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
  • Guide to Meeting the CACFP Adult Meal Patterns and Crediting Requirements (CSDE)
  • Guide to Meeting the CACFP Meal Patterns for Children and Crediting Requirements
  • Guide to Menu Documentation for the CACFP
  • Guide to Meal Service Requirements for CACFP Adult Day Care Centers (CSDE)
  • Guide to Meal Service Requirements for CACFP Child Care Programs
• 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 ("Sample CACFP Menus" below)
• 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

• Crediting Documentation for the Child Nutrition Programs (CSDE webpage)
• Crediting Foods in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (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 ("Sample CACFP Menus" below)
• 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 ("Food Allergies" section of CSDE's Special Diets in the CACFP webpage)
• Using the Nutrition Facts Label in the CACFP (USDA webpage)

Sample CACFP Menus

Child Care Programs

• 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)

Adult day Care Centers

• Breakfast Cold: Sample Cold Breakfast Menus for CACFP Adult Day Care Centers (CSDE)
• Breakfast Hot: Sample Hot Breakfast Menus for CACFP Adult Day Care Centers (CSDE)
• Lunch Cold: Sample Cold Lunch and Supper Menus for CACFP Adult Day Care Centers (CSDE)
• Lunch Hot: Sample Hot Lunch and Supper Menus for CACFP Adult Day Care Centers (CSDE)
• Snack: Sample Snack Menus for CACFP Adult Day Care Centers (CSDE)

Snacks

• CSDE Sample Menus ("Sample CACFP Menus" above)
• 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 the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CSDE webpage)

Sugars Limit for Breakfast Cereals and Yogurt

• Calculating the Added Sugars Limit for Breakfast Cereals in the CACFP (USDA)
• Calculating the Added Sugars Limit for Yogurt in the CACFP (USDA)
• Choose Breakfast Cereals That Are Lower in Added Sugars in the CACFP (USDA)
• Choose Yogurt That is Lower in Added Sugars in the CACFP (USDA)

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)