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Frequently Asked Questions
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Milk Matters! FNS shares information on the kind of milk to be served in the Child and Adult Care Program (CACFP) to those in your care (infants, children or Adults).
-Non creditable Milk
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Contact Alpha & Omega Nutrition Program at 901-360-1000 and request a participation requirement check list. After reviewing the list provided and meeting all requirements, call to schedule a 2-3 hour orientation to meet with the food program staff. We serve licensed and unregulated family child care homes, child care centers, adult daycare centers and at-risk after school care programs. As a licensed or unregulated child & adult care provider, the program provides you with financial reimbursement for serving nutritious USDA approved meals and snacks to children & adults in your care.
In order to join the Food Program, contact us by phone at 901-360-1000 or 901-220-4687, by email alphaomegafnp@gmail.com or visit our website at www.alphaomegafnp.org to arrange for an orientation. You'll be up and running in no time!
Providers receive valuable nutrition education that helps them know the proper foods to feed children in amounts appropriate for these young age groups. They receive help through nutrition education and personal visits from CACFP staff in understanding how to encourage positive eating habits that will benefit a child throughout life.
All children in daycare centers from birth through age 12 can be claimed. Children of migrant parents can participate up to age 15. Children up to age 18 can be claimed in after chool care programs. You will need to send an enrollment form, signed by the parent, to your sponsor for each child in your care. You may claim your own children for meals at which other non-resident children that are enrolled in the Food Program are present, and if you qualify by your income level. Foster children may also be claimed for meals at which other non-resident children are claimed.
Each day you will need to make a record of attendance, menus and meal counts by midnight. This may sound like a daunting task, however it takes very little time. Current providers in the program state that recording menus and meal counts daily takes approximately five to ten minutes! Your monitor will provide you with online and mobile access to input claim information and how to enroll and submit the claims monthly to your sponsor.
Monitors check several things when they conduct a home visit. Many times, they will provide additional technical assistance to make sure you know exactly what you are required to do to be in compliance. If you have repeated difficulty keeping daily records, an improvement plan will be started. If you are over capacity or if there is a health or safety issue, your representative will complete a report and provide a corrective action plan. The report will be available for review by your sponsor. Follow-up will be conducted for compliance verification.
Yes, providers are required to supply an IFIF to infants enrolled in your care. If the parent refuses the brand of IFIF you offer, the infant may still be enrolled in the Food Program as long as you are willing to supply one component of the infant's meal when they are developmentally ready to eat solid foods.
Parents may choose not to enroll their child on the Food Program, and will need to send a written statement to a sponsor to say they will not participate. You will not be reimbursed for meals you serve that child.
Any time a child is not able to follow the meal pattern requirements, a doctor's statement must be on file in order for the child to be claimed on the Food Program. If the child's inability to follow the meal pattern is based on a disability, you must provide the alternate food the child requires.
Your CACFP sponsor has many ideas that you can use when serving children, such as a Toddler Menu Choices Sample. Recipes are available from many online sources, but keep in mind that simple foods with few ingredients are often the healthiest option.
Every child care setting should have a first aid kit stocked with items on the list below. You can buy the supplies for the first aid kit at drug stores or medical supply stores. Each first aid kit should be large enough to hold all the necessary supplies for first aid in the child care setting. Use a container that will close tightly. It should be stored out of reach of children. You should arrange the contents so you can reach items easily without emptying the kit. You should be sure that the contents are wrapped tightly and are sanitary. You should restock the kit after each use.
