In honor of National CACFP Week (March 13-19, 2022), on Monday, March 14, 2022, Team Nutrition held a special CACFP Halftime: Thirty on Thursdays webinar on “Grains Ounce Equivalent Tools for Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Operators.” This webinar highlighted resources, training materials, and frequently asked questions related to using ounce equivalents for grains. This webinar was recorded and will be made available from the CACFP Halftime: Thirty on Thursdays Webinar Series webpage at a later date.
Throughout March 2022, FNS regional offices, state agencies, and other organizations will also be hosting trainings and activities for CACFP operators and others on the use of ounce equivalents for grains. This collaborative effort will help draw attention to many resources and supports available to operators as they use ounce equivalents for grains. Additionally, these follow-on trainings will allow for more personalized trainings that better target specific needs of operators on the local level.
To view Team Nutrition’s resources for using grains ounce equivalents in the CACFP, including recorded webinars and other online trainings, please visit the CACFP Grains Ounce Equivalents Resource webpage.
Trainings and Activities
- March 4, 2022: The Oregon Department of Education will send out their monthly newsletter to CACFP sponsoring organizations. This newsletter will include a section that highlights resources related to grains ounce equivalents.
- March 9-10, 2022: The Child Care Food Program (CCFP) at the Florida Department of Health will host an in-person training on “Healthy Habits in the CCFP” in Tampa, Florida. This 3.5 hour training for operators from child care centers and family child care homes will include a segment on grains ounce equivalents.
- March 12, 2022: The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will be collaborating with Cooking Matters in providing a training on "Grains Ounce Equivalents for CACFP Week." This will be a live online training for operators from child care centers and family child care homes.
- Week of March 13, 2022: The Vermont Agency of Education Child Nutrition Programs will send a National CACFP Week email to their Child Care Listserv to promote a recorded webinar recording on “Serving and Crediting Grains in Ounce Equivalents," as well as their Serving Sizes for Grain Products resource.
- Week of March 13, 2022: The Michigan Department of Education will release a recorded online training on “Using Ounce Equivalents for Grains in the CACFP." This training is for CACFP institutions and facilities, including school food authorities, independent centers, sponsoring organizations of centers and family child care homes and family child care homes
- March 13-19, 2022: The Maryland State Department of Education plans to promote their online courses on "Using Ounce Equivalents to Measure Grains in the CACFP." They will also promote Team Nutrition's grains ounce equivalents resources via Instagram and Twitter.
- March 14, 2022: The Nevada Department of Agriculture will provide training on grains ounce equivalents to their sponsoring organizations via Zoom. This recording will be uploaded to the online Nevada Nutrition Programs System for future reference.
- March 30-31, 2022: The Child Care Food Program (CCFP) at the Florida Department of Health will host an in-person training on “Healthy Habits in the CCFP” in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This 3.5 hour training for child care centers and homes will include a segment on grains ounce equivalents.