Meal Pattern Minute

Looking for quick tips on some of the CACFP's hottest topics? Our nutrition education specialist, Isabel Ramos-Lebron, MS, RDN, LD, is here to help! Be sure to follow us on Instagram or on Facebook for more tips, recipes and resources! You can also find our Meal Pattern Minute Playlist on YouTube.

All Meal Pattern Minutes

Added Sugars

Breakfast

Lunch/Supper

Snack

Grains

Meats/Meat Alternates

Fruits

Vegetables

Fluid Milk

Meal Service

Documentation

Food Safety

Farm to CACFP

Infants

Older Adults

Non-Creditable Foods

All Meal Pattern Minutes

Meal Pattern Minute: Crediting Different Types of Beans, Peas or Lentils

Could you credit one type of beans, peas or lentils as a meat/meat alternate, and credit another as vegetables in the same meal?

Meal Pattern Minute: Homemade Cheese

Is homemade cheese creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Reimbursable Meals and Snacks

What does it mean for a meal or snack to be reimbursable?

Meal Pattern Minute: Creditable Meal Components

What is meant by the term “creditable meal component” in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Preparing One Vegetable Two Ways in the Same Meal

Could you serve potato wedges as a second vegetable if mashed potatoes are your first vegetable?

Meal Pattern Minute: Iron-Fortified Infant Formula

What does it mean for an infant formula to be iron fortified?

Meal Pattern Minute: Creditable Foods from Farmers Markets

Can you purchase local, CACFP creditable foods from a farmers market?

Meal Pattern Minute: Creditable Smoothie Components

Can all ingredients in a smoothie be credited in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Parent/Guardian-Supplied Components in the Infant Meal Pattern

Can a parent or guardian supply a meal component for their infant in the infant meal pattern?

Meal Pattern Minute: Savory Pie Crusts

Could the crust of a chicken pot pie credit as the grains component?

Meal Pattern Minute: Juice Cocktail

Are juice cocktails creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Raw Cow’s Milk

Is raw cow’s milk creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Fresh Fruits in Yogurt

Does mixing fresh fruits into yogurt count towards added sugars?

Meal Pattern Minute: Cereals and Grain-Based Desserts

Can breakfast cereals ever be considered a grain-based dessert?

Meal Pattern Minute: Soy Yogurt

How does soy yogurt fit into the CACFP meal pattern?

Meal Pattern Minute: Purchasing Milk Directly from a Farm

Can cow’s milk be purchased direcly from a farm and be creditablein the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Peanut Butter Spreads

Are peanut butter spreads creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Dietary Supplements in Smoothies

Can a dietary supplement be added to a smoothie in the CACFP?

Added Sugars

Meal Pattern Minute: Fresh Fruits in Yogurt

Does mixing fresh fruits into yogurt count towards added sugars?

Meal Pattern Minute: Cereals and Grain-Based Desserts

Can breakfast cereals ever be considered a grain-based dessert?

Meal Pattern Minute: Soy Yogurt

How does soy yogurt fit into the CACFP meal pattern?

Meal Pattern Minute Reminder

These regulations will go into effect in the CACFP, starting October 1, 2025.

Meal Pattern Minute: Freezing Yogurt

Can a provider serve yogurt that they have frozen?

Meal Pattern Minute: Added Sugar Limits in Breakfast Cereals

Are there updated sugar limits for breakfast cereals in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Added Sugar Limits in Yogurt

Are there updated sugar limits for yogurt in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Flavored Milk

Is there a sugar limit when serving flavored milk to ages 6 and older?

Meal Pattern Minute: Shelf-Stable Yogurt

Is shelf-stable yogurt reimbursable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Sugar in Muffins and Sweet Crackers

The CACFP has sugar limits for breakfast cereals and yogurt – what about other foods that can be high in sugar, like muffins and sweet crackers?

Meal Pattern Minute: Grain-Based Desserts

How do you define a grain-based dessert in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Mixing Cereals

Can you mix a high-sugar cereal with a low-sugar cereal, and have the average meet the CACFP sugar limits?

Meal Pattern Minute: Granola Bars

Are granola bars creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Honey Graham Crackers

It is recommended to not serve honey to infants under 1 year old – does that also apply to honey graham crackers?

Breakfast

Meal Pattern Minute: Reimbursable Meals and Snacks

What does it mean for a meal or snack to be reimbursable?

