Using CACFP Guidelines to Build a Healthy School Menu
Development of healthy eating habits begins early in life. A large majority of young children spend several days in some form of childcare outside their home each week and often consume multiple meals during that time. Childcare providers play an essential role in the development of healthy eating habits of children.
The CACFP was created to help ensure that childcare providers are able to offer healthy foods throughout the day, however, this still remains a challenge due to budget constraints and picky children. This course will help administrators and individuals involved in menu planning understand the history of the food program guidelines and how to navigate them; detail the importance of each meal component and how it relates to child growth and development; discover budget friendly options for each meal component; and help childcare providers make small changes to their own menus that will create a healthy impact on the children they care for.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this training, successful participants should be able to:
- Discuss how and why the CACFP was developed and detail current guidelines.
- List and discuss the importance of each meal component and how these foods positively impact growth and development.
- List at least 2 budget friendly options for each meal component.
- List at least 2 ways they can alter their current menus to provide healthier choices
Clock hours: 2.0 clock hours
Your Instructor
Dr. Jessica Barnes received her PhD in nutrition from Texas Woman's University. Her research focused on food preference development and creating materials to help preschoolers become familiar with healthy foods. She has worked with families and communities as a clinical and community Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.