly Licensed Images
Meta-search across 50+ sources including Flickr, Wikimedia, museum collections. Filter by license type. Largest single aggregator of openly licensed imagery.
Varies by image -- CC-BY, CC0, Public Domain
Creative Commons Search
Multi-Source CC Discovery Engine
Searches across multiple CC-licensed repositories simultaneously. Filter by commercial use, modification rights, and source. Good for niche subjects.
Varies -- Always verify per image
Wikimedia Commons
Public Domain -- USDA Materials, Food Categories
Extensive USDA re-uploaded materials, food category reference images, historical food system photography, agricultural commodity images.
Varies -- Public Domain, CC-BY, CC-BY-SA
StockSnap
Curated Free Stock -- CC0
Curated, high-quality general stock photography. Good for business environments, team photos, office settings, and professional backgrounds.
CC0 -- Free commercial, no attribution
Free stock caution. "Free" does not mean "risk-free." Always check: (1) Does the image contain identifiable people? Model releases may be absent. (2) Does it contain trademarks or branded products? (3) Is the license truly commercial-use? Some CC licenses prohibit commercial use (CC-BY-NC). When in doubt, prefer government sources.
04Icon Libraries
Icons are the connective tissue of GFS interfaces. Every dashboard, document, and presentation uses them. The libraries below cover our needs from UI controls to humanitarian reporting to brand logos.
Lucide
1,500+ Icons -- ISC License
Clean, consistent stroke icons for UI. Navigation, actions, status indicators, file types. Fork of Feather Icons with active development.
ISC License -- Free commercial, attribution appreciated
Tabler Icons
4,500+ Icons -- MIT License
Extensive coverage: commerce, logistics, food, medical, transport, weather. Consistent 24x24 grid. SVG + web font + React/Vue components available.
MIT License -- Free commercial, no restrictions
Noun Project
Millions of Icons -- CC-BY or Paid
Deepest catalog for niche subjects: food processing equipment, commodity types, institutional kitchen tools, HACCP symbols. Use CC-BY with attribution or purchase for clean license.
CC-BY (free w/ attribution) or royalty-free ($)
Phosphor Icons
6,000+ Icons -- MIT License
Six weights per icon (thin, light, regular, bold, fill, duotone). Excellent for building weight-matched icon systems. React, Vue, Flutter, and Figma support.
MIT License -- Free commercial, no restrictions
Simple Icons
3,000+ Brand Logos -- CC0
Brand and service logos: carrier logos, platform icons, social media, technology partners. SVG format with official brand colors included.
CC0 -- Public Domain Dedication
Heroicons
300+ Icons -- MIT License
Built by Tailwind CSS team. Outline and solid variants. Minimal but highly polished. Best for clean UI elements where fewer, well-crafted icons are needed.
MIT License -- Free commercial
GFS Custom Icon Library
396 Icons -- Proprietary
Purpose-built for GFS: commodity types, cold chain symbols, routing indicators, compliance badges, customer segment icons. Always prefer GFS icons when available.
GFS Proprietary -- Internal use only
OCHA Humanitarian Icons
500 Icons -- Public Domain
The global standard for humanitarian communications: food security, logistics, shelter, health, water/sanitation. Required for FEMA/emergency feeding reporting.
Public Domain -- UN OCHA
Icon Count Comparison
Noun Project shown at reduced opacity -- count is in the millions but many are community-contributed with variable quality.
Icon selection priority. 1) GFS Custom icons first. 2) Lucide or Tabler for general UI. 3) OCHA for humanitarian/emergency contexts. 4) Phosphor for weight-variant needs. 5) Noun Project as last resort for niche subjects.
05Illustration Libraries
Illustrations add warmth and clarity to dashboards, empty states, onboarding flows, and presentations. All sources below provide SVG output that can be color-matched to the GFS palette.
unDraw
Free SVG Illustrations -- No Attribution
Clean, modern SVG illustrations with on-site color customization. Categories: business, logistics, data, teamwork, technology. Set color to Cobalt (#092F64) before download.