A first aid kit should contain the following items:
1. First aid cards* Commercial cold pack or plastic bag for ice cubes
2. Adhesive strip bandages (1/2", 3/4", 1" strips) Clean cloth
3. Gauze bandages (4"x4", nonstick, sterile) Soap
4. Rolled flexible or stretch gauze Small plastic cup
5. Bandage tape Sealed packages of cleansing wipes
6. Nonstick, sterile pads (different sizes) Syrup of ipecac (1-ounce bottle)
7. Triangular bandages
8. Small splints
9. Eye dressing or pad
10. Special items for children with specific health problems (such as bee sting kit or an inhaler for a child with asthma)
11. Scissors Emergency Telephone Guide
12. Tweezers
13. Safety pins
14. Emergency contact information (phone numbers of the children's parents)
15. Thermometer Change for pay phone
16. Flashlight with fresh batteries Pen or pencil and note pad
17. Disposable latex gloves
18. Three-ounce rubber bulb syringe (to rinse out eyes, wounds, etc.)
Eligible public or private nonprofit child care centers, outside-school-hours care centers, Head Start programs, and other institutions which are licensed or approved to provide day care services may participate in CACFP, independently or as sponsored centers. For profit centers must receive title XX funds for at least 25 percent of enrolled children or licensed capacity (whichever is less) or at least 25 percent of the children in care must be eligible for free and reduced price meals. Meals served to children are reimbursed at rates based upon a child's eligibility for free, reduced price, or paid meals. Alpha & Omega Nutrition Program determines if your center meets the 25% threshold monthly.
The Children benefit because they are recipients of nutritious meal daily. The parents benefit because their children receive free and well-balanced meals while they are at work. The childcare provider, benefits by receiving monthly reimbursement payments to help cover the cost of the meals and snacks purchased and served. It is a valuable community service to offer meals at no cost to the children in your care. This is also a marketing tools that can be used to recruit more children.
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funded program. As a participant in the CACFP, childcare centers receive monthly reimbursement stipends for serving nutritious USDA approved meals and snacks to the children they serve daily. The goal of the CACFP is to make good nutrition available to children from birth through 18 years of age.
To participate on the program you must operate a Tennessee licensed childcare center. You must serve meals and snacks that meet the nutritional guidelines established by the USDA and you must agree not to charge your childcare parents for the food you serve. Alpha & Omega Nutrition Program Incorporated will assume full responsibility for the administrative & financial liabilities of your food program operations. Alpha & Omega Nutrition program will provide governance that ensures your program will be operated in compliance with all local, state & state program guidelines.
Reimbursements are disbursed once each month, providers are required to document daily, and submit your all food program records to Alpha & Omega Nutrition Program Inc. Our office will process your received records and reconcile meals and attendance with the meals served to determined eligible reimbursement payment based on the program requirements. Centers are reimbursed based on meal rates set by the USDA. The rate categorizes are “free”, “reduced”, and “paid” and are determined for each child based on guidelines set by the United Stated Department of Agriculture (USDA) annually.
No, sponsors do not charge for participating in the CACFP. We do assess a fee for daycare centers, which cover administrative service cost of administering the CACFP. This includes expenses like mileage to conduct site inspections, CACFP management software, payroll, center training, telephone, Internet, office lease, office supplies and postage and any other expenses.
As your sponsor, Alpha & Omega Nutrition Program, Inc. assumes full administrative and financial responsibility for your child care food program operations. The state of Tennessee requires participating centers to be bonded, submit to background checks, provide proof of financial viability (which includes up to three months of bank records), and create detailed management plans and budgets. As a Alpha & Omega Nutrition Program Inc. sponsored facility, you operate under the auspices of our organizations financial viability and management plan with no extra burden.
As your CACFP sponsor, Alpha & Omega Nutrition Program we stand between you and the state of Tennessee. When you are visited by the State, our goal is to support you through the process and assure that you are prepared to ace all requirements. Our quarterly monitoring reviews, annual training, monthly resources, and regular technical assistance are all in an effort to keep your center’s child care food program finding free. In fact, our sponsored centers that have been monitored by the state agency have not received findings for overpayments!
Contact: Bremeshia Gipson, M.Ed.
