Information for families of children in a Family Day Care Home offering meals

Your child's childcare provider participates in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

The CACFP is a Federal Program from the US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services branch (USDA FNS) that provides financial support to childcare centers, afterschool programs, and family childcare homes to help them serve healthy meals to infants and children in their care.

By participating in the CACFP, your childcare provider agrees to follow the meal requirements (known as the meal pattern) for the meals and snacks served in their home.

The meal requirements for children (ages 1–18) are:

Breakfast	Lunch or Supper	Snack-any *two* of the five
Fluid milk	Fluid milk	Fluid milk
Fruit or vegetable	Fruit	Fruit
Grains or bread*	Vegetable	Vegetable
	Grain or bread	Grain or bread
	Meat or meat alternate	Meat or meat alternate

*Providers can serve a meat or meat alternate in place of the grain or bread at breakfast, up to 3 times per week

The CACFP encourages providers to serve a variety of fruits and vegetables, serve whole grain-rich products, and limit the amount of sugar offered. Each meal is served with milk, either whole or low/nonfat, based on the age of the child. Meals and snacks are served and eaten together, encouraging children and providers to talk about their day, learn about the food being served, and encourage the consumption of new foods.

For more information on the CACFP meal pattern and nutrition standards, visit USDA FNS' website.

Your provider will create a menu for the meals and snacks they plan to serve—the menu must be posted in a space easily visible to you. If you cannot find the menu for your child(ren), please ask the provider.

Infants:

Providers are required to offer the CACFP to all enrolled children, including infants (under 12 months of age). Providers must offer iron-fortified infant formula (IFIF), serve expressed breastmilk, and/or provide opportunities for mothers to directly feed their children in the program.

When infants are ready to consume solids, providers will offer fruits, vegetables, iron-fortified infant cereal, meat and meat alternates, and grains, in coordination with families' and the infant's developmental readiness. Providers will tailor menus to each child and work with families to ensure that foods are being offered in accordance with each family's preferences.

For more information about infants participating in the CACFP, please see the USDA FNS handbook on feeding infants.

If your infant or child has any documented dietary restrictions or allergies, the provider will work with you to provide meals and snacks that meet your child's needs.

Forms

As a parent/guardian, you may be asked to complete certain forms annually as required by the CACFP. These include information about your child's enrollment in the program (days and hours in care) and their participation in offered meal services. This information is maintained securely by the Sponsoring Organization, which is charged with supporting providers in their operation of the CACFP and completing important monitoring and compliance assessments.

If you have any questions about the food being provided to your child you can contact the Sponsoring Organization of your provider directly. Each provider will have a flyer posted in their home titled "Building for the Future" with the name and contact information of their Sponsoring Organization.

You may also contact the State Agency administering the CACFP with questions about the program:

MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office for Food and Nutrition Programs
nutrition@doe.mass.edu
781-338-6480

Last Updated: August 13, 2024