Open-source -- Free commercial, no attribution needed
Haikei
SVG Background & Pattern Generators
Procedural SVG backgrounds: waves, blobs, stacked layers, gradient meshes. Export as SVG or PNG. Use GFS palette colors for on-brand decorative backgrounds.
Free -- Commercial use permitted
Blush
Customizable Illustrations -- Multiple Styles
Mix-and-match illustration builder with multiple art styles. People, scenes, objects. Customizable skin tones, poses, and compositions. Good for diverse team representations.
Free tier available -- Commercial license for premium
Open Doodles
Free Hand-Drawn Illustrations
Casual, hand-drawn style illustrations. People in everyday situations. Best for internal communications, training materials, and culture content where formal illustrations feel too corporate.
CC0 -- Public Domain Dedication
GFS Custom Illustrations
70+ Custom SVGs -- Proprietary
Purpose-built GFS illustrations: supply chain diagrams, cold chain visualizations, route maps, food system infographics, generative patterns. Always use GFS custom illustrations when they exist for the subject.
GFS Proprietary -- Internal use only
Illustration rules. Always re-color third-party illustrations to the GFS palette before use. Set primary color to Cobalt (#092F64), accent to Tufts (#468BE6). Never mix illustration styles on the same page. GFS custom illustrations take priority over all external sources.
06Search Terms by Customer Type
Finding the right asset starts with the right search terms. This table maps each GFS customer segment to proven search queries and the sources most likely to have relevant results.
| Customer Type | Search Terms | Best Sources |
|---|---|---|
| K-12 | school lunch, cafeteria serving line, child nutrition, student meal, school kitchen, MyPlate, NSLP, tray line | USDA Team Nutrition, USDA Flickr, Pexels, Unsplash |
| Foodservice Distributors | warehouse loading dock, pallet jack, cold storage, distribution center, food delivery truck, broadline distribution, walk-in cooler | Unsplash, Pexels, DVIDS, USDA Flickr |
| Food Manufacturing | food production line, cheese manufacturing, food processing plant, industrial kitchen, food packaging, HACCP, SQF audit | USDA ARS, Unsplash, Pixabay, Pexels |
| Food Safety | food safety inspection, handwashing station, temperature monitoring, HACCP plan, food thermometer, gloves hairnet, sanitation | FDA Posters, CDC PHIL, USDA ARS, Unsplash |
| Healthcare | hospital cafeteria, patient meal tray, healthcare dining, dietary department, therapeutic diet, senior nutrition, clinical nutrition | HHS, CDC PHIL, Unsplash, Pexels |
| Corrections | institutional kitchen, large batch cooking, tilt skillet, steam kettle, institutional foodservice, commissary, bulk meal prep | DVIDS, USDA Flickr, Unsplash, Pixabay |
| Emergency / Migrant Feeding | emergency feeding, disaster relief meals, mobile kitchen, mass feeding, humanitarian food aid, field kitchen, MRE distribution | FEMA Media, DVIDS, OCHA Icons, USDA Flickr |
| Senior Nutrition | meals on wheels, congregate meals, senior center dining, elderly nutrition, home delivered meals, aging services, nutrition program | HHS, USDA Flickr, Unsplash, Pexels |
| Logistics / Cold Chain | reefer truck, cold chain logistics, temperature controlled, refrigerated warehouse, dock loading, pallet wrap, freight, LTL | Unsplash, Pexels, DVIDS, Pixabay |
| Broker Portals | business dashboard, analytics interface, data visualization, CRM screenshot, sales pipeline, commodity pricing, trading floor | Unsplash, Pexels, unDraw, Pixabay |
Search strategy. Start with the most specific term first. If results are too narrow, broaden one word at a time. Combine source-specific searches: run the same query on USDA Flickr, then Unsplash, then Pexels. Save winning search terms to avoid re-discovery. Tag downloads immediately.
