Feeding Infants in CACFP Child Care Programs

Crediting Infant Foods

Foods served in reimbursable meals and snacks for infants must meet the CACFP infant meal pattern requirements. The infant meal components include breast milk and infant formula for all ages and solid foods (grains, vegetables and fruits, and meats/meat alternates) at 6 months of age or when the infant is developmentally ready. The USDA resources below provide guidance on the crediting requirements for the CACFP infant meal patterns.

Solid Foods

Solid foods must meet specific requirements to credit toward each infant meal component. CACFP facilities must prepare all foods to the appropriate texture and consistency to match each infant's feeding skills and prevent choking. 

 

Vegetables and Fruits  |   Grains  |   Meats/Meat Alternates
Commercial Processed Foods Not Recommended


Vegetables and Fruits

Vegetables, fruits, or a combination of both are required at breakfast, lunch, supper, and snack for developmentally ready infants. Offer a variety of vegetables and fruits. Cook and prepare vegetables and fruits to the appropriate texture and consistency, e.g., mashed, pureed, thin slices, or small diced no larger than ½ inch. Remove all pits, seeds, skins, and peels before serving.

  • Juices: Fruit juices, vegetable juices, or combination juices cannot be served as part of reimbursable meals or snacks for infants of any age.

Grains

Creditable grains for the infant meal pattern include iron-fortifed breakfast cereals at breakfast, lunch, and supper for developmentally ready infants; and at snack only, breads, crackers, and ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereals for developmentally ready infants. The required amounts of grain items in the infant meal pattern are listed in ounce equivalents (oz eq). Guidance on the requirements for grains is provided in USDA Memo CACFP 05-2025: Grain Requirements in the Child and Adult Care Food Program; Questions and Answers.

Meats/Meat Alternates (MMA)

MMA are required at breakfast, lunch, and supper for developmentally ready infants. MMA include beef, pork, lamb, veal, chicken, and turkey; fish and shellfish (commercial source only), e.g., salmon, trout, flounder, cod, haddock, perch, tilapia, crab, shrimp, and other fish and shellfish; pasteurized cheeses that meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s standard of identity for cheese (e.g., pasteurized processed American cheese, natural cheddar or Colby cheeses, Monterey jack or mozzarella (part skim or whole) cheeses, Muenster and provolone cheeses, and cottage cheese): whole eggs (yolk and white); cooked dry beans, peas, and lentils; yogurt and soy yogurt that meet the sugars limit; tempeh; and tofu that contains at least 5 grams of protein in a 2.2-ounce serving by weight (¼ cup volume equivalent).

Remove any bones and modify the texture of MMA as appropriate (e.g., pureed, mashed, ground, and finely chopped) based on the baby's feeding skills.

Cheese food, cheese spread, and cheese products are high in sodium and do not credit.

Commercial Processed Foods Not Recommended

The USDA does not recommend processed meats and poultry such as hot dogs (frankfurters), infant meat and poultry sticks (not dried or semi-dried, like jerky), chicken nuggets, fish sticks, and sausage. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting these foods because they are higher in sodium than other meat products. Some forms of these foods may cause choking, such as hot dogs cut into rounds.

CACFP facilities that serve these foods to infants must have a Child Nutrition (CN) label or product formulation statement (PFS) to document crediting information. Refer to the CSDE's Crediting Documentation for the Child Nutrition Programs webpage.