Offer Versus Serve and Family Style Meals in CACFP

Why It Matters

It’s important for CACFP operators to understand their option and ability to use Offer Versus Serve in their programs. Examples provided by USDA give operators an idea of what OVS can look like in their settings. Family style meal service is another mealtime option that is used in the CACFP and operators should understand how to accommodate participants with a disability or participants with dietary preferences while using family style meal service.

Offer vs. Serve

OVS is an optional approach to menu planning and meal service that allows participants to decline some of the food offered in a reimbursable breakfast, lunch, or supper. The goal of OVS is to reduce food waste and give participants some control and choice in their meal selection, while still providing a nutritious meal. OVS is only allowed in CACFP adult day care and CACFP at-risk afterschool settings for breakfast, lunch, and supper meals. OVS is not allowed at snack because there are only two required meal components during that service; as such, not enough food is offered to allow participants to decline some foods and ensure that the snack selected is nutritionally sufficient.

In general, OVS is not considered to be appropriate for younger children because it may interfere with the CACFP’s nutrition goals and the center or day care home’s efforts to introduce new foods to children while they are young and still developing food preferences. Therefore, OVS is only an available meal service option for the CACFP adult day care centers and at-risk afterschool programs.

Adult day care centers and at-risk afterschool programs are not required to implement OVS; use of OVS is optional in these settings. Institutions and facilities that choose to use OVS must notify their state agency. How institutions and facilities notify their state agency is at the discretion of the state agency. If an institution or facility chooses to use OVS, menu planners should examine participation and food selection trends to determine what and how much food to prepare. This process typically results in cost savings by reducing the amount of food waste.

State agencies cannot institute a statewide ban on OVS. However, specific institutions and facilities may be restricted from using OVS on a case-by-case basis if the state agency determines that the institution or facility is unable to implement OVS within the requirements outlined in regulations and further through this memorandum.

Terms to Know

For any meal to be eligible for reimbursement, no matter what meal service type is used, all meal components must be offered in at least the required minimum serving sizes at outlined at 7 CFR 226.20(c). Adult day care centers and at-risk afterschool program operators should be familiar with the following terms before implementing OVS:

• A meal component is one of the food groups that comprise reimbursable meals. The meal components for lunch and supper in the CACFP are fluid milk; fruits; vegetables; grains; and meats/meat alternates. The meal components in the CACFP for breakfast are fluid milk, grains, and a combined vegetables and fruits component. This means program operators may serve vegetables, fruits, or a combination of both, to meet this requirement. Meats/meat alternates are not required at breakfast but may be served in place of the entire grains component a maximum of three times per week.
• A serving size is a single portion of food identified by the measure, typically as a weight or volume. Each meal pattern lists the minimum serving size for each meal component that must be served or offered to meet the meal pattern requirements. CACFP operators may choose to serve more than the minimum serving size; however, additional reimbursement will not be given for the extra food served.
• A menu item is any single food or combination food offered on the menu. A menu item may contain one or more meal components. For example, vegetable lasagna is a menu item that contains three meal components: vegetables, grains (pasta noodles), and meats/meat alternates (cheese).
• A breakfast food item is a specific food offered within the three meal components required in the breakfast meal pattern. For example, ½ cup of cantaloupe is a breakfast food item within the combined vegetables and fruits meal component, and a biscuit is a breakfast food item within the grains meal component.
• A combination food is a menu item that contains more than one meal component that cannot be separated. Common examples of combination foods are soups, tacos, smoothies, pizza, and burritos.

CACFP OVS Requirements

All institutions and facilities electing to use OVS in the adult day care and at-risk afterschool settings of the CACFP are required to follow the CACFP OVS requirements at 7 CFR 226.20(o). Due to the distinguishing nature of the CACFP from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), including variations in settings and resources, the OVS requirements in the adult day care and at-risk afterschool settings of the CACFP are slightly different from the OVS requirements in NSLP, SBP, and SFSP. The OVS requirements in the CACFP are as follows:

