This was the second of two studies done on child care providers who participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) which serves healthy meals and snacks to the children in their care. The results show that children have better overall diets on days when they are in child care than on days when they are not.
View the full study here or read on for the four key findings.
Key Finding #1
When in the care of providers participating in CACFP, children have better overall diets on days when they are in child care than on days when they are not.
On days spent in child care, children ages 3 to 5 ate more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and dairy than on days outside of care. They also took in fewer calories from saturated fats and added sugars.
Key Finding #2
The meals and snacks CACFP providers served in 2022-23 aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
This study evaluated how meals and snacks served by CACFP child care providers aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) in three ways:
- USDA meal pattern requirements
- HEI-2015 total scores over time (measuring overall alignment with the DGA)
- HEI-2015 component scores (showing alignment within specific categories such as fruits, added sugars, etc.)
Key Finding #3
Meal reimbursement rates covered providers’ food costs but fell below total meal costs for all meal types.
USDA offers participating CACFP providers per-meal reimbursements to help offset the cost of meals and snacks. However, since the majority of expenses in child care centers come from labor rather than food, the reimbursements are not sufficient to fully cover both food and labor costs.
Key Finding #4
Some providers faced challenges related to CACFP.
36% of providers identified insufficient meal reimbursements as a significant barrier to participating in CACFP. While 50% reported no difficulties in planning menus that meet CACFP meal patterns, 24% cited limited access to foods that meet the requirements as a challenge in providing nutritious meals.
Advertise Your Participation
Remember, it is important to advertise to potential parents that you are on the CACFP. This is an indicator of quality care and nutritious meals, which will be a benefit for choosing your program. Click the image below to download these posters or request printed versions.
Learn more about the why and how of this study: