CACFP Meal Patterns

CACFP Meal Patterns Final Rule

On April 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service announced the Final Rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The menu planning and operational flexibilities summarized below are available to CACFP operators as of July 1, 2024, however; CACFP operators are not required to change menus or operations because of these provisions. 

• Nuts and Seeds: Allows nuts and seeds to credit for the full meats/meat alternates component in all meals, removing the 50 percent crediting limit for nuts and seeds at breakfast, lunch, and supper. The USDA expects this change to provide more menu planning options for program operators.
   
• Geographic Preference: Expands the geographic preference option by allowing “locally grown,” “locally raised,” or “locally caught” as procurement specifications for unprocessed or minimally processed food items. For additional information on Geographic Preference, please contact the Community Procurement Unit by email at procurementcacfp@dss.ca.gov.
   
• Substituting Vegetables for Grains in Tribal Communities: Allows CACFP operators serving primarily American Indian or Alaska Native participants to substitute vegetables to meet the grains requirement. Please note that CACFP operators who choose to substitute vegetables for grains must maintain documentation demonstrating that the site serves primarily American Indian or Alaska Native participants (see below for examples of acceptable documentation). The following information provides additional guidance on implementing this flexibility:
   
  • CACFP operators may use any creditable vegetable to substitute for the grains component.
     
  • CACFP operators may substitute ½ cup of vegetables for 1 oz eq of grains, except when raw leafy greens are substituted for the grains component. Program operators must serve 1 cup of raw leafy greens for 1 oz eq of grains. When using this menu planning option, vegetables substituting for grains would only count toward the grains component. In other words, operators must offer another vegetable toward the vegetable component and may not use the same serving of vegetable to credit for both components.
     
  • The following examples of documentation may be used to demonstrate eligibility to use this menu planning option. This is not an exhaustive list:
     
    • Certifying statement: School Food Authorities (SFAs) that are tribally operated or operated by the Bureau of Indian Education could use a certifying statement indicating that the SFA is tribally operated or operated by the Bureau of Indian Education.
       
    • Aggregate data: SFAs, sponsors, institutions, or facilities that serve primarily American Indian or Alaska Native children could use aggregate data reporting student demographics, such as participant self-reporting, school data, or census data.
       
    • Certifying statement: For enrolled sites, the sponsor, institution, or facility provides a certifying statement indicating that the site primarily serves American Indian or Alaska Native participants.
       
    • School or census data: For non-enrolled sites, the sponsor, institution, or facility determines that American Indian or Alaska Native participants represent the largest demographic group of participants served by the site, based on school or census data. 

The provisions summarized below are required and must be implemented by October 1, 2025.

• Added Sugars: Breakfast cereals must contain no more than 6 grams of added sugars per dry ounce (instead of total sugars) and yogurt must contain no more than 12 grams of added sugars per 6 ounces). The current total sugar limits (no more than 23 grams of total sugars per 6 ounces for yogurt and no more than 6 grams of total sugars per dry ounce for breakfast cereals) are still in effect until September 30, 2025. For additional information on added sugar limits for breakfast cereals and yogurts, view the following USDA Training Worksheets (also linked below in the resources section):
   
  • USDA Calculating the Added Sugars Limit for Breakfast Cereals in the CACFP
  • USDA Choose Breakfast Cereals that are Lower in Added Sugars in the CACFP
  • USDA Calculating the Added Sugars Limit for Yogurt in the CACFP
  • USDA Choose Yogurt that is Lower in Added Sugars in the CACFP
     
• Meal modifications: Along with State licensed healthcare professionals, USDA is authorizing registered dietitians (RD) to sign medical statements for CACFP meal modifications on behalf of participants with disabilities that restricts their diet. Additionally, the update distinguishes between disability and non-disability requests more clearly and encourages institutions and facilities to meet participants’ non-disability dietary preferences when planning and preparing CACFP meals. CACFP operators have the discretion to not accept medical statements signed by an RD until October 1, 2025. Beginning October 1, 2025, CACFP operators must accept medical statements signed by an RD.