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Crediting Foods in CACFP Child Care Programs

Documents/Forms


The resources below provide guidance on the requirements for crediting commercial processed products, crediting foods made from scratch, and crediting documentation for the CACFP meal patterns for children in child care centers and family day care homes, Visit the "How To" section for guidance on meeting the crediting requirements for the five meal components (milk, meats/meat alternates, vegetables, fruits, and grains).


Crediting Guidance and Resources  |   Crediting Commercial Processed Products
Crediting Foods Made from Scratch   |    CSDE Crediting Worksheets


Crediting Guidance and Resources


Food Buying Guide  |   Meal Patterns and Crediting  |   Portion Control   |    Weights/Measures


Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (FBG) 

Meal Patterns and Crediting

Portion Control

Weights and Measures

Crediting Commercial Processed Products

CACFP facilities must obtain appropriate documentation to indicate that commercial products credit toward the CACFP meal patterns. For example, to credit a commercial breaded chicken patty as the meat/meat alternates component for ages 3-5 at lunch, the manufacturer’s documentation must indicate that the serving contains 1½ ounces of cooked chicken. Allowable documentation includes:

  • the original Child Nutrition (CN) label from the product carton or a photocopy or photograph of the CN label shown attached to the original product carton; or
  • a product formulation statement (PFS) signed by an official of the manufacturer stating the amount of each meal pattern component contained in one serving of the product. 

These are the only acceptable records for documenting a commercial product’s meal pattern contribution.  Without this documentation, commercial products cannot credit toward the CACFP meal patterns.


CN Labels  |   Product Formulation Statements  |   Documentation for Processed Foods


Child Nutrition (CN) Labels

Product Formulation Statements

Required Documentation for Processed Foods

Crediting Foods Made from Scratch

To credit foods made from scratch toward the CACFP meal patterns, CACFP facilities must maintain recipes that document the crediting information per serving. For example, to credit macaroni and cheese as 1½ ounces of the meat/meat alternates component and ½ ounce equivalent of the grains component for ages 3-4 at lunch, the CACFP facility's recipe must indicate that each serving contains 1½ ounces of cheese and ¼ cup of whole-grain or enriched pasta. The CSDE strongly encourages the use of standardized recipes to ensure that menus provide the correct CACFP food components and servings. 

Standardized Recipes

CSDE Crediting Worksheets for CACFP Child Care Programs

Worksheets 1-6 evaluate foods for compliance with the CACFP meal patterns for children. Worksheets 7-9 evaluate foods for compliance with the CSDE’s recommended nutrition standards for child care
(Connecticut Child Care Nutrition Standards (CCCNS)), but not for compliance with the CACFP meal patterns for children.

The CSDE recommends that CACFP sponsors maintain completed crediting worksheets as electronic files in a folder on the computer, instead of printing copies. The CSDE’s CACFP staff will accept electronic copies as appropriate crediting documentation during the Administrative Review of the CACFP.