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)
- Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (USDA webpage)
- Grab and Go Lesson: Food Buying Guide Calculator (Institute of Child Nutrition)
- Training on FBG
- Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs: Training Resources (USDA webpage)
- FBG Training Modules (Institute of Child Nutrition)
- Exhibit A Grains Tool to the Rescue! (USDA webinar)
- Food Buying Guide Goes Digital (USDA webinar)
- How to Maximize the Exhibit A Grains Tool (USDA webinar)
- Navigating the Food Buying Guide Calculator (USDA webinar)
Meal Patterns and Crediting
- CACFP Training Tools (USDA webpage)
- Crediting Handbook for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (USDA)
- Crediting Summary Charts for the CACFP Meal Patterns for Children (CSDE)
- Crediting Updates for Child Nutrition Programs: Be in the Know! Webinar Series (USDA webpage)
- CSDE Guide: Guide to Meeting the CACFP Meal Patterns for Children and Crediting Requirements
- Meal Patterns for CACFP Child Care Programs (CSDE webpage)
- Menu Planning for Child Nutrition Programs (CSDE webpage)
- Noncreditable Foods for Child Care Programs in the CACFP (CSDE)
- Nutrition Standards for CACFP Meals and Snacks (USDA webpage)
- Serving Snacks in the CACFP (USDA webpage)
- Resources for the CACFP Meal Patterns (CSDE)
- USDA Memo CACFP 08-2017: Questions and Answers on the Updated Meal Pattern Requirements for the Child and Adult Care Food Program
- USDA Memo SP 08-2019, CACFP 02-2019, and SFSP 02-2019: Update of Food Crediting in the Child Nutrition Programs)
- Using the Nutrition Facts Label in the CACFP (USDA)
Portion Control
- Basics at a Glance Poster e (Institute of Child Nutrition): Recipe abbreviations, measurement conversions, portioning tools, and steamtable pan capacity
- No Time to Train: How Foods Are Portioned (Institute of Child Nutrition)
- No Time to Train: Portioning Matters (Institute of Child Nutrition)
- On the Road to Professional Food Preparation eLearning: Portion Control (Institute of Child Nutrition)
Weights and Measures
- Weights and Measures (Institute of Child Nutrition)
- On the Road to Professional Food Preparation eLearning: Weights and Measures (Institute of Child Nutrition)
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
- Authorized Manufacturers and Labels (USDA webpage)
- Child Nutrition (CN) Labeling Manual (USDA)
- CN Labeling Program (USDA webpage)
- Using Child Nutrition (CN) Labels in the CACFP (CSDE)
- USDA Memo SP 05-2025, CACFP 04-2025, and SFSP 02-2025: Guidance for Accepting Processed Product Documentation for Meal Pattern Requirements
- Training on CN labels
- FBG Module 3: Product Formulation Statements (PFS) (Institute of Child Nutrition): Addresses CN labels and PFS
- Manufacturer's Product Formulation Statement: Is it Acceptable? (Institute of Child Nutrition and USDA)
- Slides for Manufacturer's Product Formulation Statement: Is it Acceptable? (Institute of Child Nutrition and USDA)
- What’s in a Meal Module 6: Meal Pattern Documentation (CSDE's Meal Pattern Training for School Nutrition Programs webpage)
Product Formulation Statements
- Tips for Evaluating a Manufacturer's Product Formulation Statement (USDA)
- USDA Memo SP 05-2025, CACFP 04-2025, and SFSP 02-2025: Guidance for Accepting Processed Product Documentation for Meal Pattern Requirements
- Using Product Formulation Statements in the CACFP (CSDE)
- Training on PFS
- FBG Module 3: Product Formulation Statements (PFS) (ICN): Addresses CN labels and PFS
- Manufacturer's Product Formulation Statement: Is it Acceptable? (Institute of Child Nutrition and USDA)
- Slides for Manufacturer's Product Formulation Statement: Is it Acceptable? (Institute of Child Nutrition and USDA)
- USDA PFS for the CACFP: USDA’s CN Labeling and PFS Guidance for Food Manufacturers/Industry webpage
