Beef jerky sticks can be a quick and tasty snack, but are they creditable in the CACFP?
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Based on feedback from our members, NCA has developed model comments to help you provide feedback to USDA about the Proposed Rule regarding changes to meal patterns to be consistent with the 2020 DGAs.
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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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Feeling the warmer breeze and seeing flowers sprouting everywhere? It must be that Spring has sprung in your area!
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When do you need a medical statement in order to serve soy milk to your #CACFP participants?
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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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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 CACFP plays a vital role in nutrition equity for children and adults in centers and day care homes by providing access to healthful meals. Sponsors and providers are critical for the continued success of this program. The required annual training in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a critical component in…
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We are starting 2023 off right with some brand new, CACFP-approved recipes. Join us on Zoom for this fun, free webinar!
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We want you to be empowered to turn any healthy recipe into a creditable one. Join us on Thursday, December 15, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm Eastern for How to Credit Recipes in the CACFP.
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Based on feedback from our members, NCA has developed model comments to help you provide feedback to USDA about the Proposed Rule regarding changes to meal patterns to be consistent with the 2020 DGAs.
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Today, March 14, 2023, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), along with cosponsors, introduced a resolution to designate the third week of March 2023 as National CACFP Week.
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In September 2022, FNS published the Final Rule: Streamlining Program Requirements and Improving Integrity in the SFSP. Compliance with the provisions of the rule must begin by May 1, 2023. The USDA released a memo to provide guidance for state agencies and program operators on SFSP performance standards, budgets, and management plans which were aligned with other child nutrition programs through the final rule.
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Summer EBT will provide EBT benefits on an ongoing basis to low-income children during the summer months to ensure continued access to meals and snacks when school is not in session. For 2024, benefits are an amount equal to $40 per month per eligible child during the summer operational period.
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The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, established a permanent non-congregate meal service option for rural areas with no congregate meal service available. This memorandum provides guidance on the administration and operation of non-congregate meal service in rural areas during summer 2023 for the SFSP.
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In December 2022, NCA carried out a member survey to obtain feedback on policy issues and COVID-19 flexibilities from CACFP sponsoring organizations and providers. The results of the survey will be used to inform NCAs advocacy efforts moving forward.
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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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Snacks can be a great way to give CACFP participants the nutrients and energy they need between meals. Use this resource to learn more.
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NCA Members can download these meal component activity pages. Each activity page includes crafts, games, recipes and more! Theres a page for each meal component in the CACFP.
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Managing sugar at breakfast time for children is a tall order. If you find that you need a helping hand putting together a low-sugar, creditable breakfast, check out these resources.
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These five CACFP weekly menu templates were designed by us, the National CACFP Sponsors Association, so you can trust that they’re not only tried and true, but also up to speed on the current demands of the CACFP. Use these free fillable menus, and your weekly meal planning will become a breeze. Each one is organized by age, meal, and meal component.
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Are herbs and spices reimbursable in the CACFP? You need them to make your healthy meals and snacks flavorful, but are they reimbursable, or even allowable, in the meal pattern?
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Coconut is so versatile! You can eat it fresh or shredded, and there’s even coconut water and coconut milk. So, is this jack-of-all-trades fruit creditable in the CACFP?
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Is almond milk reimbursable in the CACFP? Between dairy allergies and dietary preferences, it’s a popular beverage, so we’re not surprised you want to know!
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You want to include popcorn for your menu, but is it reimbursable as a vegetable in the CACFP? The answer may surprise you.
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So you want to stir raisins into oatmeal or sprinkle dried mango on top of yogurt. How do you credit that dried fruit in the CACFP meal pattern?
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You really want to know: why are muffins creditable but doughnuts are not?!
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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.
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
Snacks can be a great way to give CACFP participants the nutrients and energy they need between meals. Use this resource to learn more.
Read More
NCA Members can download these meal component activity pages. Each activity page includes crafts, games, recipes and more! Theres a page for each meal component in the CACFP.
Read More
Managing sugar at breakfast time for children is a tall order. If you find that you need a helping hand putting together a low-sugar, creditable breakfast, check out these resources.
Read More
These five CACFP weekly menu templates were designed by us, the National CACFP Sponsors Association, so you can trust that they’re not only tried and true, but also up to speed on the current demands of the CACFP. Use these free fillable menus, and your weekly meal planning will become a breeze. Each one is organized by age, meal, and meal component.
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In December 2022, the Indiana University CACFP Project Team released a report describing the child nutrition and care provision experiences among early care and education (ECE) stakeholders, sponsors, and center directors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted in four states and a variety of ECE stakeholders participated. The study identifies six common experiences among ECE stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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In December 2022, the Indiana University CACFP Project Team released a report describing the facilitators and barriers to CACFP participation by family child care homes (FCCHs). The report concludes with suggestions for potential strategies to promote participation in the CACFP by FCCHs. The study was conducted in two states, Arizona and New York, that have varying levels of CACFP participation. The study outlines the facilitators and barriers to FCCHs’ enrollment in CACFP and recommends a few strategies to increase participation.
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In October 2021 the USDA released a report on the Study of Nutrition and Activity in Child Care Settings (SNACS), which is the first nationally representative, comprehensive assessment of the CACFP.
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December 2, 2022 Providing Meals in Early Childhood Settings report Hunger Free Vermont conducted a statewide survey of early childhood programs in late 2021, seeking to understand what barriers early childhood providers face when it comes to providing food to program participants. The Providing Meals in Early Childhood Settings report identified the most common barriers…
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The 2022 FACTS Report suggests problems in food advertising to children, and the newly issued National Strategy on Hunger may offer a solution.
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This is a broad overview of the newly published findings of the 2021 study conducted by the National Farm to School Network and Michigan State University’s Center for Regional Food Systems. Read the complete report for an in-depth look at their findings.
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Eleven years ago, Lidia Madrid opened Kidz Korner in Payson, Arizona to see her children and other local children grow up and learn safely in a town where there were limited child care options.
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Shedron Davis is the Founder and Executive Director of Alpha & Omega, and her mission is to empower children to succeed through a healthy lifestyle.
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Jessica Coleman is the children’s day care supervisor and CACFP manager at Generations, an intergenerational daycare in Virginia.
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With experience and credentials like hers, it’s no surprise that the Food and Nutrition Services office selected Andrea Rivera to create a new community food service program at the start of the pandemic.
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Kyle Jackson is an area director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County, and a true leader in executing at-risk after school meal operation
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People Attentive to Children Hawaii, PATCH, has a straightforward mission: to support and improve the quality and availability of care for the young people of Hawaii. In fact, this mission is stated so plainly that it could be misunderstood as easy when it is simply direct.
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