Meal Pattern Minute: Creditable Meal Components

What is meant by the term “creditable meal component” in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Sodium Limits

There are sugar limits for breakfast cereals and yogurt. Do any foods have sodium limits?

Meal Pattern Minute: Healthy Cooking Methods

What are some ways to prepare healthy and flavorful dishes for the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Serving Meats/Meat Alternates at Breakfast

Serving up scrambled eggs or meats for breakfast? Make sure you’re staying #CACFPCreditable with your menu planning!

Meal Pattern Minute: Breakfast Components

What do you need on the plate at breakfast? Can you swap meat/meat alternates in for grains?

Meal Pattern Minute: Fruit & Milk Smoothies at Breakfast

Can you be reimbursed for a breakfast for serving a smoothie made of milk and fruits or vegetables? Well, yes, but you’re going to need some details.

Lunch/Supper

Meal Pattern Minute: Reimbursable Meals and Snacks

What does it mean for a meal or snack to be reimbursable?

Meal Pattern Minute: Creditable Meal Components

What is meant by the term “creditable meal component” in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Preparing One Vegetable Two Ways in the Same Meal

Could you serve potato wedges as a second vegetable if mashed potatoes are your first vegetable?

Meal Pattern Minute: Sodium Limits

There are sugar limits for breakfast cereals and yogurt. Do any foods have sodium limits?

Meal Pattern Minute: Healthy Cooking Methods

What are some ways to prepare healthy and flavorful dishes for the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Serving a Second Vegetable in Lieu of Fruit for Lunch and/or Supper

Can you be reimbursed for a second vegetable at lunch or supper in lieu of a fruit? Let’s find out!

Snack

Meal Pattern Minute: Reimbursable Meals and Snacks

What does it mean for a meal or snack to be reimbursable?

Meal Pattern Minute: Milk Smoothies at Snack

Can a milk and fruit smoothie be served as the only item at snack?

Meal Pattern Minute: Sodium Limits

There are sugar limits for breakfast cereals and yogurt. Do any foods have sodium limits?

Meal Pattern Minute: Serving Juice and Milk

Full-strength juice can be served once per day in place of the fruit component, but can juice be served with milk for snack?

Meal Pattern Minute: Healthy Cooking Methods

What are some ways to prepare healthy and flavorful dishes for the CACFP?

Grains

Meal Pattern Minute: Creditable Meal Components

What is meant by the term “creditable meal component” in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Savory Pie Crusts

Could the crust of a chicken pot pie credit as the grains component?

Meal Pattern Minute: Cereals and Grain-Based Desserts

Can breakfast cereals ever be considered a grain-based dessert?

Meal Pattern Minute: Ounce Equivalents

What does the term “ounce equivalents” mean?

Meal Pattern Minute: Sweet Toppings

If sweet toppings are served on pancakes or waffles, is it then considered a grain-based dessert?

Meal Pattern Minute: Bean Flour Pasta

Can pasta that is made from 100% bean flour credit towards the grains component?

Meal Pattern Minute: Enriched Grains as First Ingredient

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

Meal Pattern Minute: Enriched Grains

What are enriched grains?

Meal Pattern Minute: Whole Grains

What are whole grains?

Meal Pattern Minute: Whole Grain-Rich for Infants

Do CACFP operators need to provide one whole grain-rich grain per day when serving infants?

Meal Pattern Minute: Added Sugar Limits in Breakfast Cereals

Are there updated sugar limits for breakfast cereals in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Quick Breads

Are quick breads considered grain-based desserts?

Meal Pattern Minute: Zucchini Bread

Can zucchini bread credit towards the vegetable component?

Meal Pattern Minute: Brown Rice Noodles

Are brown rice noodles creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Popped Sorghum

Is popped sorghum creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Gluten-Free Whole Grains

Are there any grains that are both gluten free and whole grain-rich?

Meal Pattern Minute: Gluten

What is gluten?

Meal Pattern Minute: Corn Masa

Is corn masa creditable in the CACFP?

Meats/Meat Alternates

Meal Pattern Minute: Crediting Beans

Can beans be creditable as a meat/meat alternates AND a vegetable in the same meal?

Fruits

Meal Pattern Minute: Creditable Meal Components

What is meant by the term “creditable meal component” in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Creditable Smoothie Components

Can all ingredients in a smoothie be credited in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Juice Cocktail

Are juice cocktails creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Fresh Fruits in Yogurt

Does mixing fresh fruits into yogurt count towards added sugars?

