Meal Pattern Minute: Milk Transition Period

In the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), fluid milk is a required meal component to be served for breakfast, lunch, and supper meal pattern. For children aged one, unflavored whole milk must be served and children ages two through five must be served unflavored 1% or fat-free milk. As a reminder breastmilk can be served at any age and is creditable in the CACFP. If an infant stops receiving breastmilk after 11 months and transitions to whole milk, or a preschool-aged child switches from whole milk to 1% or fat-free milk, does a CACFP operator have a milk transition period to help them adjust? 

So, if breastmilk is not provided past the age of 11 months and the infant is transitioning from breastmilk or infant formula to whole milk or the preschool-aged child is transitioning from whole milk to 1% or fat-free milk, is there a time period where a CACFP operator can help these children acclimate to the new type of milk? 

Find out by listening to this Meal Pattern Minute with Isabel Ramos-Lebron, MS, RDN, LD, as she discusses transitioning from different milk types across these two age groups. 

Get more information and resources about this topic by referencing the information below. You can find several resources referring to fluid milk transitions. 

• Nutrition Requirements for Fluid Milk and Substitutions in the CACFP, Questions and Answers CACFP 01-2025) 
  • One Year Old Children 
    • FNS recognizes that switching immediately from breastmilk or iron-fortified formula to whole milk when a child turns one year old may be challenging. Therefore, iron-fortified formula may be served to children between the ages of 12 months and 13 months to help with the transition to whole milk. Breastmilk may be served to a child of any age.
  • Children Two Years Old and Older and Adults 
    • FNS recognizes that switching immediately from whole milk to low-fat (1%) milk or fat-free (skim) milk when a child turns two years old may be challenging. Therefore, unflavored whole milk and reduced-fat (2%) milk may be served to children between the ages of 24 months to 25 months to help with the transition to fat-free (skim) milk or low-fat (1%) milk. Meals served to children 24 months to 25 months old may be reimbursable when they contain breastmilk, whole milk, reduced-fat (2%) milk, low-fat (1%) milk, fat-free (skim) milk, or a combination of these milk types.
• Crediting Fluid Milk in the Child Nutrition Program Tip Sheet 
  • Milk Transition for Infants and Preschoolers
    • Iron-fortified formula may be served to children between the ages of 12 months and 13 months to help with the transition to whole milk.
    • Breastmilk may be used to meet the fluid milk component in the CACFP meal pattern.
    • Unflavored whole milk and reduced-fat (2%) milk may be served to children between the ages of 24 and 25 months to help with the transition to fat-free milk or low-fat (1%) milk.

• Serving Milk in the CACFP (Free webinar)
  • This webinar walks the audience through Team Nutrition’s “Serving Milk in the CACFP” training worksheet and lets audience select milk for various age groups to meet meal pattern requirements. Presented by USDA Team Nutrition. 
• Think you know all that there is about serving milk in the CACFP? Take this fun quiz created by USDA: Milk in the CACFP Quiz 

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