Meal Patterns for CACFP Child Care Programs--Menu Planning

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Meal Patterns for CACFP Child Care Programs

Menu Planning

General Guidance  |   Breakfast  |   Crediting Foods  |   Food Safety
Lunch and Supper  |   Nutrition Facts Label  |   Sample CACFP Menus  |   Snacks
Special Diets  |   Sugars Limit for Breakfast Cereals and Yogurt  |   Vegetables

General Guidance

CSDE Menu Planning Guidance Series
Best Practices for Menu Planning (National CACFP Association)
Cycle Menus (CSDE's Menu Planning for Child Nutrition Programs webpage)
Cycle Menus for Child Care: Preschoolers (Institute of Child Nutrition)
Menu Planning Basics: A Guide for CACFP Operators in Child Care (Institute of Child Nutrition)
Menu Planning Basics for CACFP: CACFP iTrain Simple Lesson Plan (Institute of Child Nutrition)
Menu Planning for Child Nutrition Programs (CSDE webpage)
Recipes for Child Nutrition Programs (CSDE's Menu Planning for Child Nutrition Programs webpage)
Resource List for Child Nutrition Programs (CSDE)
Resource List for Food Safety in Child Nutrition Programs (CSDE)
Resource List for Menu Planning and Food Production for Child Nutrition Programs (CSDE)
Resources for the CACFP Meal Patterns (CSDE)
USDA Memo CACFP 15-2016 : Optional Best Practices to Further Improve Nutrition in the Child and Adult Care Food Program Meal Pattern

Breakfast

CSDE Sample Menus for CACFP Child Care Programs ("Documents/Forms section)
Cycle Menus for Child Care: Preschoolers (Institute of Child Nutrition)
It's Breakfast Time! Child and Adult Care Food Program Breakfast Menu Planner for Children 3 Through 18 Years of Age (USDA)

Crediting Foods

CSDE Guide: Guide to Meeting the CACFP Meal Patterns for Children and Crediting Requirements
Crediting Commercial Processed Products (CSDE's Crediting Foods in CACFP Child Care Programs webpage)
Crediting Foods Made from Scratch (CSDE's Crediting Foods in CACFP Child Care Programs webpage)
Crediting Foods in CACFP Child Care Programs (CSDE webpage)
Crediting Handbook for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (USDA)
CSDE Operational Memo No. 7A, 9C-16 and 9H-16: Requirements for Documenting CACFP Meal Pattern Contribution of Processed Foods

Lunch and Supper

CSDE Sample Menus for CACFP Child Care Programs ("Documents/Forms section)
Cycle Menus for Child Care: Preschoolers (Institute of Child Nutrition)

Nutrition Facts Label

CARE Connection Online Training: CACFP: Navigating Nutrition Facts Labels (Institute of Child Nutrition)
Reading Food Labels for Allergens ("Documents/Forms" section of CSDE's Special Diets in CACFP Adult Day Care Centers webpage)
Using the Nutrition Facts Label in the CACFP (USDA webpage)

Sample CACFP Menus

Breakfast Cold: Sample Cold Breakfast Menus for CACFP Child Care Centers and Homes (CSDE)
Breakfast Hot: Sample Hot Breakfast Menus for CACFP Child Care Centers and Homes (CSDE)
Lunch Cold: Sample Cold Lunch and Supper Menus for CACFP Child Care Centers and Homes (CSDE)
Lunch Hot: Sample Hot Lunch and Supper Menus for CACFP Child Care Centers and Homes (CSDE)
Snack: Sample Snack Menus for CACFP Child Care Centers and Homes (CSDE)

Snacks

CSDE Sample Menus for CACFP Child Care Programs ("Documents/Forms section)
Cycle Menus for Child Care: Preschoolers (Institute of Child Nutrition)
Let's Make a Snack: Child and Adult Care Food Program Snack Menu Planner for Children 3 Through 18 Years of Age (USDA)
Serving Snacks in the CACFP (USDA)
Snack Inspiration: Menus with 240 Snack Ideas (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Special Diets

Resource List for Special Diets in Child Nutrition Programs (CSDE)
Special Diets in CACFP Child Care Programs (CSDE webpage)

Sugars Limit for Breakfast Cereals and Yogurt

Training

CACFP Cooking Videos (USDA webpage)
CACFP Halftime: Thirty on Thursdays Training Webinar Series (USDA): Topics related to the CACFP meal pattern requirements
CACFP Meal Pattern Training Slides (USDA webpage)
CACFP Training Tools (USDA webpage)
CARE Connection Online Training: Planning Cycle Menus in Child Care (Institute of Child Nutrition)
CARE Connection Online Training: Serving Nutritious Foods in Child Care (Institute of Child Nutrition)
CARE Connection Online Training: Step-by-Step Menu Planning (Institute of Child Nutrition)
More training: Training for Child Nutrition Programs (CSDE webpage)