07Asset Categories to Build
Organize all sourced assets into the following 12 categories. Each folder has a defined scope, priority level, and recommended sources. This is the target folder structure for the GFS asset management system.
Folder
What to Collect / Best Sources
Priority
01-K12-School-Meals/
Cafeteria serving lines, student meals, MyPlate materials, school kitchen prep, nutrition education posters. Sources: USDA Team Nutrition, USDA Flickr, Pexels
HIGH
02-USDA-Compliance/
USDA program logos, CN label examples, Buy American documentation, meal pattern charts, commodity spec sheets. Sources: USDA FNS, USDA Team Nutrition
HIGH
03-Food-Safety/
Handwashing posters (9 languages), temperature logs, HACCP flow diagrams, allergen charts, sanitation SOPs. Sources: FDA Posters, CDC PHIL, USDA ARS
HIGH
04-Production-Facility/
Manufacturing floor photography, production line images, packaging equipment, quality control labs, SQF/BRC audit environments. Sources: USDA ARS, Unsplash, Pixabay
HIGH
05-Logistics-Distribution/
Reefer trucks, warehouse interiors, loading docks, pallet operations, cold chain monitoring equipment, route maps. Sources: Unsplash, Pexels, DVIDS
MEDIUM
06-Healthcare-Foodservice/
Hospital cafeterias, patient meal trays, dietary office environments, clinical nutrition settings, senior care dining. Sources: HHS, CDC PHIL, Unsplash
MEDIUM
07-Corrections-Institutional/
Institutional kitchens (no inmate faces), steam kettles, bulk prep areas, tray line operations, commissary environments. Sources: DVIDS, USDA Flickr, Pixabay
MEDIUM
08-Emergency-Migrant-Feeding/
Mobile kitchens, emergency meal distribution, disaster relief operations, field feeding, humanitarian logistics. Sources: FEMA Media, DVIDS, OCHA Icons
MEDIUM
09-Foodservice-Distributor/
Broadline distribution, walk-in cooler interiors, order picking, delivery driver handoff, case stacking, distributor warehouse. Sources: Unsplash, Pexels, USDA Flickr
STANDARD
10-Product-Photography/
GFS product shots, branded packaging, ingredient close-ups, plated meal presentations, commodity raw materials. Sources: GFS internal, Foodiesfeed, USDA ARS
HIGH
11-Icons-Diagrams/
GFS custom icons, flow diagrams, process charts, system architecture visuals, data visualization templates. Sources: GFS Custom, Lucide, Tabler, OCHA
HIGH
12-Social-Presentation-Assets/
Social media templates, presentation backgrounds, email header graphics, branded patterns, event banners. Sources: GFS Custom, Haikei, unDraw, Unsplash
STANDARD
Folder discipline. Every downloaded asset goes into one of these 12 folders. File naming convention:
CATEGORY-SOURCE-DESCRIPTION-YYYYMMDD.ext (e.g., K12-USDA-cafeteria-serving-line-20260517.jpg). No loose files. No "misc" folders.
08Legal & Brand Safety
Not all free assets are safe to use. This table identifies the highest-risk asset categories GFS encounters and provides clear recommendations for each.
