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July Virtual Events

July 1, 2025

Get a rundown on all things happening at NCA this month!

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Off-Site Monitoring in FY25

June 30, 2025

USDA has the authority to waive statutory or regulatory program requirements for Child Nutrition Programs. State Agencies can submit a 12(l) waiver application to USDA in order to allow for flexibilities, including off-site monitoring, in their state. In Fiscal Year 2025, at least nine States have applied and been approved for an off-site monitoring waiver.

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Meal Pattern Minute: Enriched Grains as First Ingredient

June 27, 2025

If a grain product list enriched grains as the first ingredient, is the product creditable in the CACFP?

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Identifying Gluten-Free Foods

June 26, 2025

Learn how to identify gluten-free foods and get a yummy gluten-free snack recipe.

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Families Demand Child Care Investment

June 25, 2025

A recent study by our partners at Child Care Aware® of America reveals that parents across the nation are struggling to find affordable, high-quality child care. The survey shows that parents are piecing together multiple care arrangements and facing challenges balancing work and caregiving.

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Meal Pattern Minute: Serving Milk to Mixed Ages

June 20, 2025

Can a mixed age group of 1- and 2-year-olds all be served unflavored 1% milk in the CACFP?

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National Child Nutrition Conference Celebrates 40 Years, Opens Call for Presenters for NCNC26 inLas Vegas

June 20, 2025

The National CACFP Association (NCA) proudly announces the 2026 National Child Nutrition Conference (NCNC26), celebrating 40 years of advancing nutrition in child and adult care settings across the country.

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June Virtual Events

June 2, 2025

Get a rundown on all things happening in June at NCA. Our Meal Pattern Boot camp is happening this month. Don’t miss out!

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National CACFP Association Reinforces Commitment to Continuing Education Through Expanded Training Opportunities

May 22, 2025

The National CACFP Association (NCA) is reaffirming its commitment to continuing education by offering a variety of virtual training opportunities that support child nutrition professionals at every stage of their careers.

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Coming This Summer! CACFP Meal Pattern Boot Camp

May 13, 2025

Serving reimbursable meals begins with a solid understanding of the CACFP meal pattern. Learn more with our Meal Pattern Boot Camp!

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May Virtual Events

May 1, 2025

Get a rundown on all things happening in May at NCA. Annual Training is happening this month. Don’t miss out!

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Virtual CACFP Summit coming this August!

April 30, 2025

We’re bringing you workshops on nutrition, program administration, operations, financial and nonprofit management, and more.

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What is Advocacy

September 26, 2024

Advocacy might seem scary, some of our most active advocates admit to being intimidated by advocacy before they got started, but it can be simple. Advocacy can be as simple as telling your friend about your job or posting a picture of the meals you make on social media (really!).

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Advisory on Parent and Caregiver Mental Health and Well-Being 

September 9, 2024

The United States Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, released an Advisory on the mental health and well-being of parents, stating an urgent need to support parents, caregivers, and families. Surgeon General’s Advisories are public statements that call the American people’s attention to a critical public health issue that require immediate awareness and action.

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USDA Request for Comment: Documentation Related to Meal Pattern Final Rule

August 27, 2024

USDA FNS is seeking input from CACFP and SFSP operators on the documentation requirement for operators serving primarily American Indian or Alaska Native children to show their eligibility for the menu planning option allowing them to serve vegetables to meet the grains requirement.

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Collection of Race and Ethnicity Data Q&A #2

August 26, 2024

FNS issued this memorandum to provide further clarification on earlier published guidance documents regarding the collection of race and ethnicity data. In addition, this guidance includes examples of challenges Program operators may encounter and best practices that may be used to collect race and ethnicity data for the CACFP and SFSP.

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Voters Want Support For Child Care

July 15, 2024

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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What’s Causing the Inequity in Reimbursement for Centers Vs. Homes 

July 11, 2024

CACFP reimbursement rates were recently released for the 2024-2025 program year. While rates increased for both centers and family child care homes, you may have noticed that centers received a larger reimbursement bump than homes. This is a result of changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is a measure, estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the average change over time in the prices of goods and services.

