What Foods are Creditable in the Infant Meal Pattern?
August 10, 2023
Whether you are new or seasoned in operating the Child and Adult Care Food Program, knowing what foods are creditable to serve within the CACFP meal pattern is crucial! If you are serving both infants and children, the meal patterns are not the same. Not only are the meal patterns different, but some of the foods you serve may be creditable in one age group but not the other. How can you keep this information straight while making sure you are serving safe, creditable foods to those in your care? Let’s start by focusing on how to identify creditable foods in the Infant Meal Pattern.
The first step is to review the CACFP Meal Pattern for Infants. You can download our Meal Pattern Reference Cards, now available in both English and Spanish.
The second step is to review the most up-to-date resources to help you with identifying creditable foods in the CACFP. We recommend you start with “Feeding Infants in the Child and Adult Care Food Program”. In this 150+ page handbook, Appendix F: Infant Foods List provides you with a list of creditable and non-creditable foods to help you serve reimbursable meals. This is not an all-inclusive list, but is a great place to start. Always talk to your state agency or sponsoring organization for further guidance.
If you are serving both infants and children aged 12 months and older, your third step would be to make a list of foods that are creditable or not creditable for both meal patterns. You might be surprised on what is not creditable in the infant meal pattern. Below we have provided a few examples to get you started!
Need more guidance in serving infants in the CACFP? Check out our Meal Patterns page for educational resources and our Learning Center for webinar trainings in the infant meal pattern such as: