Specialty 1
Building Healthy Bodies with the Foods We Serve ($)
In your career, you play a critical role to ensure that all children have access to healthy foods. Those foods are vital to providing the nutrients kids need as they grow, and into adulthood. Most of us know about macronutrients (carbs, proteins, and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) but do you know in which foods they can be found and how they work in the body? Learn what fruits, vegetables, grains, meats/meat alternates and fluid milk contribute so you can put nutrients together for optimal health when building a menu. Get examples and a visual handout showing what food components do for the body.
Read MoreExplore New Foods with a Taste Testing Adventure ($)
The CACFP fosters a positive eating environment that encourages healthy eating habits. Children will develop their own unique palates based on the foods they are exposed to while in your care, which may affect their food choices later on as adults. Learn how you can introduce new or challenging foods through various taste testing strategies, promote conversations around meals, and discover other food tasting adventure tips!
Read MorePromoting Responsive Feeding Practices in Early Childhood Settings ($)
Responsive feeding is an attentive way of feeding young children that includes watching for their hunger and satiety cues. This session will define the characteristics of responsive feeding as well as the impact and benefits on children’s physical and social emotional well-being. Participants will be provided with strategies and resources to help them engage in responsive feeding with children.
Read MoreUnderstanding Grain-Based Desserts ($)
Wondering why savory biscotti, rice pudding, and scones are creditable in the CACFP, but the same items made with fruits are considered to be sweet and are not allowed for reimbursement under the meal pattern? Grain-based desserts are a category of food items that are considered sweet and high in sugar. By eliminating grain-based desserts in the CACFP, USDA hopes to reduce the amount of added sugars kids eat in child care. While brownies clearly fall in the grain-based desserts category, other food items can be tricky. Learn how to determine what is creditable and what is not based on the USDA guidance.
Read MoreGardening Activities for Every Classroom ($)
Ready to grow? Explore the many benefits of gardening with the children in your care. Learn about indoor and outdoor gardening activities to try in your classrooms. A love of gardening and dirt are not required.
Read MoreBody Positivity and Cultivating Good Relationships with Food
Our relationship with food develops at an early age. Labeling certain foods as “bad” or calling someone a “good eater” or “picky eater” can create unintended harmful effects that can follow kids through life. Learn how to help kids cultivate a good relationship with food from the start.
Read MoreTailoring Menus to Accommodate Special Diets ($)
Unsure of how to plan menus for children with special dietary needs? Explore the key considerations to remember when planning and sourcing CACFP creditable substitutions for special diets such as food allergies, gluten-free, and preparing texture-modified diets.
Read MoreTools and Resources for CACFP Success ($)
Hundreds of thousands of people participate in the CACFP. We have resources to help! From provider toolkits to online training, activity sheets, nutrition education and more, learn how to use these to promote nutrition and physical activities in your CACFP operations.
Read MoreHealthy & Strong with Sesame Street ($)
Children receive nutritious meals through CACFP. Get to know Wes & Elijah as they have a healthy snack and take their usual afternoon walk. Learn about new resources featuring furry friends from your favorite Street to support healthy habits for everyone in the neighborhood.
Read MoreBeginners’ Guide to the Five Meal Pattern Components ($)
Centers, family child care homes, and afterschool care play a critical role in serving nutritious foods to those they serve. The CACFP guides you on how to provide healthy meals using five food components which make up the meal service requirements: grains, fruits, vegetables, meats/meat alternates and milk. Learn when these are required and how they fit into the CACFP meal pattern.
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