Menu Planning Basics: A Guide for CACFP Operators in Child Care

This resource provides general information for planning nutritious menus that align with the CACFP.

It features key information for:

learning more about the meal pattern requirements,
discovering good practices for planning meals and snacks, and • getting ideas for preparing nutritious and appealing dishes.

It also features the following menu planning tools:

Sample menu
Shopping list
Recipes
Menu planning template
Tip sheets

Menu Planning Basics: A Guide for CACFP Operators in Child Care

Title	Date added	Download
Menu Planning Basics: A Guide for CACFP Operators in Child Care	July 13, 2022	Download
Menu Planning Basics: A Guide for CACFP Operators in Child Care - Spanish Version	December 13, 2022	Download

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*HealthierUS School Challenge: Smarter Lunchrooms
*Nutrition 101: A Taste of Food and Fitness - 4th Edition
*Utilizing the Cafeteria as a Classroom
*Orientation to School Nutrition Management
*Basic Culinary Math for School Nutrition Professionals
*Financial Management: A Course for School Nutrition Directors 2nd Edition
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**Menu Planning Basics: A Guide for CACFP Operators in Child Care
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**Ready, Set, Go! Creating and Maintaining a Wellness Environment in Child Care Centers Participating in the CACFP
**Secondary Analysis of the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Data Base A Two Part Study
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**Serving the Nutritional Needs of Pre-Kindergarten Children in the Public School Setting Best Practices
**Practices and Perceptions of School Nutrition Professionals Toward Obtaining the HealthierUS School Challenge Award
**Overcoming Barriers to Participation in the Summer Food Service Program - An Identification of Best Practice Solutions
**Nutrition Information at Point of Selection in High Schools Does it Affect Entree Choices?
**Nutrition and Wellness in Child Care Centers Participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
**NFSMI Research Agenda Conference 2013 Linking Research to Practice
**National Survey of School Nutrition Directors' Web-Based Training Needs
**Middle/Junior High School Participation and Non-Participation Survey Guide Internal Benchmarking for School Nutrition Programs
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**Determining the Job Functions of Child Care Providers in CACFP Operations
**Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills of Effective School Nutrition Assistants/Technicians
**Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills for School Nutrition Managers
**Determining the Job Functions of Child Care Providers in CACFP Operations
**Procurement Practices Influencing Programs Operating Within the Guidelines of the Child and Adult Care Food Program: A Review of Literature
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**Management Issues Impacting Family Day Care Homes Operating Within the Child and Adult Care Food Program Guidelines- A Review of Literature
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**Identification of Available Training Resources Appropriate for Family Day Care Home Providers
**Knowledge and Skills Needed for State Agency Child Nutrition professionals in the 21st Century
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**Steps to Nutrition Success Checklist A Program Self-Assessment Checklist for Family Day Care Home and Child Care Center Providers Participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
**Development of Middle/Jr. High School Student Surveys to Measure Factors that Impact Participation in and Satisfaction with the National School Lunch Program
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**Exploring the Uniqueness of Child Nutrition Programs in Large School Districts
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**Determining the Perceptions, Practices, and the Perceived Barriers Associated with School Professionals Serving the Nutritional Needs of the Pre-K Child in the Public School Setting
**Determining Factors Impacting the Decision of Middle/Junior High School Students to Participate in the National School Lunch Program
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**Cost Variables Associated with Producing and Serving a Reimbursable National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Snack for Children in Afterschool Care Programs, 2006
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**Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills for School Nutrition Managers - Phase II
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**Job Functions and Training Needs of State Agency Child Nutrition Professionals
**Job Description Template for CNP Director/Supervisor/Administrator
**Investigation of the Job Functions and Training Needs of State Agency Child Nutrition Professionals
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**Investigation of Factors Impacting Participation of High School Students in the National School Lunch Program
**In Classroom Breakfast Programs Best Practices
**Implementation of HACCP-based Food Safety Programs in School Nutrition Programs
**Identification of Issues Associated with Operating School Nutrition Programs in Districts with Less Than 30,000 Student Enrollment
**CKS for Child Care Providers in CACFP
**Increasing Middle/Junior High School Student Participation and Satisfaction
**ICN Applied Research Division SNA ANC 2016 Poster Session
**Developing and Sustaining Green/Environmental Conservation Practices
**Got Milk! Exploring How Student Preferences Impact Their Milk Selection in Schools
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**Focus Group Discussions with Elementary School Foodservice Directors, Teachers, and Parents Regarding the School Breakfast Program
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*Inventory Management and Tracking
*ARD A-Z
**Marketing for School Nutrition Programs
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**Data Driven Decision Making
**Developing and Sustaining Green Practices
**Increasing Middle/Jr High Student participation
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**Sustaining and Strengthening Local Wellness Initiaives
**School Nutrition Experiences for Dietetic
**Environmental Scan and Formative Research of Student Engagement Practices in Support of School Meal Programs - Phase I
**Exploratory Investigation of the Roles, Responsibilities, and Impact of Chefs Working in School Nutrition Programs
**Evaluation of ICN Training Program: Nutrition 101 (Online Mode)
**The Impact of ICN's Nutrition 101: Voices of Participants
*Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills for Child Care Provers in CACFP
* Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills for District-Level School Nutrition Professionals
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***other resources
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***worksheets
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***worksheets
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*2023 - State Agency Presentations/Files
**12/04/2023 - Monday
***1.Opening General Session and USDA and ICN Updates
***8.Community Eligibility Provisions Work Session MidYear Implementation & Preparing for SY 2024-25
***2.Supporting FNS Programs Through Clear and Effective Messaging
***6.Physical Safety in Summer Meal Programs,
***7.FNS’s Approach to Grant Funding
***9.Summer EBT Panel with State Agencies
***4.Innovative Menu Planning for Summer Meals
***3.USDA Food 101
***5.Child Nutrition Schools are the Nutrition and Local Food Hub of the Community
**12/05/2023 - Tuesday
***5.Procurement
***10.Integrity Rule Overview
***1.State Agency Funding
***9.Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative Spread the News
***6.Healthy School Meals for All Best Practices & Strategies
***2.Who’s Responsible Managing Sponsors with Unaffiliated Childcare
***4.Capital Expenditures
***7.Conducting Reviews in the CACFP 101
***8.Best Practices for Non-Congregate Summer Meals
***3.Data Visualization
**12/06/2023 - Wednesday
***3.Making the Grade Best Practices for Co-Mingled Meal Service in School
***1.Serious Deficiency Guidance Best Practices
***2.How to Determine if an Entity is in Good Standing
***5.Streamlining Between Different Programs and Closing General Session
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*ICN CACFP National Advisory Council
*CACFP Sample Food Safety Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
*CACFP Food Safety Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Sample Logs
*School Lunch Hero Day
*Step-by-Step Recipe Standardization Guide for the CACFP
*Designing an Emergency Preparedness Plan Templates for Child Care
*ICN's Leadership Academy - Proof
*Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills of School Nutrition Assistants/Technicians
*Strategies, Training, Action Plans, Resources (STAR) Webinar Fact Sheets