Meal Pattern Minute: Juice from Farm Stands

Can juice from a farm stand be served in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Açai

Are açai creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Fruit Leather

Are 100% fruit strip leather snacks creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Milk Smoothies at Snack

Can a milk and fruit smoothie be served as the only item at snack?

Meal Pattern Minute: Apple Cider Juice

Is apple cider juice creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Rhubarb

Does rhubarb credit as a fruit or a vegetable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Frozen Fruit Juice Bars

Can frozen fruit juice bars be credited for reimbursement in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Minimum Serving of Dried Fruits

If dried fruits credit for twice the volume of the fruit component, does that mean that the minimum serving is 1 tablespoon instead of 2 tablespoons?

Meal Pattern Minute: Sodium Limits

There are sugar limits for breakfast cereals and yogurt. Do any foods have sodium limits?

Meal Pattern Minute: Serving Juice and Milk

Full-strength juice can be served once per day in place of the fruit component, but can juice be served with milk for snack?

Meal Pattern Minute: Maximum Serving Sizes

The CACFP has minimum serving sizes for reimbursement – are there maximum serving sizes?

Meal Pattern Minute: Serving Juice More Than Once Per Day

100% full-strength juice is reimbursable for the fruit component in the CACFP. But how many times per day are you allowed to serve it?

Meal Pattern Minute: Home-Canned Fruits and Vegetables

We’ve covered home-frozen foods, now how about home-canned foods? Are they #CACFPCreditable?

Meal Pattern Minute: Home-Frozen Fruits

Using frozen fruit is a great way to incorporate out-of-season flavors in your menu planning. But is it #CACFPCreditable if you do the freezing yourself?

Vegetables

Meal Pattern Minute: Crediting Different Types of Beans, Peas or Lentils

Could you credit one type of beans, peas or lentils as a meat/meat alternate, and credit another as vegetables in the same meal?

Meal Pattern Minute: Creditable Meal Components

What is meant by the term “creditable meal component” in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Preparing One Vegetable Two Ways in the Same Meal

Could you serve potato wedges as a second vegetable if mashed potatoes are your first vegetable?

Meal Pattern Minute: Creditable Smoothie Components

Can all ingredients in a smoothie be credited in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Jicama

Is jicama creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Bean Flour Pasta

Can pasta that is made from 100% bean flour credit towards the grains component?

Meal Pattern Minute: Crediting Corn

Does corn credit as a vegetable or a grain in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Vegetable Spirals

Are vegetable spirals creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Pureed Vegetables

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

Meal Pattern Minute: Dehydrated Vegetables

Are dehydrated vegetables creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Edamame

Are edamame creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Tomato Sauce

Does tomato sauce credit by volume served in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Tomato Paste and Tomato Puree

Does tomato paste and tomato puree credit based on the volume served?

Meal Pattern Minute: Zucchini Bread

Can zucchini bread credit towards the vegetable component?

Meal Pattern Minute: Plantains

Are plantains credited as a fruit or a vegetable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Vegetables for Grains in Tribal Communities

Can providers who serve primarily Native Americans and Alaska Natives substitute vegetables for grains?

Meal Pattern Minute: Tomato-Based Pizza Sauce

Can you credit tomato-based pizza sauce as a vegetable component?

Meal Pattern Minute: Tomato Soup

Can store-bought tomato soup be credited as a vegetable in the CACFP?

Fluid Milk

Meal Pattern Minute: Creditable Meal Components

What is meant by the term “creditable meal component” in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Iron-Fortified Infant Formula

What does it mean for an infant formula to be iron fortified?

Meal Pattern Minute: Creditable Smoothie Components

Can all ingredients in a smoothie be credited in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Raw Cow’s Milk

Is raw cow’s milk creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Purchasing Milk Directly from a Farm

Can cow’s milk be purchased direcly from a farm and be creditablein the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Toddler Formula

Is formula made for toddlers creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Serving Milk to Mixed Ages

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

Meal Pattern Minute: Milk at Supper for Adults

Is milk required at supper for adults?

Meal Pattern Minute: Milk Transition Period

Is there a milk transition period for infants and preschool age children?

Meal Pattern Minute: Milk Smoothies at Snack

Can a milk and fruit smoothie be served as the only item at snack?

Meal Pattern Minute: Flavored Milk

Is there a sugar limit when serving flavored milk to ages 6 and older?

