The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) ensures nutritious meals to over 4.5 million children and adults every day. The CACFP is mainly operated in child care centers, family child care homes, and afterschool care programs, but did you know that emergency shelters can also serve meals through the food program?
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Rhonda Kobylecky is the Food Service Director for Acelero Learning Head Start which is a multi-state sponsoring organization of 48 Head Start centers serving over 4,000 children. Hear from Rhonda!
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July 19, 2024 View this post on Instagram A post shared by National CACFP Sponsors Assoc. (@nationalcacfp) Serving Child and Adult Care Food Program meals helps children and adults gain access to nutritious foods on a consistent basis. Some centers or family child care home may provide breakfast, lunch/supper, and/or snack to those in their…
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A report published in the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice examined changes in nutrition and physical activity-related best practices in ECE settings in Illinois from 2019 as compared to 2022.
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The lack of affordable, quality child care is a major area of concern across all demographics, family structures, and income levels in the United States. In fact, it’s the biggest challenge that parents want their elected officials to know about, as parents need child care to support their children’s physical health, emotional well-being, and development of life-long skills.
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Can peanuts, tree nuts, seeds or soy nuts be served to meet the full meat/meat alternate component for a meal?
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Check out these virtual events coming up this month at NCA!
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The 2024 CACFP Virtual Summit is back and registration is live! Don’t miss the biggest online training event of the year!
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Join us as a presenter in Dallas! We are now accepting presentation proposals for the 2025 National Child Nutrition Conference, set to take place at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas from April 14 to April 18.
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Over 13 million children leave school not knowing if there is supper at home, or if their next meal won’t be until the next day when they are at school. Serving meals and snacks to children in At-Risk Afterschool and Out-of-School-Time doesn’t have to be hard or complicated.
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Check out these virtual events coming up this month at NCA!
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Check out these virtual events coming up this month at NCA!
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Last month, USDA released a final rule to better align Child Nutrition Programs with the 2020-2025 DGAs. NCA is glad to see such positive changes made to Child Nutrition Programs and commends USDA for their leadership in improving program vital to child food security.
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The USDA recently released a Final Rule that better aligns meal patterns in the CACFP, SFSP, and School Meals with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
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According to a USDA report, one in every five children in the United States is food insecure, meaning that approximately 13 million children do not know where their next meal will come from. The CACFP provides quality meals to many of these children and helps working families protect their children against hunger. Read more about how CACFP contributes to food security.
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USDA released a final rule that revises regulations to align the WIC food packages with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans and to reflect recommendations from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine while promoting nutrition security and equity and considering program administration.
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Since our last policy updated, there has been new legislation introduced, a proposed rule for serious deficiency released, as well as federal and state recognition of the CACFP. There have also been multiple pieces of USDA guidance and FRAC research published regarding the CACFP.
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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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July 19, 2024 View this post on Instagram A post shared by National CACFP Sponsors Assoc. (@nationalcacfp) Serving Child and Adult Care Food Program meals helps children and adults gain access to nutritious foods on a consistent basis. Some centers or family child care home may provide breakfast, lunch/supper, and/or snack to those in their…
Read More
Can peanuts, tree nuts, seeds or soy nuts be served to meet the full meat/meat alternate component for a meal?
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Who is able to write a medical statement?
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What is a medical statement, and why might one be needed in the CACFP?
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Can frozen fruit juice bars be credited for reimbursement in the CACFP?
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What is amaranth and how is it used in the CACFP?
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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
A report published in the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice examined changes in nutrition and physical activity-related best practices in ECE settings in Illinois from 2019 as compared to 2022.
Read More
The “USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Family Day Care Home Participation Study” focuses on current and former CACFP participants among FDCH providers. These providers serve a critical need within the child care system, frequently offering longer hours of care (often at a lower cost) than other types of providers to children in their own communities and neighborhoods. This study is the first national study to ask former providers why they left. The study spans 2019–2023, which coincides with the COVID-19 public health emergency, so it provides a unique look at FDCHs during that time.
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The “USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program Participation Among U.S. Childcare Providers” examines the characteristics of childcare centers and day care home providers by whether they participated in CACFP or not.
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Across the nation, racial inequities have impacted access to federal nutrition programs for people of color. The report by D.C. Hunger Solutions aims to address how racial inequities contribute to hunger and poverty among residents of color in the District of Columbia and to lack of access to federal nutrition programs.
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When combined, the CACFP and Farm to Early Care Education (Farm to ECE) activities can have an extraordinary impact on children, child care providers, and local communities. FRAC’s report aims to support child care providers to access CACFP and utilize it for eligible Farm to ECE activities by highlighting the mutually beneficial synergy between these initiatives.
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The CACFP is an indicator for state-level obesity prevention. The inclusion of the CACFP as an indicator for obesity-prevention shows that the CACFP is an important, recognized factor for proper development in the earliest stages of life.
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The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) ensures nutritious meals to over 4.5 million children and adults every day. The CACFP is mainly operated in child care centers, family child care homes, and afterschool care programs, but did you know that emergency shelters can also serve meals through the food program?
Read More
Rhonda Kobylecky is the Food Service Director for Acelero Learning Head Start which is a multi-state sponsoring organization of 48 Head Start centers serving over 4,000 children. Hear from Rhonda!
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Beth Carlton is the Executive Director of Child Care Links , a sponsoring organization in Kansas that sponsors approximately 170 family child care homes and two centers that serve meals to around 1,800 children. Hear from Beth!
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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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Kate Abernathy is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Providers Choice which is a state-wide sponsoring organization of 3,000 family child care homes and 90 centers in Minnesota. Hear from Kate!
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Rache Cross is the Senior Director of CACFP at Caring People Alliance which sponsors family child care homes, child care centers, and At-Risk Afterschool sites in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Comment Requested – Serious Deficiency Process in the CACFP & SFSP
USDA has requested comments on their proposed rule for the Serious Deficiency process for CACFP and SFSP. They need your feedback to help them determine what changes to make!
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