Early Childhood and Beyond: CACFP Meal Patterns Final Rule, Best Practices, and Resources

Recorded Monday, August 1, 2016.
Moderator: Alicia H White, MS, RD, Chief, Nutrition Education and Promotion Branch, Nutrition, Education, Training, and Technical Assistance Division
Speaker: Andrea L. Farmer, MS, RD, LD, Chief, Community Meals Branch, Policy and Program Development Division, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Child Nutrition Programs; Cheryl Jackson Lewis, MPA, RD, LDN, Director, Nutrition, Education, Training, and Technical Assistance Division, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Child Nutrition Programs
This session highlights the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Meal Patterns Final Rule that was released in April 2016 and represents the first major changes to meals and snacks since the Program’s inception in 1968. Under the new standards outlined in the rule, meals and snacks will include a greater variety of vegetables and fruit, more whole grains, and less added sugar and saturated fat, and child care sites will also receive increased support for breastfeeding. These new standards will help safeguard the health of infants and children early in their lives and improve the wellness of adults.
USDA will provide an overview of the requirements of the final rule and best practices, showcase training and nutrition education resources to support implementing of the new meal standards, and discuss the value that nutrition educators and nutrition education experts can bring to facilities and institutions participating in CACFP. Findings from USDA’s formative research study on nutrition, physical activity, and electronic media use in CACFP will also be highlighted to show the challenges that providers face in implementing guidelines as well as their technical assistance needs.