Blog
Helping Kids Grow Strong: CDC’s 2025 Nutrition Report
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.
Read MoreMeal Pattern Minute: Vegetable Spirals
Are vegetable spirals creditable in the CACFP?
Read MoreCracking open child care budgets at Gov. Stein’s early childhood task force
North Carolina Governor’s Task Force on Child Care and Early Education analyze child care budgets to evaluate how to improve pay for early childhood educators.
Read MorePresident’s Budget: Proposed Cuts to Child Nutrition Grants and Training
The White House released the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2026, which includes cuts to discretionary spending for Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs). While the budget maintains full funding for Child Nutrition Programs, like the CACFP and SFSP, the cuts to discretionary spending include the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant and the Institute for Child Nutrition (ICN), a National Ally of NCA.
Read MoreCACFP: Supporting Working Families and Investing in Our Future
The CACFP has many benefits – it supports child care providers and ensures that children and adults in care receive nutritious meals. The CACFP is also critical in supporting working families and supporting the development of young children into successful adults.
Read MoreNational CACFP Association Celebrates Engagement at 2025 National Child Nutrition Conference
The National CACFP Association (NCA) proudly reports the success of the 2025 National Child Nutrition Conference (NCNC), held in Dallas, Texas, from April 14 to 18. The annual conference brought together over 1,700 professionals committed to advancing child nutrition programs including CACFP and SFSP.
Read MoreMeal Pattern Minute: Freezing Yogurt
Can a provider serve yogurt that they have frozen?
Read MoreEnhancing Child Nutrition Program Meal Standards
The USDA released a memorandum stating that they support and encourage states and school districts to experiment with meals to provide interesting, healthy, and diverse meals.
Read MoreMeal Pattern Minute: Pureed Vegetables
Can a pureed vegetable that is mixed into a dish credit towards the meal pattern?
Read MoreWhite House Releases Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment
On May 22, 2025, the White House published the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment which provides an overview of the current state of child health in the United States. The Assessment was created in response to an executive order that established the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission. The Assessment will be used to create a Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy which is required to be published by August of this year.
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