- Grains: Product Formulation Statement for Documenting Grains in the Child Nutrition Programs (USDA)
- Completed Sample PFS: Product Formulation Statement for Documenting Grains in the Child Nutrition Programs (USDA)
- Meat/Meat Alternates: Product Formulation Statement (Product Analysis) for Meat/Meat Alternate (M/MA) Products in Child Nutrition Programs (USDA)
- Vegetables/Fruits: Product Formulation Statement for Documenting Vegetables and Fruits in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program, and NSLP Afterschool Snacks (USDA)
- Completed Sample PFS: Vegetables (USDA)
- Completed Sample PFS: Fruits (USDA)
- What’s in a Meal Module 6: Meal Pattern Documentation (CSDE's Meal Pattern Training for School Nutrition Programs webpage)
- Grains: Product Formulation Statement for Documenting Grains in the Child Nutrition Programs (USDA)
Required Documentation for Processed Foods
- Accepting Processed Product Documentation in the CACFP (CSDE)
- CSDE Guide: Guide to Menu Documentation for the CACFP
- USDA Memo SP 05-2025, CACFP 04-2025, and SFSP 02-2025: Guidance for Accepting Processed Product Documentation for Meal Pattern Requirements
- Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (USDA webpage)
- USDA Memo TA-2010 (v.3): Guidance for Accepting Processed Product Documentation for Meal Pattern Requirements
- When Commercial Grain Products Require a Product Formulation Statement to Credit in the School Nutrition Programs (CSDE)
- Yield Study Form for Child Nutrition Programs (CSDE)
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
- Basics at a Glance (Institute of Child Nutrition): Recipe abbreviations, measurement conversions, portioning tools, and steamtable pan capacity
- Manager’s Corner: Standardized Recipes (Institute of Child Nutrition)
- Measuring Success with Standardized Recipes (Institute of Child Nutrition)
- No Time to Train: Identifying the Parts of a USDA Quantity Recipe (Institute of Child Nutrition)
- Recipe Analysis Workbook (USDA's Food Buying Guide): Develops standardized recipes with meal pattern contribution per serving (users must create a free account)
- Recipes for Child Nutrition Programs (CSDE's Menu Planning for Child Nutrition Programs webpage)
- Section 2: Menu Records in CSDE's Guide to Meeting the Meal Pattern Requirements for CACFP Adult Day Care Centers
- Standardized Recipe Form for the CACFP (CSDE)
- Training on standardized recipes
- Basic Culinary Math for School Nutrition Professionals (Institute of Child Nutrition)
- On the Road to Professional Food Preparation eLearning: Recipe Adjustments (Institute of Child Nutrition)
- STAR Strategies for Utilizing Standardized Recipes (Institute of Child Nutrition)
- USDA Guide: Recipe Standardization Guide for the CACFP (Institute of Child Nutrition)
- What’s Standard about Standardized Recipes? (School Nutrition Association)
- Why Use Standardized Recipes? Fact Sheet (Institute of Child Nutrition)
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.
- Child Care Worksheet 1: Crediting Commercial Grains in the CACFP (CSDE)
- Child Care Worksheet 2: Crediting Ready-to-eat (RTE) Breakfast Cereals in the CACFP (CSDE)
- Child Care Worksheet 3: Crediting Cooked Breakfast Cereals in the CACFP (CSDE)
- Child Care Worksheet 4: Crediting Family-size Recipes for Grains in the CACFP (CSDE)
- Child Care Worksheet 5: Crediting Quantity Recipes for Grains in the CACFP (CSDE)
- Child Care Worksheet 6: Crediting Yogurt in the CACFP (CSDE)
- Child Care Worksheet 7: Evaluating Processed Fruits and Vegetables for Compliance with the Connecticut Child Care Nutrition Standards (CSDE)
- Child Care Worksheet 8: Evaluating Soups for Compliance with the Connecticut Child Care Nutrition Standards (CSDE)
- Child Care Worksheet 9: Evaluating Meat/Meat Alternates for Compliance with the Connecticut Child Care Nutrition Standards (CSDE)
- Child Care Worksheet 10: Nutrient Analysis of Recipes (CSDE)