OVS at Breakfast

The CACFP breakfast meal pattern requires program operators to offer three meal components: fluid milk; vegetables and fruits; and grains. As a reminder, vegetables and fruits are one combined component in the CACFP breakfast meal pattern and meats/meat alternates may be used to meet the entire grains requirement a maximum of three times per week. For OVS at breakfast, food items are counted for a reimbursable meal, not meal components. Under OVS, the menu planner must offer at least four different food items at breakfast, including at least one from each required meal component. The fourth food item can come from the vegetables and fruits, grains, or meats/meat alternates components. A participant must take at least three different food items from any of the food items offered for a reimbursable meal. The food items selected may be from any of the required components and must be in the required minimum serving sizes. Participants may choose which three food items to select. A participant may select all four food items or may decline one food item. Adult day care centers or at-risk afterschool programs may not specify which food items a participant must select when using OVS.

When using OVS at breakfast, at least the following four food items, in the required minimum serving sizes, must be offered:

1. A serving of milk (food item);
2. A food item from the combined vegetables and fruit component;
3. A food item from the grains component or meats/meat alternates component (as applicable); and
4. A food item from the vegetables and fruits, grains or meats/meat alternates component.

All of the food items offered must be different from one another. For example, while a flake cereal, such as bran flakes with raisins, and a puff cereal, such as a puffed rice cereal, are two types of cereals that are not identical, they are considered the same food item because they are both ready-to-eat breakfast cereals. While two different vegetables or fruits, such as a ½ cup apple slices and a ½ cup cantaloupe, may credit as two different breakfast food items, a ½ cup apple slices and a ½ cup applesauce would both be considered apples and therefore would only credit as one breakfast food item.

Further, a larger food item that is equivalent to two or more required servings, such as a two ounce bagel, may be served; however, the larger food item only counts as one food item under OVS in the CACFP, not two.

Depending on the planned menu, participants may need to select more than one food item to meet the minimum quantity needed for a component, such as ¼ cup grapes and ¼ cup apple slices to meet the ½ cup fruit requirement at breakfast, to be credited toward a reimbursable meal.

OVS at Lunch or Supper

The CACFP lunch and supper meal patterns require all five meal components to be offered in the minimum serving sizes required for the respective meal pattern: fluid milk; fruits; vegetables; grains; and meats/meat alternates. However, there are two exceptions:

1. Fluid milk is optional for supper meals served in adult day care centers. If milk is not offered, the adult still must select at least three different meal components in order for the meal to be reimbursable; and
2. An institution or facility may choose to serve two different vegetables at lunch and supper, rather than a serving of vegetables and a serving of fruits. This means that the fruits component at lunch and supper may be substituted by an additional vegetable. When a vegetable is offered in lieu of the fruits component, the two different vegetables credit as two different meal components. If a participant selects both vegetables, the participant would only be required to select one additional component for the meal to be reimbursable (grains, meats/meat alternates, or fluid milk).

Unlike OVS at breakfast where three food items must be taken, in OVS at lunch or supper meals, a participant must take at least three meal components, rather than three food items, to ensure the participant takes an adequately nutritious meal. A participant must select at least the minimum required serving size of the meal components for them to be counted toward the reimbursable meal. Participants must be able to select or decline a meal component, as long as at least three meal components are selected. Adult day care centers or at-risk afterschool programs may not specify which meal components a participant must select.

Option to Offer an Increased Variety of Foods

Offering a variety of choices within a meal component, a practice often seen when foods are offered via a serving line, is not the same as implementing OVS. Under OVS, participants must be allowed to decline food items at breakfast and meal components at lunch and supper. If a menu planner provides choices within each meal component but still requires participants to take all five meal components at lunch or all four food items at breakfast, that is not OVS.

Menu planners always have the option to exceed the minimum daily requirements. Within each meal component, different food and menu items may be offered, giving participants many combinations for building a reimbursable meal. Offering different food and menu items within the required meal components increases the likelihood that participants will select foods they prefer and reduces waste. If the menu includes choices of food or menu items within a meal component, instructions or signs must be available to let supervisors and participants know how to select a reimbursable meal.

For example, a menu planner using OVS at lunch or supper may offer fluid milk, apple slices, broccoli, rice, roasted chicken, and black beans (credited as a meat alternate) for lunch.