Food Program Anniversaries in April

5 years: Lafonda Perkins   

25 years: Marilyn Cain, Colette Kraft   

35 Years: Lisa Morici 

We applaud your commitment to serving nutritious meals and snacks to the children in your care!  

Components and Crediting 

Ask the Food Program

Question: 

When I am grocery shopping, it can be challenging to compute added sugar for yogurt. Is there a resource that makes this simpler?  

Answer: 

Thank you for that question! 

Wisconsin DPI produced this helpful resource Yogurt Added Sugar Limits that includes all the information to calculate added sugar and shows images of known brands that currently meet the total sugar limits.  

NOTE: “Manufacturers may change a product’s formulation, and a product may no longer meet CACFP added sugar limits.” For that reason, be sure you do periodic verifications to determine if the brand(s) you use still meet the sugar limits.  

55th Annual Week of the Young Child

April 11 – 17th, 2026  

Week of the Young Child ® is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world’s largest association of early childhood professionals. “This year, Week of the Young Child is extra special – marking a milestone in NAEYC’s century-long commitment to young children, families, and educators.” (Source: NAEYC https://www.naeyc.org/events/woyc/plan-your-event ) 

TASTY TUESDAY: April 14th

Health Eating Without Pressure 

Healthy eating starts with positive experiences. This Tasty Tuesday session connects Farm to ECE practices with Ellen Satter’s Division of Responsibility in feeding, showing how repeated, joyful exposure to food helps children build curiosity and acceptance over time. Participants will gain practical tools for creating supportive, developmentally appropriate mealtime environments. 

All participants in attendance will be entered into a drawing that will take place during the session. There will be three chances to win a children’s cookbook with healthy recipes. 

Time: 1:00 pm with live interpretation 

Presenters: Catherine Hansen, Kaelin Barnes, and Theresa Shaeffer 

Registration Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/NyKLbghfShuzkFTVd_J8XA   

Note that this training does not substitute for completing the Food Program annual provider training. 

Recipe(s) to Try!  

Try this flavorful recipe for Polenta With Pepper and Cheese from Healthy Eating on a Budget p 26.

Cook Time: 23 minutes 

Ingredients: 4 cups water; 1 ½ cup cornmeal (or polenta, uncooked); one 11 oz can whole kernel corn mixed with green and red peppers, drained; one 7 ounce can of green chiles; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon margarine, butter or vegetable oil; 6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (may be reduced fat cheddar); one 15 ounce can black or pinto beans (rinsed.) Garnish with cilantro sprigs and rings of red bell pepper, if desired. 



Instructions: 

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to boil, and gradually add the cornmeal or polenta. Reduce heat to low. 
2. Continue stirring, adding the corn, chiles and the salt. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally. 
3. Gently still in the margarine, butter or vegetable oil; cheese and beans. 
4. Remove from the heat and transfer to a serving dish. 
5. Garnish with red bell pepper rings and cilantro, if desired. 

If prepared in advance, spread in a pan and chill. To serve, slice into squares, and reheat in microwave or oven

Crediting cornmeal

(Source: p 85 Crediting Handbook for the CACFP: https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/crediting-handbook.pdf ) 

Crediting polenta

(Source: p 95 Crediting Handbook for the CACFP https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/crediting-handbook.pdf)

Food, Affordability, and CACFP  

Affordability is a big issue, and food prices are increasing each time we shop. What can providers do to help deal with this? Here are some recommendations: 

• Buy foods in bulk or large quantities, as long as you can use them – or freeze them – before they expire. Larger quantities are often cheaper by the ounce than smaller quantities, but do you own cost comparison to be sure. 
• Consider freezing quantities of meat, vegetables, or even bread that exceeds what you can use right now. You may be surprised at the list of foods that can be frozen safely! Some foods may experience changes in texture when frozen – such as cheese – but if you are melting cheese for grilled cheese, you won’t taste the difference! 
• Avoid buying commercial combination foods, if you can, as these foods often come with a high price tag. (Note that Commercial Combination Foods that have a CN label or Product Formulation Sheet have serving size requirements that must be met to credit on CACFP. When multiplied by 8 children eating that meal, your cost can be $$$.) 
• Consider serving more meals and snacks that offer meat alternates derived from plant sources, if you’re finding the cost of meat prohibitive. The health benefits correlated with plant-based diets include “a reduced risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer.” (Source: https://www.pcrm.org/news/news-releases/new-england-journal-medicine-letter-shows-plant-protein-beats-animal-protein ) 

Eat more tofu!

DPI offers this book of tofu recipes.

Spotlight vegetarian meals!

Consult this resource from DPI for more information.

NOTE: CACFP meal patterns for children aged 1-12 require that dairy milk of the proper fat content per age be offered. Use of a creditable non-dairy milk requires submission and approval of Special Diet documents found on the Food Program website under Forms & Resources.

Claims

• Set an alarm for the same time each day to complete your menu and attendance information on CACFP.Net. OR preplan your menus on a rotational basis, and click in the children who were served those meals and snacks at the end of the child care day. A good daily record keeping habit means you will never be disallowed for menus and attendance not up to the date at the time of a Home Visit!  
• Re-check your claim information! Forgot to click the whole grain box? Forgot a required meal component? Same day review of your menu and attendance information allows you to make corrections that, if unaddressed, may cause disallowance – and lost $$ - during claim processing. 
• Submit your monthly, on-time Food Program claim. CACFP reimbursements for creditable meals and snacks are dependable sources of income.  

Claiming monthly demonstrates your commitment to serving healthy meals and snacks, helps your bottom line, and supports the Food Program. WECA Food Program funding comes entirely from the per-claim reimbursement set annually by Congress at the time that Tier determinations are made.  

Monitoring and Oversight

Mealtime Conversations: Words and Their Impact  

The Institute of Child Nutrition provides this resource to help guide providers to more positive communications with children during meals. Knowing what to say – and what not to say! - can shape children’s views about food, now and in the future. 

Mobile App  

The mobile app has a new link! https://mobile.accutrak-cacfp.net/    



Delete the old app and start using this new one. 

Federal Recordkeeping Requirements for CACFP  

Keep three years, plus the current year, of Food Program records. They must be maintained onsite for the most recent 12 months, plus the current month. Records prior to the most recent 13 months may be stored onsite or offsite, either electronically or on paper, but they must all be accessible for representatives of WECA, DPI, or USDA to review at any time during your normal business hours.   

Special Needs Definition for the Food Program  

Special Needs applies to a child aged 13 or older with a handicapping condition that significantly interferes with day-to-day life. A documented Special Need allows a child who would normally ‘age out’ of Food Program participation to continue to be claimed past the 13th birthday. The food Program does not use Special Needs for children under age 13, because the CACFP must be equally available to all children in child care from birth through age 12. 

Documents to submit for Special Needs are found on the Food Program website clustered here under Special Dietary Needs Requests and Special Needs Verification.  

Questions Regarding Your Payment?  

You can request an adjustment to your reimbursement if you believe you’ve been paid incorrectly.

Contact mmahl@wisconsinearlychildhood.org by the 20th of the month in which the payment was received. Adjustments cannot be made for late claims or for late or incorrect forms such as tier documentation.  

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

The Provider Connection is published by the WECA Food Program.

Any Questions: Call 608-240-9880 or visit our website.

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