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Meal Pattern Minute: Crediting Coconut

October 7, 2022

Coconut is a fruit that can be enjoyed in many ways - fresh, frozen, shredded, dried, as coconut water or coconut milk, and there are even ways to use coconut flour. But what is creditable in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and what is not? Hint: not all of those forms of coconut are creditable. Find out what you can and cannot serve with this Meal Pattern Minute from our nutrition education specialist, Isabel Ramos-Lebron, MS, RDN, LD.

 

After you've watched the video, here are some additional things to remember about this flexibility, which you can find in the Fruits section of the Crediting Handbook for the CACFP:

  • Dried coconut credits as double its volume. So if you were to serve 1/4 cup of dried coconut, it would credit for 1/2 cup of fruit.
  • The minimum amount of fruit served to be creditable is 1/8 cup, or 2 tablespoons.
  • Remember that when serving full-strength coconut water as a full-strength juice, juice may only be served as the fruit component once per day.

 

For more information on serving coconut in the CACFP, check out these resources from USDA:

 

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