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More Native Foods Added to the Food Buying Guide

September 6, 2023

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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We’re Expanding Our Spanish-Language Resources!

August 2, 2023

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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Program Comparison Chart: CACFP At-Risk Afterschool and SFSP

June 21, 2023

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 Support as Covid-19 Flexibilities Come to an End

June 16, 2023

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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New Feature Available on the Exhibit A Grains Tool

March 22, 2023

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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New Factsheet for ECE Providers from the CDC

March 16, 2023

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

Meal Pattern Minute: Enriched Grains as First Ingredient

June 27, 2025

If a grain product list enriched grains as the first ingredient, is the product creditable in the CACFP?

Read More

Meal Pattern Minute: Serving Milk to Mixed Ages

June 20, 2025

Can a mixed age group of 1- and 2-year-olds all be served unflavored 1% milk in the CACFP?

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Meal Pattern Minute: Vegetable Spirals

June 13, 2025

Are vegetable spirals creditable in the CACFP?

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Meal Pattern Minute: Freezing Yogurt

June 6, 2025

Can a provider serve yogurt that they have frozen?

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Meal Pattern Minute: Pureed Vegetables

May 30, 2025

Can a pureed vegetable that is mixed into a dish credit towards the meal pattern?

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Meal Pattern Minute: Dehydrated Vegetables

May 23, 2025

Are dehydrated vegetables creditable in the CACFP?

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More Native Foods Added to the Food Buying Guide

September 6, 2023

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

We’re Expanding Our Spanish-Language Resources!

August 2, 2023

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

Program Comparison Chart: CACFP At-Risk Afterschool and SFSP

June 21, 2023

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 Support as Covid-19 Flexibilities Come to an End

June 16, 2023

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

New Feature Available on the Exhibit A Grains Tool

March 22, 2023

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

New Factsheet for ECE Providers from the CDC

March 16, 2023

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

Families Demand Child Care Investment

June 25, 2025

A recent study by our partners at Child Care Aware® of America reveals that parents across the nation are struggling to find affordable, high-quality child care. The survey shows that parents are piecing together multiple care arrangements and facing challenges balancing work and caregiving.

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Helping Kids Grow Strong: CDC’s 2025 Nutrition Report

June 18, 2025

The CDC’s 2025 Early Childhood Nutrition Report gives us a big-picture look at how young children in the U.S. are eating and growing. It focuses on kids from birth to age 5 and shares important facts about breastfeeding, starting solid foods, eating healthy and how states support good nutrition.

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CACFP Emergency Shelter Characteristics Study

December 23, 2024

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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FCCH Provider Perception of Increased Pandemic Reimbursement

December 5, 2024

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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Adult Day Care Centers in the CACFP Study

December 4, 2024

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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2023 Summer Non-Congregate Meal Service

November 21, 2024

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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The Power of the Food Program: Adult Care 

May 21, 2025

Vegas Adult Day Care is an outstanding CACFP operator that is committed to the overall health and wellbeing of the 40 older adults they serve each day. The founder of Vegas Adult Day Care, Myong Kim, began her experience with adult care as the caregiver for her own parents. After moving to Las Vegas, she was drawn to serve the senior population where she saw a need for adult care services. Check out their story!

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The Power of the Food Program: Head Start

May 15, 2025

Acelero Learning Monmouth Middlesex (Acelero) operates eight Head Start centers that serve meals to over 800 children through the CACFP. Food Service Coordinator, Stephanie Manchester, and her team work to ensure that they are providing nutritious meals for all of the children across their eight sites.

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Sponsor Spotlight: Michelle Buchanan of CASEWV

April 2, 2025

Michelle Buchanan serves as the Food Program Director at the Community Action of Southeastern West Virginia, a sponsoring organization of 65 family child care homes. Learn about her journey in the CACFP!

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Sponsor Spotlight: Denise Andrews of For the Children, Inc.

March 3, 2025

Denise Andrews is CEO and Director of For the Children, Inc. which is a sponsoring organization of family child care homes in Oklahoma. Learn about her journey in the CACFP!

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The Power of the Food Program: Food Banks

November 20, 2024

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 Power of the Food Program in Tribal Nations

November 4, 2024

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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