Meal Pattern Minute: Meal Times

When it comes to serving meals and snacks through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), most providers are well-versed in meeting the meal pattern requirements. But beyond what’s on the plate, another important question often comes up: Are there specific rules about when meals and snacks must be served? Understanding whether there are time restrictions when serving children and adults can help ensure your program stays compliant while still meeting the needs of those you serve. 

Tune in to this Meal Pattern Minute with Isabel Ramos-Lebron, MS, RDN, LD. In this quick video, she explains what the federal regulations say about mealtimes and where state-specific rules may apply. Below you’ll also find a helpful script and resources to guide your understanding and help you confidently meet CACFP requirements. 

The answer is that it depends. Federal regulations do not require meals or snacks to be served at specific times. However, each State may have their own rules about meal times and spacing between meals. If you’re unsure about the regulations in your State, check with your State agency or sponsoring organization.  

• As each state may have its own additional regulations, it is important to consult your State agency or sponsoring organization to have the most up-to-date information about meal service times. Current federal regulations about mealtimes can be found in the electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR):  7 CFR 226.20(k).
• Time of meal service. State agencies may require any institution or facility to allow a specific amount of time to elapse between meal services or require that meal services not exceed a specified duration. 
• If feeding infants, refer to the USDA Memo: CACFP 06-2025 Feeding Infants and Meal Pattern Requirements in CACFP – Q&As.
  • Infants may experience hunger outside of typical mealtimes. For this reason, it is recommended that infants be fed on demand, which means feeding them when they show signs of being hungry. Infant meals must not be disallowed due solely to the fact that they are not served within the institution or facility’s established mealtime periods.

Want to share this video on Facebook? Click here, and then you'll find three icons along the right side of the screen. Click on the arrow, and you'll be able to choose whether you want to share it to your feed or to a group. You can also include a short note about why this Meal Pattern Minute is so important! Click on the "Post" button when you're finished, and that's it!