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 TEFAP program guidance memorandum provides guidance on the distribution of USDA Foods under TEFAP to children through Kids Cafe, Backpack, or similar 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.
The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study 2 (WIC ITFPS 2), "Feeding My Baby Study" captures data on WIC caregivers and their children over the first 5 years of each child’s life to address a series of research questions regarding feeding practices, the effect of WIC services on those practices, and the health and nutrition outcomes of children on WIC. Additionally, the study assesses changes in behaviors and trends that may have occurred over the past 20 years by comparing findings to the WIC Infant Feeding Practices Study–1, the last major study of the diets of infants on WIC. This study will provide a series of reports. The current report focuses on breastfeeding intention, initiation and duration, and the introduction of complementary foods.
This colorful handout (four page booklet) for parents reinforces the class lessons at home.
A number of tools and resources are available to help schools identify food items that meet Smart Snacks criteria. See the resources below for information about the Smart Snacks requirement, helpful tools, and ways to encourage children to make healthier snack choices that give them the nutrition they need to grow and learn.
This memorandum explains the grains requirements for the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program and specifically addresses implementation of the ounce equivalencies and definition of whole grain-rich products.