CACFP Meal Patterns
Includes meal patterns, upcoming workshop and conference information, online courses, resources, policy guidance, compliance, frequently asked questions, and contact information for CACFP Operators.Overview
On April 25, 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP): Meal Pattern (MP) Revisions Related to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, Final Rule (PDF). The MPs align with the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans, reflect evidence-based nutrition science, and include stakeholder comments to the proposed rule. The MP standards became effective October 1, 2017. This web page was updated as of February 2021 to include additional resources to assist CACFP Operators with MP compliance.
For all content related to COVID-19 in the Child Nutrition Programs (CNP), such as information about waivers, visit the COVID-19 Guidance for CNPs web page.
The CACFP Meal Patterns
Child Nutrition Program operators participating in the CACFP, National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), including CACFP centers and day care homes (DCH), school food authorities, and SFSP sites serving children under six years of age, must comply with the MP requirements. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has provided the following reference charts describing the MP requirements for infants, children, and adults respectively.
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Meal Pattern for Infants
(PDF)
Provides the MP for infants ages birth through 11 months. -
Meal Pattern for Children
(PDF)
Provides the MP for children ages 1 through 18 years. -
Meal Pattern for Adults
(PDF)
Provides the MP for adults in adult DCHs and centers.
Trainings
This section includes virtual workshops, conferences, and online courses, as well as additional online training databases that assist program operators in implementing the MP requirements.
Virtual Workshops
Online Courses
Additional Online Training Databases
Virtual Workshops
Child Care Forums
Child Care Meal Quality (MQ) Forums
The Child Care MQ Forums are designed to assist early child care program food service staff with enhancing the quality of meals served to young children by highlighting healthy menu planning, food preparation, culinary skills, and kitchen safety. All attendees will receive a variety of tools and resources that they can immediately use in their day care homes or child care centers.
Visit the California Preschool Instructional Network Child Care MQ Forums web page
for the agendas and session descriptions for the introductory and advanced MQ forums, speakers, professional growth hours, and registration information.
Child Care Nutrition and Physical Activity (NPA) Forums
The Child Care NPA Forums highlight and demonstrate methods for integrating nutrition education, edible gardens, wellness policies, and physical activity into child care programs. Participants will learn ways to create learning environments that maximize opportunities for children to develop healthy eating habits and to move their bodies to learn. These forums provide a unique platform where early childhood educators can express challenges and develop solutions toward supporting active living and healthy eating environments.
Visit the California Preschool Instructional Network Child Care NPA Forums web page
for the agenda, session descriptions, speakers, professional growth hours, and registration information.
Online Courses
Course Number▲▼ |
Course Name▲▼ | Training Topic▲▼ | Target Audience▲▼ |
---|---|---|---|
421 |
Menu Planning |
CACFP centers and family child care home providers |
|
449 |
Menu Planning |
CACFP centers and family child care home providers |
|
516 |
Menu Planning |
CACFP centers and family child care home providers |
|
516sp |
Milk Requirements in the CACFP for Providers, Spanish (Requisitos De La Leche En El CACFP Para Proveedores) |
Planificación de menús |
Proveedores del CACFP |
714 |
Menu Planning |
CACFP centers and family child care home providers |
|
813 |
Menu Planning |
CACFP centers and family child care home providers |
|
847 |
Menu Planning |
CACFP centers and family child care home providers |
|
External |
Navigating the Food Buying Guide (FBG) Calculator | General Nutrition | CACFP centers and family child care home providers |
Additional Online Training Databases
To find additional online training databases, visit:
- The California Department of Education (CDE) Child Nutrition Programs Course Catalog for online training courses to assist with professional standards requirements, professional development, and compliance needs.
- USDA Halftime: Thirty on Thursdays Training web page
for upcoming and recorded webinars on the CACFP MPs.
Resources
The following resources provide supplemental information for the CACFP MP. Materials include tip sheets, USDA training tools, and additional best practice resources for implementing the CACFP MP.
General Resources
Training Tools
Best Practices
General Resources
Resource | Description |
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USDA Nutrition Standards for CACFP Meals and Snacks web page
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Includes extensive MP information, including fact sheets, the final rule, current policy, and much more. |
USDA Meal Pattern Comparison Chart for the Child Nutrition Programs (CNP)
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Compares MP requirements for the CACFP, National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), and Kindergarten through Grade Twelve Afterschool Snack Service under the NSLP. |
Provides new recipes that are compliant with the CACFP MP, and includes crediting information. These recipes are culturally diverse. To accommodate all types of CACFP agencies, the recipes are portioned for family homes as well as larger agencies. |
Training Tools
Resource | Description |
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California Department of Education (CDE) Tip Sheet: Crediting Grains Using Ounce Equivalencies web page | Provides guidance on determining the amount of creditable grains present in a food item, product, or recipe using ounce equivalencies. Additional guidance in determining oz eq is available for School Nutrition Program (SNP) Operators in the USDA Whole Grain Resource for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program
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CDE Tip Sheet: Determining Whole Grain-rich Products in the CACFP web page | Provides guidance for identifying creditable whole grain-rich (WGR) items in the CACFP. Additional guidance is available in the USDA Policy Memorandum CACFP 09-2018 Grain Requirements in the CACFP; Questions and Answers
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CDE Tip Sheet: Determining Creditable Grain Products in the CACFP web page | Provides guidance on crediting grain products in the CACFP. Additional guidance is available in the USDA Policy Memorandum CACFP 09-2018, Grain Requirements in the CACFP; Questions and Answers
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CDE Tip Sheet: Flowchart for Determining Creditable Grains in the CACFP (PDF) | Provides flowcharts with guidance on how to determine if a grain product is creditable in the CACFP. Additional guidance is available in the USDA Policy Memorandum CACFP 09-2018, Grain Requirements in the CACFP; Questions and Answers
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CDE Tip Sheet: Introducing Solids to Infants in the CNPs web page | Provides guidance on assessing an infant's developmental readiness for solid foods, engaging communications with parents or guardians about offering solids, and understanding infant eating habits for all CNP operators. Additional guidance is available in the USDA Policy Memorandum CACFP 02-2018, Feeding Infants and MP Requirements in the CACFP; Questions and Answers
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CDE Tip Sheet: Serving Smoothies in the CACFP web page | Provides smoothie recipes and guidance on crediting fruit, vegetable, milk, and yogurt smoothies served as part of reimbursable meals and snacks in the CACFP. Additional guidance is available in the USDA Policy Memorandum SP 40-2019, CACFP 17-2019, SFSP 17-2019, Smoothies Offered in CNPs
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CDE Tip Sheet: Menu Modifications in the CACFP (PDF) | Provides guidance on how to accommodate menu modifications and continue to claim reimbursement for meals. Additional guidance is available in the USDA Policy Memorandum CACFP 14-2017, SFSP 10-2017, Modifications to Accommodate Disabilities in the CACFP and SFSP
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USDA Team Nutrition (TN) CACFP Meal Pattern Training Tools
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The USDA TN developed materials for CACFP operators and sponsors to implement the CACFP MP. Some materials include:
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USDA Food Buying Guide (FBG) web page
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The FBG for CNPs is now an online interactive tool. It was updated to reflect the MP. It can help with purchasing the required quantities of foods and determining the contribution each food makes toward the MP requirements. |
USDA FBG Mobile App web page
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The FBG mobile app can be used to compare yield information or create a favorites list of the food items that are commonly purchased. The app is available on iOS and Android platforms. |
CDE FBG Calculator web page | Provides the steps for using the USDA FBG Calculator to determine required quantities of foods to purchase to meet the meal pattern requirements. |
USDA FBG - PDF
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The FBG is available to download and print as a PDF. |
USDA TN Feeding Infants in the CACFP Guide web page
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The Feeding Infants Guide is a training tool for CACFP operators with infants enrolled at their child care site. The guide covers topics such as the infant meal pattern, developmental readiness, hunger and fullness signs, handling and storing breastmilk and infant formula, solid foods, and much more. |
Institute of Child Nutrition Education and Training Resources
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The Institute of Child Nutrition developed resources for participants in the CACFP. Some useful resources include fact sheets, posters, sample menus, and much more. |
USDA Meal Pattern Training Slides
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The USDA CACFP meal pattern training PowerPoint slides are ready to go and can be used to train staff working with the CACFP. These training slides are designed to be interactive 30-minute trainings, and are offered on topics, such as using ounce equivalents for grains, feeding infants, menu planning, serving milk, and choosing breakfast cereals and yogurt that are lower in added sugars. These training slides are offered in English and Spanish. |
USDA Mealtimes with Toddlers in the CACFP web page
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USDA mealtimes with Toddlers in the CACFP resources assist CACFP Operators in meeting meal pattern requirements and creating positive mealtime environments for children one to two years old. Resources offered in English and Spanish. |
USDA CACFP Grains Ounce Equivalents Resources web page
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These USDA training resources help CACFP Operators use ounce equivalents to determine the amount of grains for meals and snacks. |
Best Practices
Resource | Description |
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USDA Best Practices for CACFP MP Requirements, English
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The USDA FNS two-page resource describes best practices for the CACFP MP and using the MP to lower food costs. The resource provides additional steps DCHs and centers can take to further improve the nutritional quality of the meals they serve, and are available in English and Spanish. |
USDA Best Practices for CACFP MP Requirements, Spanish
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The USDA FNS two-page resource describes best practices for the CACFP MP and using the MP to lower food costs. The resource provides additional steps DCHs and centers can take to further improve the nutritional quality of the meals they serve, and are available in English and Spanish. |
USDA Team Nutrition Breastfed Babies Welcome Here! Resource
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The USDA TN developed downloadable materials that CACFP Operators can use to communicate ways that a child care site supports a mother’s decision to breastfeed her baby. Materials include a mother’s guide, poster, and a message graphic. The USDA TN will announce the availability of Spanish and printed versions at a later date. |
For additional CACFP resources on nutrition education, cooking in the classroom, and physical activity, visit the CDE CNPs Resource Library, and select the CACFP tab.
