Check out these virtual events coming up this month at NCA!
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The USDA has released the SFSP reimbursement rates for 2025.
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Can second servings be reimbursed for at-risk afterschool programs?
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How many CACFP meal types can be reimbursed when serving at-risk afterschool programs?
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The National CACFP Association has three (3) seats up for election this year for service on the Board of Directors. Elected Board Members will begin serving their three-year term October 1, 2025.
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The National CACFP Sponsors Association (NCA) is honored to present Robin A. Paul with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding vision, dedication, and commitment to the advancement of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) community. For almost fifty years, Robin has dedicated her time, talent, and passion to the CACFP and the children and child care professionals of the Mid-Michigan area.
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The Monday of conference week is a sort of calm before the storm, but there is still so much to do for our attendees who arrived today! We loved meeting with everybody at the registration desks and seeing what states our attendees were coming from. We are welcoming over 1,700 people onsite in San Diego.
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Attendees of the 2023 National Child Nutrition Conference can receive up to 21 hours of CEUs, accredited by the Commission on Dietetic Registration.
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The USDA released a document with proposed revisions to Child Nutrition Programs’ meal patterns in order to be consistent with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. We’re partnering with USDA and other organizations to host a webinar on how these proposed changes would impact the CACFP and SFSP. After the webinar, we’ll be hosting our own Q&A session for our NCA members and their feedback.
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Fifteen scholarships have been awarded from the National CACFP Sponsors Association (NCA) for the 2023 National Child Nutrition Conference. Through the scholarship program, NCA is honored to recognize the professionals who are dedicated to ensuring that our nation’s most vulnerable populations have access to nutritious food.
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National CACFP Week is March 12-18,2023. What can you do to celebrate?
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The USDA has released the SFSP reimbursement rates for 2025.
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On December 26, 2024, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service released a request for information (RFI) to help inform future policy, guidance, and technical assistance related to grain-based desserts and high-protein yogurt crediting in Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs). This is not a proposed rule, USDA is simply seeking additional information before moving forward with any rulemaking or future policy decisions.
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The USDA released a memorandum to clarify the updated regulatory requirement for program operators to accept medical statements from registered dietitians. The change requiring program operators to accept medical statements from registered dietitians must be implemented by July 1, 2025, for school meal programs and Oct. 1, 2025, for CACFP.
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USDA updated previous guidance on Feeding Infants in the CACFP. Updates include information on medical statements, substituting vegetables for grains in specific groups, added sugar limits, and tofu and tempeh crediting.
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The USDA released a memorandum to provide updated guidance on the provisions of the 2024 final rule that apply to the grains requirements in the CACFP, which included adding a definition for whole grain-rich into CACFP regulations; changing product-based limits for breakfast cereals and yogurts from total sugars to added sugars; and updating guidance on substituting vegetables to meet the grains requirements for eligible program operators.
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The new year is just around the corner, which means this is the perfect time to reflect. What you do matters. Take a moment and really think about how your work impacts those that you serve, whether it’s the children or adults in your care, providers that you support, or sponsoring organizations you work with. Share your story with NCA!
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The Child and Adult Care Food Program has new creditable foods listed on the USDA Food Buying Guide! If you are new to the FBG, this interactive tool allows for easy display, search, and navigation of food yield information. In addition, users can compare yield information, create a favorite foods list, and access tools, such as the Recipe Analysis Workbook (RAW) and the Product Formulation Statement Workbook.
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The Child and Adult Care Food Program community asked for more Spanish resources to be available on the National CACFP Sponsors Association website and we heard you! Available now in Spanish are more resources to help sponsors and providers with meal pattern requirements, best practices, and so much more!
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Serving meals to young people year-round benefits children, families, and care providers. To do this, many providers transition from operating the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) At-Risk Afterschool (ARAS) during the school year to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) while school is out. For an overview of the main differences between SFSP and CACFP ARAS, see the comparison chart below.
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NCA understands that the end of flexibilities will cause challenges for many CACFP sponsors and providers and we commend your continued commitment to providing nutritious meals and snacks to the children or adults in your care. In preparation for the end of the additional reimbursement, we have collected the following resources to help you successfully provide meals even if your available budget decreases.
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The Exhibit A Grains Tool has a new feature that allows users to select their Program and Meal to filter the search results to only creditable grain items for their specific Program.
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CDC created three new fact sheets for Early Care and Education (ECE) providers about Early Child Nutrition and Feeding. The fact sheets offer tips and best practices for supporting breastfeeding families, information about safe storage and handling of breastmilk, and strategies for introducing solid foods.
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Can second servings be reimbursed for at-risk afterschool programs?
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How many CACFP meal types can be reimbursed when serving at-risk afterschool programs?
