Meal Pattern Minute: CACFP Funds for a Garden
October 4, 2024
As a Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) provider, you are motivated to procure local foods by growing your own garden! From this garden, you plan to grow CACFP creditable vegetables and fruits. However, in order to grow food, you need to build a garden first. At your center or family child care home, you’ll need materials such as soil, fertilizer, seeds, watering cans, gardening gloves, and other gardening supplies. Could a CACFP provider use CACFP funds to purchase some of these materials?
In under a minute, Isabel Ramos-Lebron, MS, RDN, LD, will answer this question to help CACFP providers understand how CACFP funds can or cannot be used to grow a garden.
If you didn’t know, the National CACFP Sponsors Association developed a page called Farm to CACFP. Here are resources for CACFP providers to serve locally grown, healthy foods to children and adults, providing related nutrition education, and improving child nutrition. This includes fun nutrition activities, gardening curriculum (Grow It, Try It, Like It!) and Team Nutrition Gardening resources.
More resources related to gardening and harvesting local foods can be found below.
- Farm to Preschool: Local Food and Learning in Early Child Care and Education Settings
- This fact sheet discusses how farm to school isn’t just for K-12 institutions; an increasing number of early child care and education providers are engaging in farm to preschool activities. The term “farm to preschool” encompasses efforts to serve local or regionally produced foods in early child care and education settings; provide hands-on learning activities such as gardening, farm visits, and culinary activities; and integrate food-related education into the curriculum.
- Edible Gardening: Five Ways to Grow Food with Kids
- Looking for more resources to fund a garden? Learn more by reading the Farm to ECE Federal Funding Guide.
- Need inspiration on what to do with harvested produce? NCA members can access the Harvest Cycle Menu.
Try one of these recipes using foods that may be local to your area.
Want to share this video on Facebook? Click here, and then you'll find three icons along the right side of the screen. Click on the arrow, and you'll be able to choose whether you want to share it to your feed or to a group. You can also include a short note about why this Meal Pattern Minute is so important! Click on the "Post" button when you're finished, and that's it!