This memorandum informs stakeholders on the progress made by FNS in updating the food crediting system for all child nutrition programs. This is a first step towards improving the crediting system to best address today’s evolving food and nutrition environment and meet the needs of those operating and benefiting from the CNPs.
On April 25, 2016, FNS published the final rule “Child and Adult Care Food Program: Meal Pattern Revisions Related to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010." Child nutrition program operators were required to comply with these updated meal pattern requirements no later than Oct. 1, 2017.
This memorandum explains the grain requirements for the CACFP established in the final rule, “Child and Adult Care Food Program: Meal Pattern Revisions Related to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.” This revision further clarifies how to determine if a grain product meets the whole grain-rich criteria.
On April 25, 2016, FNS published the final rule, “Child and Adult Care Food Program: Meal Pattern Revisions Related to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010” to update the National School Lunch Program’s and School Breakfast Program’s meal pattern requirements for infants and preschoolers.
This memorandum provides guidance on meals served to preschoolers when they are in the same service area at the same time as grade K-5 students, and it includes Questions and Answers. Additional guidance on the National School Lunch Program’s and School Breakfast Program’s infant and preschool meal pattern requirements will be issued soon.
On June 30, FNS published memorandum CACFP 17-2017, Documenting Meals in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, which provides guidance on how meals served in the CACFP must be documented to demonstrate compliance with the meal pattern requirements.
This memorandum provides flexibility in the service of grain-based desserts in the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Memorandum CACFP 02-2017, Grain Requirements in the Child and Adult Care Food Program; Questions and Answers, October 14, 2016, will be revised to reflect this flexibility.
This memorandum, which was in effect from May 10, 2017 through Sept. 30, 2018, outlined a transition period for implementing the updated CACFP meal patterns and the updated infant and preschool meal patterns in the national school lunch and school breakfast programs.
This memorandum explains the vegetable and fruit requirements in the CACFP and includes questions and answers.
This memorandum provides questions and answers on the meal pattern requirements for the Child and Adult Care Food Program. FNS collected and answered a variety of questions since the updated meal patterns were published in April 2016.