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Can zucchini bread credit towards the vegetable component?
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Is apple cider juice creditable in the CACFP?
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Are brown rice noodles creditable in the CACFP?
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Can second servings be claimed for reimbursement in family style dining?
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The Child and Adult Care Food Program has new creditable foods listed on the USDA Food Buying Guide! If you are new to the FBG, this interactive tool allows for easy display, search, and navigation of food yield information. In addition, users can compare yield information, create a favorite foods list, and access tools, such as the Recipe Analysis Workbook (RAW) and the Product Formulation Statement Workbook.
Read More
The Child and Adult Care Food Program community asked for more Spanish resources to be available on the National CACFP Sponsors Association website and we heard you! Available now in Spanish are more resources to help sponsors and providers with meal pattern requirements, best practices, and so much more!
Read More
Serving meals to young people year-round benefits children, families, and care providers. To do this, many providers transition from operating the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) At-Risk Afterschool (ARAS) during the school year to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) while school is out. For an overview of the main differences between SFSP and CACFP ARAS, see the comparison chart below.
Read More
NCA understands that the end of flexibilities will cause challenges for many CACFP sponsors and providers and we commend your continued commitment to providing nutritious meals and snacks to the children or adults in your care. In preparation for the end of the additional reimbursement, we have collected the following resources to help you successfully provide meals even if your available budget decreases.
Read More
The Exhibit A Grains Tool has a new feature that allows users to select their Program and Meal to filter the search results to only creditable grain items for their specific Program.
Read More
CDC created three new fact sheets for Early Care and Education (ECE) providers about Early Child Nutrition and Feeding. The fact sheets offer tips and best practices for supporting breastfeeding families, information about safe storage and handling of breastmilk, and strategies for introducing solid foods.
Read More
The “Characteristics of Emergency Shelters Participating in the CACFP” study by USDA seeks to better understand the characteristics of CACFP emergency shelters, who they serve, how CACFP fits into their operations, and their challenges with CACFP. The study was conducted in 2023 and collected data from 242 emergency shelters that participate in CACFP in Fiscal Year 2023.
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A survey was administered in the spring of 2023 of licensed California family child care homes (FCCH) to assess the perceived impacts of the increased reimbursement during the Covid-19 pandemic on CACFP participation and anticipated challenges with reinstated tiered rates.
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The USDA recently released a study on the “Characteristics of Adult Day Care Centers that Participate in the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program” which seeks to better understand key characteristics of adult day care centers participating in CACFP.
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USDA released a survey report focused on SFSP and SSO sponsors who operated the non-congregate meal service option in qualifying rural areas in summer 2023.
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Afterschool Snack Programs include the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Through NSLP schools can serve one snack afterschool, however through the CACFP schools and sponsoring organizations are able to serve a snack in addition to a supper. This additional supper is an important opportunity to meet children’s nutritional needs after the school day is over. A report by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) found that afterschool supper participation increased from October 2022 to October 2023 by 6%.
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FRAC’s latest report, Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report 2024, reveals a drop in the number of children receiving nutrition over the summer following the loss of pandemic-era waivers.
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Most people think food banks only provide food boxes for those in need. However, food banks do so much more and may also sponsor one or more federal nutrition programs, such as the CACFP. While most CACFP sponsoring organizations are only responsible for the administration and oversight of the program at their sponsored sites, food banks often provide the meals for their sponsored sites as well. The Central Texas Food Bank (CTFB) is a great example.
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The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs (CTWS) is a sponsor of the CACFP for their early childhood education center that operates a day care program for infants to children aged 3, as well as a Head start program for 3 to 5 year old children. Read about how they operate the CACFP!
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Leah Penna is the President and Founder of FP Assistance, a sponsor of unaffiliated centers and afterschool sites across the state of Texas. Hear from Leah!
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The CACFP is operated any many different settings, including child care, adult care, and emergency shelters. The CACFP also has an At-Risk Afterschool (ARAS) component that allows sites to serve children and teenagers 18 and under up to one snack and a supper. Not only are eligible sites able to serve meals after the school day, but they can also provide a meal and snack on weekends and during school closures.
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Congressman Marc Molinaro visited Jessica’s Daycare in his home district (NY-19) to witness child care and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) firsthand.
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Hear from three outstanding CACFP sponsoring organizations about the work that they do with CACFP providers to ensure the children and adults in their care receive nutritious meals.
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USDA Request for Information: Grain-Based Desserts & High-Protein Yogurt
On December 26, 2024, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service released a request for information (RFI) to help inform future policy, guidance, and technical assistance related to grain-based desserts and high-protein yogurt crediting in Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs). This is not a proposed rule, USDA is simply seeking additional information before moving forward with any rulemaking or future policy decisions.
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