Meal Pattern Minute: Soy Milk Beverages

Are all soy beverages creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Lactose-Free Milk

Is lactose-free milk also dairy free?

Meal Pattern Minute: Goat’s Milk

Can you serve goat’s milk in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Sodium Limits

There are sugar limits for breakfast cereals and yogurt. Do any foods have sodium limits?

Meal Pattern Minute: Serving Juice and Milk

Full-strength juice can be served once per day in place of the fruit component, but can juice be served with milk for snack?

Meal Pattern Minute: Maximum Serving Sizes

The CACFP has minimum serving sizes for reimbursement – are there maximum serving sizes?

Meal Pattern Minute: Flavoring Milk

Can you add syrups to unflavored cow’s milk and have it be creditable?

Meal Service

Meal Pattern Minute: Parent/Guardian-Supplied Components in the Infant Meal Pattern

Can a parent or guardian supply a meal component for their infant in the infant meal pattern?

Meal Pattern Minute: Offer Versus Serve

What is Offer Versus Serve?

Meal Pattern Minute: Meal Times

Are there any restrictions on when meals and snacks must be served in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Meals for Supervising Adults

In family style meal service, are meals consumed by supervising adults reimbursable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Seconds at At-Risk Afterschool Sites

Can second servings be reimbursed for at-risk afterschool programs?

Meal Pattern Minute: At-Risk Afterschool

How many CACFP meal types can be reimbursed when serving at-risk afterschool programs?

Meal Pattern Minute: Second Servings in Family Style Dining

Can second servings be claimed for reimbursement in family style dining?

Meal Pattern Minute: Taking Food Offsite

Can food served onsite in the CACFP be taken offsite for children to eat later?

Meal Pattern Minute: Meal Counts During Family Style Dining

When serving a meal family style in the CACFP, when are meal counts taken?

Meal Pattern Minute: Reimbursement for Family Style Dining

Can a family style meal be reimbursed if a child does not serve themself all of the food components offered?

Meal Pattern Minute: Preparing Children for Family Style Dining

What can you do outside of meal service to prepare children for family style dining?

Meal Pattern Minute: Family Style Dining

What is family style dining in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Disability-Accommodated Food from Home

If a parent of a child with a disability provides all food components for a meal, can the provider be reimbursed for the meal?

Meal Pattern Minute: Offering Water

Does water have to be offered to children in the CACFP, or just made available?

Meal Pattern Minute: Age for Choking Risk

At what age are children at a higher risk for choking?

Documentation

Meal Pattern Minute Reminder

These regulations will go into effect in the CACFP, starting October 1, 2025.

Meal Pattern Minute: Medical Statements for Disability Reasons

Is a medical statement needed for meal modifications due to disability reasons?

Meal Pattern Minute: Gluten

What is gluten?

Meal Pattern Minute: Verifying CN Labels

How do you know if a CN Label is still valid?

Meal Pattern Minute: Writing Medical Statements

Who is able to write a medical statement?

Meal Pattern Minute: Medical Statements

What is a medical statement, and why might one be needed in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: May Contain Statement on Nut-Free Products

Is a manufacturer required to report if a nut-free product was made in a facility that processes nuts?

Meal Pattern Minute: Identifying Allergens on Food Packaging

Where can you find allergens listed on a food’s packaging?

Meal Pattern Minute: Meal Counts During Family Style Dining

When serving a meal family style in the CACFP, when are meal counts taken?

Meal Pattern Minute: Soy Milk Beverages

Are all soy beverages creditable in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Disability-Accommodated Food from Home

If a parent of a child with a disability provides all food components for a meal, can the provider be reimbursed for the meal?

Meal Pattern Minute: Tomato-Based Pizza Sauce

Can you credit tomato-based pizza sauce as a vegetable component?

Meal Pattern Minute: Crediting Bean/Pea Noodles as Meat/Meat Alternate

How can you credit pasta noodles that are made from beans or peas?

Meal Pattern Minute: Substituting Cheese By Volume

If you had a recipe that called for one cup of shredded cheddar cheese, could you replace it with one cup of Parmesan cheese and have the same ounce equivalency?

Meal Pattern Minute: Goat’s Milk

Can you serve goat’s milk in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Deli Meats

What documentation is needed to serve deli meats in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Product Formulation Statements

What is a PFS and when do you need one in the CACFP?

Meal Pattern Minute: Whole Grain-Rich and CN Labels

Identifying whole-grain rich items can be done through looking at the CN Label. Here’s how!

Food Safety