| Asset Category | Risk Level | Key Concerns | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photos of Children | HIGH | Model release requirements, COPPA concerns, parental consent, reputational risk if misused. School districts are extremely sensitive to child imagery. | Use only USDA/government-provided school meal imagery where consent was obtained at the program level. Never use stock photos of identifiable children in GFS materials. Prefer images showing meals, trays, and serving lines without faces. |
| Healthcare Patients | HIGH | HIPAA implications, patient consent, hospital policy restrictions, dignity concerns. | Never use images of actual patients. Use only stock photos clearly marked as staged/model. Prefer images of healthcare dining environments, meal trays, and equipment without people. |
| Corrections Imagery | HIGH | Incarcerated individuals cannot freely consent. Institutional sensitivity. Political and reputational risk. | Never show faces of incarcerated individuals. Use only images of kitchens, equipment, and food prep areas. DVIDS military dining images are a safer alternative for institutional feeding context. |
| Migrant / Emergency Feeding | HIGH | Vulnerable populations, immigration politics, dignity concerns, potential for images to be taken out of context. | Use FEMA/OCHA official imagery only. Focus on logistics, equipment, and operations -- not people. Never use images that could identify individuals receiving emergency food assistance. |
| Government Agency Assets | LOW | Generally public domain but some contain embedded copyrighted elements (fonts, stock photos within composites). Cannot imply government endorsement. | Safe to use with attribution. Do not alter official seals or logos. Do not imply GFS is endorsed by or affiliated with any government agency. Verify that composite materials do not contain licensed stock photography. |
| Free Stock Photography | MEDIUM | License terms vary by platform and change over time. Model releases may not cover all commercial uses. Some "free" images are uploaded without rights. | Always screenshot the license page at time of download. Avoid identifiable people in free stock unless the platform explicitly provides model releases. Keep a license log with download date, source URL, and license type. |
| AI-Generated Images | MEDIUM | Copyright status unresolved in U.S. law. Training data may include copyrighted material. Cannot register copyright on AI output. Deepfake/authenticity concerns. | May use for internal mockups and concept exploration only. Do not use AI-generated images in customer-facing materials, proposals, or published content until legal status is clarified. Label all AI-generated content as such internally. |
When in doubt, do not use it. The cost of replacing an image is zero. The cost of a licensing dispute, consent violation, or reputational incident is not. Always default to government sources and equipment/environment shots over people photography.
09Asset Tagging System
Every asset in the GFS library must be tagged with structured metadata across eight dimensions. This enables fast retrieval, license compliance tracking, and brand consistency enforcement.
Customer Type
K-12
USDA Programs
Healthcare
Corrections
Emergency Feeding
Migrant Services
Senior Nutrition
Foodservice Distributor
Food Manufacturer
Broker
Internal / Corporate
Asset Type
Photo
Icon
Illustration
Infographic
Poster
Diagram
Pattern / Texture
Video
Logo
Template
Usage Rights
Public Domain
CC0
CC-BY
CC-BY-SA
MIT
ISC
Apache 2.0
Platform License (Unsplash/Pexels)
Paid License
GFS Proprietary
Unknown / Verify
Brand
GFS Corporate
Right Start
Power Up
MeltMates
Multi-Brand
Unbranded / Generic
Theme
Food / Meals
Logistics / Supply Chain
Cold Chain
Manufacturing / Production
Safety / Compliance
People / Teams
Facilities / Equipment
Data / Analytics
Agriculture / Farm
Packaging / Labels
Risk Level
LOW -- Government/PD source, no people
MEDIUM -- Free stock, general people, verify license
HIGH -- Children, patients, vulnerable populations, AI-generated
Approved Use
External -- Customer Facing
External -- Website / Social
External -- Print / Packaging
Internal -- Dashboards / Tools
Internal -- Presentations
Internal -- Training Only
Mockup / Concept Only
Expiration
Perpetual -- No expiration (PD/CC0/MIT)
Annual Review -- Verify license still valid
Date-Limited -- License expires [DATE]
Seasonal -- Use only during [SEASON/EVENT]
One-Time -- Single use, do not reuse
Example Metadata Record
file: K12-USDA-cafeteria-serving-line-20260517.jpg
customer_type: K-12
asset_type: Photo
usage_rights: Public Domain
brand: Unbranded / Generic
theme: Food / Meals
risk_level: LOW
approved_use: External -- Customer Facing
expiration: Perpetual
source_url: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/12345678
download_date: 2026-05-17
downloaded_by: M. Levine
Tagging is mandatory. No asset enters the GFS library without all eight tag groups filled. This is not optional metadata -- it is the license compliance and brand safety system. An untagged asset is an unusable asset.