This memorandum details the nutrition requirements for fluid milk and fluid milk substitutes in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and includes a series of frequently asked questions and answers. This memorandum supersedes CACFP 17-2016, Nutrition Requirements for Fluid Milk and Fluid Milk Substitutions in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, Questions and Answers, July 14, 2016.
The purpose of this memorandum is to outline the use of Offer Versus Serve in the adult day care and at-risk afterschool settings, as well as the use of family style meals in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
On April 25, 2024, FNS published the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This rule includes minor updates to the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program to better align Child Nutrition Program requirements. These updates represent continued progress toward supporting the nutrition quality of school meals, strengthening the Child Nutrition Programs, and advancing USDA’s commitment to nutrition security.
This rulemaking finalizes long-term school nutrition requirements based on the goals of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, robust stakeholder input, and lessons learned from prior rulemakings.
Healthy Eating Index scores range from 0 to 100 and are a measure of diet quality used to assess how well a set of foods aligns with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. A higher score is ideal. The FDPIR Food Package scores an 84. This is higher than the average U.S. diet, which scores a 59.
The Healthy Eating Index is a measure of diet quality used to assess how well a set of foods aligns with key recommendations and dietary patterns published in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Dietary Guidelines). The Dietary Guidelines is designed for nutrition and health professionals to help individuals and families consume a healthful and nutritionally adequate diet.
CNPP uses the Healthy Eating Index to provide a data-driven understanding of diet quality in the United States over time. The HEI-2015 can be used to see how well the diets of Americans align with the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is a measure of diet quality used to assess how well a set of foods aligns with key recommendations and dietary patterns published in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Dietary Guidelines). The Dietary Guidelines is designed for nutrition and health professionals to help individuals and families consume a healthful and nutritionally adequate diet.
This rulemaking proposes long-term school nutrition standards based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, and feedback the USDA received from child nutrition program stakeholders during a robust stakeholder engagement campaign.