Title: CCR&R Quality Coach
LeBonheur Community Outreach
600 Jefferson Ave. 3rd Floor 311
Memphis TN 38105
Phone: 901-287-4980
Text: 901-338-2508
Website: www.tnccrr.org/
Contact: Keosha Perry, MBA, IMH-E®
Title: CCR&R Small Business Support Specialist
Mobile: (901) 579-9193
Website: www.tnccrr.org
Click here to view the Small Business Support Flyer
493 Kinsman Rd.
Memphis TN 38120
Owner: Aaron Leach
Phone: 901-830-6434
Email: squeakycleanofmemphis@gmail.com
Website: www.squeakycleanofmemphis.com
Click here for the 2017 New Meal Pattern Best Practices
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Click here for CACFP Center Handy Guide to Creditable Foods
Click here for Cereal & Whole Grain-Rich Approved Cereal
Click here for the Cereal CACFP Sugar Limit Approved
September 30, 2017
As of October 1, 2017, breakfast cereal served in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) must contain no more than 6 grams of sugar per dry ounce. You may serve any cereal that is listed on any State agency’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)-approved cereal list, found as part of the State’s approved food lists at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/links-state-agency-wic-approved-food-lists. You may also find cereals that meet the whole grain requirement. Nutrition Facts label can also help in determining the sugar limit.
Click here for the Choosing Breakfast Cereals That Are Lower In Added Sugars Flyer
September 30, 2017
As of October 1, 2017, yogurt served in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) must contain more than 23 grams of sugar per 6 ounces. There are many types of yogurt that meet this requirement. It is easy to find them by using the Nutrition Facts label and following these simple steps or using the yogurt chart provided.
Click here for the Choosing Yogurts That Are Lower In Added Sugars Flyer
Crediting Meats/Meat Alternates in the CACFP Tip Sheet
September 30, 2017
Every day, more than 4 million children get meals and snacks through USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Thanks to recent updates to the CACFP meal patterns, you now have even more opportunities to help children and adults get the nutrition they need to learn, grow, play and be healthy.
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Milk Requirements & TIPS 2022
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These are qualified manufacturers by FNS for CN Labeling Program)
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These are the USDA/USDC authorized labels.
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OR
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April 26, 2018
Choosing Whole Grain Rich Foods
This brochure provides guidance on identifying and selecting whole grain rich foods to serve in your childcare facility. The CACFP guidelines require participants to serve at least one whole-grain-rich food at least one time each day to meet the new meal pattern requirement.
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Infant - Feeding Infants in the CACFP Guide
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Click here for the Infant - Meal Pattern Requirements Memo
Infant Meal Pattern Changes
- Requires whole vegetables and fruits to be served at snack for infants
6-11 months old.
- Eliminates fruit juice from the infant meal pattern
- Allows ready to eat cereals to be served as a grain at snack for infants
6-11 months old
- Allows cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt as allowable meat alternates
for infants 6-11 months old
Click here for Infant - New Meal Pattern & Changes (2017)
Click here for Sample Infant Menu
Serve Tasty and Healthy Foods in the CACFP Sample Meals for Children Ages 1-2
Click here for USDA FNS 2020 Crediting Handbook for the CACFP
Click here for the TDHS Alternate Approval Home Capacity Memo
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Click here for Children - Meal Pattern Fact Sheet (USDA)
New October 1, 2017 CACFP Meal Pattern Changes
- New age group established as: 1-2 years, 3-5 years, 6-12 years and 13-18 years
- Breakfast cereal should not contain more than 6grams of sugar per dry ounce effective
October 1, 2019, ounce equivalents are used to determine the quantity of creditable grains
- Breakfast- Allows meat and meat alternates to be served in the place of the entire grains a
maximum of three (3) times per week
- Yogurt- should contain no more than 23 grams of sugar per 6 ounces
- Flavored Milk is NOT prohibited for children ages 2-5
- Flavored Milk must contain no more than 22 grams of sugar per 8 ounces for children 6 years
and older
- Water is required to be made available and offered upon request to children throughout the
day
- Vegetable and Fruit component should be separate components at Lunch, Supper and Snack
- Fruit and Vegetables are limited tone serving daily for children over 1 (one) years old
- Whole Grain- required one serving daily to be enriched
- Tofu- creditable meat alternate
- Grain based desserts are not allowable and cannot be counted toward the grain requirement
- Prohibits frying as a way of preparing food on-site, as defined as deep fat frying
- Restrict the use of food as a punishment or reward
- Allows reimbursement for meals that contain one component that is provided by the parents
or guardian
- Allows non-dairy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to milk and meet the nutritional
standards for fortification of calcium, protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, and other nutrients to
levels found in cow's milk
- Proposes practices that must be followed when a provider or center chooses to serve meal
family style
Click here for Children - New Meal Pattern & Changes (2017)
Milk Requirements & TIPS 2022
Serve Tasty and Healthy Foods in the CACFP Sample Meals for Children Ages 3-5
Serve Tasty and Healthy Foods in the CACFP Sample Meals for Children Ages 6-12 & 13-18
Click here for Adults - Meal Pattern Fact Sheet (USDA)
Milk Requirements & TIPS 2022
Serve Tasty and Healthy Foods in the CACFP Sample Meals for Adults
Click here for the USDA Adult Day Care & ARAS Offer vs. Serve Policy
Click here for the USDA ARAS Food Off-Site Policy
Click here for USDA ARAS Use of Share Tables Policy
Click here for the USDA Children Meal Pattern Requirements Memo
Click here for the USDA Children Meal Pattern to Lower Costs
Click he re for USDA Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023: Effect on Child Nutrition
Programs
Click here for the USDA Feeding Infants Guide (Creditable Foods for Infants)
USDA Feeding Infants in the CACFP Guide
Click here for the USDA FNS 2026 Crediting Handbook for the CACFP
Click here for the USDA FNS Application of Bostock v. Clayton County
Click here for the USDA FNS Bostock Memo Cover Letter
Click here for the USDA FNS Bostock Question and Answer Memo Final
Click here for the USDA FNS Collection of Race & Ethnicity Data by Visual Observation and Identification in the CACFP & SFSP - Policy Rescission
Click here for the USDA Food Buying Guide Introduction (PDF)
Click here for the USDA Food Buying Guide (for Sections, Yield Tables & Appendices)
Click here for the USDA Food Buying Guide (Web-based Tool)
Click here for the USDA Food Crediting in the Child Nutrition Program Update
Click here for the USDA Grain Requirements in the CACFP
Click here to view USDA Memo Crediting Coconut, Hominy, Corn Masa & Corn Flour
Click here to view the USDA Memo Crediting Pasta Products Made of Vegetable Flour
Click here to view USDA Memo - Crediting Popcorn in the Child Nutrition Programs
Click here to view the USDA Memo - Crediting Shelf-Stable, Dried and Semi-Dried Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Products in the Child Nutrition Programs
Click here to view the USDA Memo Crediting Surimi Seafood in the Child Nutrition Programs
Click here for the USDA Memo Crediting Tempeh in the Child Nutrition Programs
Click here for USDA Memo Crediting Traditional Indigenous Foods in Child Nutrition Programs
Click here for the USDA Memo Q&A Re: 2022 Infant Formula Shortage in CACFP
Click here for the USDA Milk Requirement Policy 2016
Click here for USDA Reimbursement for Meals and Snacks Served to Young Adults in the CACFP- Implementation Guidance for State Agencies 1
Click here for the USDA Water Requirement Policy
Click here for Oversight and Monitoring of the Child and Adult Care Food Program - Guidance on On-site and Off-site Strategies and Options
Click here for APPENDIX for Oversight and Monitoring of the Child and Adult Care Food Program - Guidance on On-site and Off-site Strategies and Options
Benefits
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