Policy Guidance
The USDA has issued the following policy memoranda related to the CACFP MP. You can find the policy memoranda on the USDA FNS Documents & Resources web page . Below is a brief summary of each memorandum and related CDE Management Bulletins, if applicable.
Release Date |
Issuing Agency |
Subject |
Reference Number |
---|---|---|---|
September 2020 | CDE | Documentation Requirements for the CACFP | CDE Management Bulletin CACFP-01-2020 |
July 2020 | CDE | Nutrition Requirements for Fluid Milk in the CACFP | CDE Management Bulletin CACFP-02-2020 |
February 2020 | CDE | Smoothies Offered in Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) | CDE Management Bulletin CNP-04-2020 |
September 2019 | USDA | Smoothies Offered in CNPs
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SP 40-2019, CACFP 17-2019, SFSP 17-2019 |
April 2019 | USDA | Crediting Tempeh in the CNPs
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USDA Policy Memorandum: SP 25-2019, CACFP 12-2019, SFSP 11-2019 |
April 2019 | USDA | Crediting Surimi Seafood in the CNPs
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USDA Policy Memorandum: SP 24-2019, CACFP 11-2019, SFSP 10-2019 |
August 2019 | USDA | Crediting Coconut, Hominy, Corn Masa, and Masa Harina in the CNPs
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USDA Policy Memorandum: SP 34-2019, CACFP 15-2019, SFSP 15-2019 |
April 2019 | USDA | Crediting Pasta Products Made of Vegetable Flour in the CNPs
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USDA Policy Memorandum: SP 26-2019, CACFP 13-2019, SFSP 12-2019 |
April 2019 | USDA | Crediting Popcorn in the CNPs
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USDA Policy Memorandum: SP 23-2019, CACFP 10-2019, SFSP 09-2019 |
April 2019 | USDA | Crediting Shelf-Stable, Dried and Semi-Dried Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Products in the CNPs
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USDA Policy Memorandum: SP 21-2019, CACFP 08-2019, SFSP 07-2019 |
April 2018 | USDA | Grain Requirements in the Child and Adult Care Food Program; Questions and Answers ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: CACFP 09-2018 |
October 2017 | USDA | Feeding Infants and Meal Pattern Requirements in the Child and Adult Care Food Program; Questions and Answers ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: CACFP 02-2018 |
October 2017 | USDA | Updated Infant and Preschool Meal Patterns in NSLP and SBP; Q&As ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: SP 01-2018 |
June 2017 | USDA | Grain-Based Desserts in the Child and Adult Care Food Program ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: CACFP 16-2017 |
June 2017 | USDA | Flexibility for Co-Mingled Preschool Meals: Questions and Answers ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: SP 37-2017 |
May 2017 | USDA | Transition Period for Updated CACFP, Infant, Preschool Meal Patterns ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: SP 30-2017, |
March 2017 | USDA | Vegetable and Fruit Requirements in the CACFP; Q&As ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: CACFP 09-2017 |
March 2017 | USDA | Questions and Answers on the Updated Meal Pattern Requirements for the CACFP ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: CACFP 08-2017 |
December 2016 | USDA | Offer versus Serve (OVS) and Family Style Dining in the CACFP ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: CACFP 05-2017 |
August 2016 | USDA | Crediting Tofu and Soy Yogurt Products ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: SP 53-2016, CACFP 21-2016 |
September 2017 | CDE | Crediting Tofu and Soy Yogurt Products in the Child Nutrition Programs | CDE Management Bulletin CNP-09-2017 |
August 2016 | USDA | Water Availability in the CACFP ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: CACFP 20-2016 |
July 2016 | USDA | Nutrition Requirements for Fluid Milk and Fluid Milk Substitutions in the CACFP, Q&As ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: CACFP 17-2016 |
June 2016 | USDA | Optional Best Practices to Further Promote Nutrition in the CACFP Meal Pattern ![]() |
USDA Policy Memorandum: CACFP 15-2016 |
Compliance
The California Department of Education (CDE) monitors compliance with the meal pattern during the Administrative Review (AR). ARs occur approximately every three years. The CDE provides technical assistance when the standards are not met.
