You are receiving this newsletter because you are enrolled in the WECA Food Program. |
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Your monthly news & updates |
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Electronic Child Enrollment Forms
Be sure to review every electronic child enrollment form you receive. If any information is incorrect, call the WECA Food Program office right away at 608-729-1045 to correct it.
Effective July 1, 2021, claim errors caused by incorrect information on electronic child enrollment forms are not adjustable.
Claim Summaries
Do review your claim summary every month you submit a claim.
Do remember that late claims are not adjustable.
Do remember that errors caused by parent or provider errors are not adjustable.
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Please join us in extending our best wishes to Rita Schmidt, who retired from the WECA Food Program on July 31st. Rita has been an admired member of WECA for more than 22 years. We have all benefited from her attention to detail towards the WECA Food Program database, the countless resources, and forms and providing strong communications through email announcements and the Provider Connection e-newsletter.
“Rita has been a mainstay of the WECA Food Program for many years. She has supported thousands of family child care programs and brought a high level of dedication and integrity to her work. We wish the very best in her retirement and will miss having her on staff.” -Ruth Schmidt, WECA Executive Director.
We all wish Rita a long and enjoyable retirement! Congratulations, Rita, you will truly be missed!
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Updated WIC Information and Income Eligibility Guidelines
Building for the Future Letter (Parent Letter)
New Food Program Reimbursements Rates
Don’t forget! All providers will receive the higher tier one rates through 6/30/22, due to the special United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Waiver of Area Eligibility in effect through that date.
Pre-enrolled Children in CACFP.Net
Effective August 1, 2021, pre-enrolled children will be archived after 60 days if they have not been enrolled in CACFP.Net.
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Only Nut and Seed Butters are Creditable |
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Remember that only peanut butter and other nut/seed butters are creditable on the food program. Products that are labeled “spread” (peanut butter spread, Nutella spread, etc.) are not creditable. Always read product labels carefully to be sure you serve butter, and not spread. |
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Homemade Recipes
Whenever you serve one of your own recipes that combines two or more foods, be sure to enter each component on your menus. We don’t know your recipes!
Also, be certain that the appropriate serving size (by age) for each component is served to every child.
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Offering a Meal
Offering children a meal means that the food is on their plate and the child is sitting at the table. If you simply ask a child if they are hungry or if they want breakfast, that does not qualify as offering a meal.
​Did You Receive Your Updated Child Care License or Certificate?
Whenever you have updates to your child care license or cert, for example, type of regulation, address, name change, capacity, age range of children in care, hours of operation, and/or days of operation, you MUST submit a copy of that new cert or license to the WECA Food Program or fax it to 866-222-9520. Also, be certain that the most current version is posted on your wall.
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​Vegetable Straws: Not a Fruit, not a Veggie
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​Don't Miss Out!
Email notifications save us time and money. In the future, we will continue to send you more communications via email. You don’t want to miss out!
- Do be certain we always have your correct email address.
- Do be certain that WECA emails don’t go to your junk folder.
- Do not unsubscribe from WECA emails.
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Parent and Provider Resources |
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Your Obligation at a Home Visit
When you signed the Food Program Sponsor/Provider Agreement, you agreed to allow representatives from WECA, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), and/or USDA to make announced and unannounced visits to your family child care home. They may review your meal service and food program records at any time during your hours of operation.
When these representatives arrive for a home visit, and you’re open (whether children are present or not), your up-to-date menus and attendance records must be available for their review.
If you’re closed due to illness, no meals will be reimbursed for that day. Your visit will be completed on another day.
Crediting Foods Using Product Labels
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) held a CACFP Tuesday Talks webinar Crediting Foods Using Product Labels on June 22, 2021. The webinar focused on using product labels to credit yogurt, cereal & combination foods.

The recorded webinar, its presentation handout, and a Q&A on the questions that were asked during the webinar are now posted. The following links will take you directly to these postings:
References to Guidance Memo (GM) 12: The FDCH sponsor version of this guidance memo is Guidance Memo L.
To find DPI’s posted resources on Crediting Foods, On the FDCH Sponsor Guidance Memo Webpage, scroll down the accordion folders to select the L: Meal Requirements 1-12 Years folder. It will open its own set of accordion folders. Select the Crediting Foods folder or the specific meal component’s folder for its resources.
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When is a Special Diet Required? |
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Whenever a child can’t eat or drink a food item that’s required on the food program, the child requires a special diet. He or she must have a completed and approved Special Diet Form and a Special Dietary Needs Tracking Form on file in the WECA Food Program office.
A special diet is based on a medical disability or a parent's preference. A parent must complete the Special Diet Form, along with their health care professional, when required. Then they must give the completed form to you.
- A medical disability is any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, including eating, breathing, and digestive functions. Examples include food allergies or lactose intolerance.
- Parent preference is adding or eliminating foods due to parents’ general concern and/or preference, such as religion, ethnicity, or lifestyle. Examples include eating a vegan diet or avoiding cow’s milk due to preference (not because the child has lactose intolerance).
- The Special Diet Form has s section for children who drink reimbursable alternate milks, such as lactose-free milk and some soy milks. These are the only milk alternates that are currently approved by USDA.
You must report every special diet, whether it’s for a disability or a preference. It doesn’t matter if the child’s meals are reimbursable or not.
- The information must be recorded on both the WECA Special Diet Form AND the Special Dietary Needs Tracking Form.
- Both completed forms must be submitted to the WECA office to be processed.
- After both forms have been approved and entered, you can be paid for that child.
Not every special diet can be reimbursed.
- The Special Diet Form and the Tracking Form will help you determine if you can claim that child’s meals.
- You must work with parents/guardians to obtain the required documentation so that appropriate and safe meals can be served to their children.
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Chicken Nuggets
When entering menus online at CACFP.Net, you must click on the appropriate food served.
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For example, if you serve store-bought chicken nuggets, the CN label is required and you must save the label to show your Area Coordinator. |
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If you serve homemade chicken nuggets you must click on the appropriate food served and keep your recipe on file to show your Area Coordinator. |
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Meals that include Commercially Prepared Combination Foods can only be claimed on the Food Program if a Child Nutrition (CN) label or Manufacturer’s Product Formulation Statement is available for that specific food item.
A combination food is any food that contains more than one food component, for example, corndogs, chicken nuggets, ravioli, lasagna, fish sticks, pizza, etc., or foods that may not be 100% meat, for example, pre-cooked hamburgers, Salisbury steak, etc.
The CN label is necessary to determine how much meat/meat alternate is in the portion being served to meet the meal pattern requirements. If the food item contains other food components (a bread and/or vegetable, for example), the CN label is necessary to also determine how much of these components are in the portion being served to meet the meal pattern requirements.
Below is an example of what a CN label looks like and will help you locate this on your food package. Please contact your Area Coordinator if you are uncertain about how to credit a meal using a CN label.
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If a combination food is homemade, both meal components can be counted because the provider knows the quantity of each ingredient in the recipe for assuring that each portion provides at least the minimum serving sizes required for each component the combination food item contains and is being served for. Your Area Coordinator can ask to see your recipe. |
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Registration is now open for the 2021 WECA Virtual Conference!
The 2021 Virtual Conference will be on a new dynamic platform and will include some incredible live keynote sessions with a variety of live and recorded workshops. New this year, we will also have some exciting features to give you ways in which to interact with educators from across the state, along with some ways to connect with exhibitors!
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The Provider Connection is published by the WECA Food Program Claims Director: Pam Polenz
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This institution is an equal opportunity provider |
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Explore more of what WECA has to offer:
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