Join the Community in Celebrating National CACFP Week
January 16, 2024
CACFP Week is a national education and information campaign sponsored annually the third week of March by the National CACFP Sponsors Association. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of how the USDA's Child and Adult Care Food Program works to combat hunger.
The goal of the CACFP is to serve nutritious meals to children in child care homes, centers and afterschool programs, as well as adults in day care. Secondary goals include the establishment of positive eating habits at the earliest stages of development, reduction of future health care and education costs that are due to lack of proper early development, and training and support of local child care personnel. Research also indicates that the CACFP is an indicator of quality child care.
This year, CACFP Week will be celebrated from March 10-16, 2024. Once again, we're partnering with Sesame Street in Communities to bring you some amazing resources!
We're going to be doing a series of surprise giveaways for those who participate in CACFP Week. So how do you participate? Here are seven ways that you can make the most out of this year's CACFP Week and be entered to win some fabulous prizes.
1. Register for National CACFP Week
We love seeing your support for the Child and Adult Care Food Program, so we've created an event in our calendar that you can register for. This will put you on our email list to make sure you get all the materials you need to celebrate CACFP Week. In addition to being added to our giveaway list, we'll also send you a complimentary CACFP Week Sample Menu. This year's theme is eating the rainbow, so our sample menu focuses on a different color of the rainbow for each day of the week.
2. Watch Our Sneak Peek Webinar
We're hosting a free webinar called Food Program Fun: CACFP Week At-a-Glance. We'll help you prepare for the campaign, and you'll discover how you can celebrate and raise awareness for the CACFP within your network. We'll be giving away our first prize during the live event, so don't miss it!
3. Download Materials in Advance
We have a variety of activity pages and educational PDFs that you can use to teach your participants, young and older alike, why it's important to eat healthy foods. We've got free activity pages - one set with Sesame Street characters and one that is not branded - and our members have access to a variety of educational PDFs, including Trying New Foods, Fourteen Ways to Try Broccoli, Breakfast, Lunch/Supper, and Snack. We also rolled out a new resource this year called Anytime Rainbow Super Foods, which is available to our NCA members.
4. Spread the Word in Your Community
We have more great materials that you can use to be an advocate for the CACFP. You can find advocacy templates and a request for proclamation so you can aid our goal of getting National CACFP Week recognized in every state, as well as a community outreach flyer and promotional materials for providers and sponsors. If you're an NCA member, you can also download a parent newsletter template (available in both English and Spanish) that you can send home to inform families of why it is so important that you operate the CACFP.
5. Be Active on Social Media
You can download social media images and banners that you can use on various platforms. Tell us why the CACFP is important to you! Be sure to tag us @NationalCACFP and use the hashtag #CACFPWeek to spread the most awareness among your network.
We also encourage CACFP providers to take part in our Social Media Challenge! For a chance to win $100, simply post a #CACFPCreditable snack, tag the @NationalCACFP account and use the hashtags #NCASnack and #CACFPWeek. The winner will be selected on March 15 and announced on March 18!
Last year's winner was Brown's Childcare, with their fresh fruit rainbow and yogurt clouds.
6. Share Your CACFP Story
We're kicking off the week with a free webinar on Monday, March 11. Hear stories about what the CACFP community is doing to share its message and learn how to use social media strategies, local and state proclamations, local news stories and more to help raise awareness about the CACFP. You can earn 0.5 Continuing Education Unit for attending.
How do you operate the CACFP? Submit your story to our CACFP Week in Action blog and inspire others to participate in the CACFP!
7. Certify Your Awesomeness
You've made it to the end of CACFP Week, so this is a great time to give yourself and your colleagues a pat on the back for a job well done. We appreciate all the hard work you put into operating the CACFP throughout the entire year. That's why we have Certificates of Awesomeness for you! You can download them with Sesame Street on them or there are also non-branded certificates available. Each set has a certificate for child care and adult care, and both are also provided in English and Spanish.