- Meal Pattern Documentation Checklist
The CDE provides a checklist to determine whether program operators are meeting the CACFP meal pattern requirements for reimbursable meals and snacks. To download the meal pattern Documentation Checklist located in Child Nutrition Information and Payment System, select CACFP, applications, downloadable forms, and Form ID CACFP 89.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: When submitting menus for review, do centers and day care homes (DCH) need to document which grain foods are whole grain-rich (WGR)?
Answer: Yes, starting October 1, 2017, centers and DCH must document when a food is WGR on their menu and may do this by using terms such as whole grain-rich, WGR, whole wheat, or simply listing a whole grain. For example, a menu may say: peanut butter and jelly sandwich on WGR bread, whole wheat pasta and chicken, or brown rice and vegetables. Common and usual names for whole grains that are helpful to know and can be used to identify WGR foods on menus are:
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The word whole listed before a grain, such as whole wheat or whole corn;
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The words berries and groats are used to designate a whole grain, such as wheat berries or oat groats;
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Rolled oats and oatmeal (including old fashioned, quick cooking, and instant oatmeal); and
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Other whole grain foods that do not use the word whole in their description, such as brown rice, brown rice flour, wild rice, quinoa, millet, triticale, teff, amaranth, buckwheat, and sorghum.
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It is the responsibility of the sponsor to check labels and product information to ensure that the WGR items being served meet the WGR criteria presented in this memorandum. The State agency will review documentation during the administrative review.
Question: If a DCH serves breakfast and snack and a grain is served at both breakfast and snack, but neither of the grains are WGR, which meal is disallowed?
Answer: The snack would be disallowed. This is because the snack is the meal with the lowest reimbursement rate that contained a grain. Conversely, if a grain was not served at snack and the grain at breakfast is not WGR, then the breakfast meal would be disallowed. In that situation, the breakfast meal is the meal with the lowest reimbursement rate that contained a grain.
Question: Can a center or DCH rely on the Nutrition Facts label alone to evaluate a meat alternate, such as a soy burger or tofu sausage?
Answer: When serving processed tofu products (such as links and sausages made from tofu), as meat alternates in a reimbursable meal, the tofu must contain the required 5 grams of protein per 2.2 ounces by weight or ¼ cup by volume. However, the protein content of the additional ingredients in the processed tofu product is also included on the Nutrition Facts label. Therefore, the Nutrition Facts label is not sufficient documentation to indicate that a meat alternate like a soy burger or tofu sausage meets the protein requirement. This information would need to be obtained from the manufacturer.
Question: With separate vegetable and fruit components at lunch, supper, and snack in the updated CACFP MPs, how do food items that are mixtures of vegetables and fruit, such as a carrot-raisin salad, credit?
Answer: Food items that are mixtures of vegetables and fruits, such as a carrot-raisin salad, may credit towards both the vegetable component and the fruit component if they contain at least ⅛ cup vegetable and ⅛ cup fruit per serving that are easily identifiable. For example, a carrot-raisin salad served to 6-year-olds that contains ½ cup carrots and ⅛ cup raisins (credits as ¼ cup fruit) meets the full vegetable component and the full fruit component.
Similarly, vegetable mixtures may count towards the vegetable component and fruit component at lunch and supper if they contain at least ⅛ cup of two different kinds of vegetables. This is because a vegetable can replace the fruit component at lunch and supper meals. For example, a center serves 6-year-old children ½ cup roasted broccoli and ¼ cup roasted cauliflower mixed together. The cauliflower is replacing the fruit component and meets the minimum serving size required for the fruit component for children 6-12 years of age. However, if the quantities of the different vegetables are not known, such as frozen carrots and peas, the vegetable mixture counts as one serving of vegetables and cannot count towards the fruit component. Another vegetable or fruit would need to be served to fulfill the fruit component.
Question: For adult meals, can yogurt be served in place of milk at multiple meals in one day if the center uses offer versus serve (OVS)?
Answer: Regardless of the type of meal service used, an adult day care center can only serve yogurt in place of fluid milk once per day. The yogurt limitation applies to the served meals, not what the adult participant selects or consumes. It is important to remember that yogurt cannot be counted towards the fluid milk component and the meat alternate component during the same meal. However, yogurt may be served in place of fluid milk at one meal and served as a meat alternate in another meal on the same day.
Question: If an at-risk afterschool center only serves supper and chooses to use OVS, do all of the grains offered have to be WGR?
Answer: Yes. If an at-risk afterschool center or adult day care center only serves one meal per day and chooses to use OVS, all the grain items offered must be WGR. While OVS allows a variety of food items from one component to be served, a center that only serves one meal per day cannot offer one WGR grain and one enriched grain. This ensures greater consumption of whole grains if a child or adult chooses to take a grain item.
Question: If one-year-old and two-year-old children sit together for the same meal, must they be served different types of milk?
Answer: Yes, starting October 1, 2017, children two years of age and older must be served unflavored, low-fat or unflavored, fat-free milk and children one year of age must be served unflavored, whole milk. The fluid milk requirements are based on age to ensure that children are receiving the nutrients they need for growth and development. Centers and DCH must ensure that children of various ages seated together receive the appropriate type of milk.
Question: If a center serves a morning snack to one group of children and an afternoon snack to a separate, different group of children, can juice be served at both of those snack services?
Answer: No. The limit on juice (at no more than one meal or snack per day) applies to the center or DCH, not to each individual child or adult participant. Therefore, if a center or DCH serves two different meals to two different groups of children or adults, only one meal may contain juice.
Question: If a center serves one meal, such as lunch, in two shifts to two different groups of children, can juice be served at both meals?
Answer: Yes. Juice must only be used to meet the vegetable component or fruit component at one meal or snack per day. In this situation, the center is using juice to meet the vegetable component or fruit component at one meal. However, in the question above, the center used juice to meet the vegetable component or fruit component at two distinct snacks and that is not allowed under the updated MPs.
Question: If a mother breastfeeds her 13-month-old, or older, child at the center or DCH, is the meal reimbursable?
Answer: Yes. Breastmilk is an allowable substitute for fluid milk for children of any age. Therefore, if a mother chooses to breastfeed her infant past 1 year of age, she may breastfeed the child on-site or provide expressed breastmilk and the center or DCH may claim reimbursement for those meals.
Question: If an infant is just starting to be introduced to solid foods, such as infant cereal, does the center or DCH have to serve that solid food at every meal where that component is required?
Answer: It depends. Solid foods are introduced gradually, which means that it may be appropriate to serve the solid food only once per day and then gradually increase the number of feedings per day. The infant does not need to be offered a solid food component that is part of every MP, such as vegetables and fruit, until the infant has established a tolerance for that solid food component at multiple feedings per day. It is important to remember that the quantity of food an infant consumes changes from feeding-to-feeding or day-to-day. Infants may want to eat less food when teething or not feeling well and more food on days when they have a very good appetite.
Question: If parents and the child care provider are in agreement that a five-month-old infant is developmentally ready to start eating some solid foods, such as applesauce, may the child care provider still claim reimbursement for those meals with solid foods?
Answer: Yes. If an infant is developmentally ready to accept solid foods prior to 6 months of age, the center or DCH may serve the solid foods and claim reimbursement for those meals. Most infants are not developmentally ready to accept solid foods until around 6 months of age; however, infants develop at different rates. Centers and DCHs should talk about the introduction of solid foods with infants’ parents or guardians and can share the signs for developmental readiness discussed in the body of this memorandum.
Question: What should a center or DCH do if they feel an infant is developmentally ready to start eating solid foods but the infant’s parents or guardians do not want the infant to be introduced to solid foods?
Answer: If a center or DCH believes that an infant is developmentally ready to start eating solid foods, they should engage in a conversation with the infant’s parents or guardians. The provider can tell the parents or guardians about the signs they have seen indicating the infant is ready to start solid foods and ask if they would like solid foods to be served while the infant is in care. Child care providers should be in constant communication with the infant’s parents or guardians about the infant’s eating habits as well as when and what solid foods should be served while the infant is in their care.
If the parent or guardian does not want their infant to be served solid foods while the infant is in care, the center or DCH should respect that decision and should not serve the infant solid foods. In this situation, as long as the center or DCH continues to serve the infant the required amount of breastmilk or iron-fortified infant formula, the meals are still reimbursable.
Contacts
For more information or if you have any questions, please contact the California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division CACFP Meal Patterns Team by email at CACFPMealPatterns@cde.ca.gov.