Child and Adult Care Food Program Meal Pattern Resources
Since 1968, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) has contributed to the overall good health and wellness of both young children and adults. In fact, over 4 million children and nearly 120,000 adults receive nutritious meals and snacks each day while attending facilities operating this program.
To continue meeting the needs of CACFP participants, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) called for the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services (USDA FNS) to review and revise the CACFP meal pattern requirements to better align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and to address the current health status of children and adults. Following this call to action, USDA published the updated meal pattern requirements on April 25, 2016.
Through USDA FNS guidance and collaboration, ICN developed the CACFP Meal Pattern Requirements training materials. This webpage features training materials and additional resources for implementing the updated meal pattern requirements.
Child and Adult Meal Pattern Requirements Training
| Title | Date added | Download |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive Child and Adult Meal Pattern Requirements Training Participant's Workbook | April 06, 2021 | Download |
| Comprehensive Child and Adult Meal Pattern Requirements Training Instructor's Manual | April 06, 2021 | Download |
| Comprehensive Child and Adult Meal Pattern Requirements Presentation | April 06, 2021 | Download |
| Child and Adult Meal Pattern Requirements Training Assessments | April 30, 2019 | Download |
| CAFCP Adult Meal Pattern Poster | November 06, 2019 | Download |
| CACFP Infant Meal Pattern Poster | November 06, 2019 | Download |
| CACFP Child Meal Pattern Poster | March 19, 2020 | Download |
Optional Best Practices Training
| Title | Date added | Download |
|---|---|---|
| Optional Best Practices Assessments | April 04, 2018 | Download |
| Optional Best Practices Instructor's Manual | April 04, 2018 | Download |
| Optional Best Practices PPT Web Version | April 04, 2018 | Download |
| Optional Best Practices Participants Workbook | April 04, 2018 | Download |
Infant Meal Pattern Requirements Training
| Title | Date added | Download |
|---|---|---|
| CACFP Infant Meal Pattern Poster | November 06, 2019 | Download |
| Infant Meal Pattern Presentation | April 24, 2018 | Download |
| Infant Meal Pattern Requirements Assessments | April 24, 2018 | Download |
| Infant Meal Pattern Requirements Training Instructor's Manual | April 24, 2018 | Download |
| Infant Meal Pattern Requirements Training Participant's Workbook | April 24, 2018 | Download |
CACFP Meal Pattern Tip Cards
| Title | Date added | Download |
|---|---|---|
| CACFP Tip Card | December 16, 2020 | Download |
CACFP Fact Sheets/Tip Sheets
| Title | Date added | Download |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Tips for Making the Most of Food Dollars-Care Connection Fact Sheets | December 16, 2020 | Download |
| Advantages and Disadvantages of Convenience Foods -Care Connection Fact Sheets | December 16, 2020 | Download |
| Cycle Menus -Care Connection Fact Sheets | December 16, 2020 | Download |
| Incorporating More Whole Grain Foods-Care Connection Fact Sheets | December 16, 2020 | Download |
| Recycling -Care Connection Fact Sheets | December 16, 2020 | Download |
| Shopping Tips to Keep Foods Safe-Care Connection Fact Sheets | December 16, 2020 | Download |
| Using a Budget to Save on Food Cost-Care Connection Fact Sheets | December 16, 2020 | Download |
| When and How to Wash Hands*-Care Connection Fact Sheets | December 16, 2020 | Download |