This final rule with comment period expands fluid milk options by allowing schools and child and adult care providers participating in child nutrition programs to offer whole and reduced-fat milk to participants two years and older.
As part of Secretary Rollins’ commitment to support American beef and create healthy outcomes for American children, the Farm to School Program is committed to working with CNP operators to help them source and serve local in program meals.
In this program guidance, Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke L. Rollins, strongly encourages child nutrition program operators to familiarize themselves with the key recommendations and consider how the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 can be incorporated into program meals and snacks to promote healthy outcomes and healthy families.
SNACS-II studied child care providers who participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program. This study found that these providers serve healthy meals and snacks to the children in their care. Children have better overall diets on days when they are in child care than on days when they are not.
This memorandum provides notice to child nutrition program operators regarding the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (the 2025 Appropriations Act), March 15, 2025. This applies to state agencies administering, and local organizations operating, the USDA FNS child nutrition programs.
On April 25, 2024, FNS published the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans that included minor updates to CACFP and SFSP to better align child nutrition program requirements. These updates represent continued progress toward supporting the nutritional quality of school meals, strengthening the CNPs, and advancing USDA’s commitment to nutrition security.
This memorandum provides updated guidance on feeding infants and the infant meal pattern requirements.
This memorandum explains the grain requirements for the Child and Adult Care Food Program and includes questions and answers. This memorandum supersedes CACFP 09-2018, Grain Requirements in the Child and Adult Care Food Program; Questions and Answers, published April 4, 2018.
The CACFP Halftime: Thirty on Thursdays webinar series is a set of interactive, skills-building webinars that focus on hot topics related to the updated Child and Adult Care Food Program meal patterns.
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide state agencies and program operators of the child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program, with additional information and clarification on the state agency monitoring process regarding the: 1) Child nutrition label, 2) watermarked CN label, and 3) manufacturer’s Product Formulation Statement.