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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December 1 - National Eat a Red Apple Day
Read Ten Apples Up on Top (Seuss, 1961)
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December 19 - National Oatmeal Muffin Day
Enjoy If You Give a Moose a Muffin (Numeroff, 1991)
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Happy Anniversary!
CACFP Anniversaries in December
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We're so in awe of your dedication to providing healthy meals to the children in your care. Congratulations!
5 years: Dionne Wilson
20 years: Korrina Akkerman
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Let's Cook! Wee Chefs - Big Results!
by Julie Giles, WECA Food Program Specialist
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Being culinary adventurers, we made a few modifications: We used lime juice rather than lemon juice and dried basil rather than fresh basil. I do think fresh basil would be delicious, and next time I make this, I will use fresh. We used broccoli slaw instead of making our own mix of cabbage and carrots, and it was tasty, nutritious and much easier for very young cooks than finely shredding veggies.
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I don’t own a panini maker, but placing a heavy pan on top of the sandwiches while they grilled worked just fine.
Sully enjoyed the cooking and decidedly ignored the sandwich when it was on his plate. And that was his choice to make! Arlo took a few bites and was initially enthusiastic – which was when I snapped the photo. And then his enthusiasm waned.
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I really enjoyed our modified Wild Field Panini, and I also understood why the boys apparently did not. I like coleslaw, but I did not care for it as a child, and few children in my care have ever chosen to try it when I served it. But, that’s no reason not to offer it! They watch me eat it and enjoy it. They see it on their plate, and they have a choice of whether to ignore it, ala Sully, or taste it, like Arlo. And making choices and experiencing new foods and new textures, smells and flavors is much of what eating in childhood – and throughout our lives – is about. |
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Cook with Us in 2022!
Care to join us in preparing it? If you do and wish to send in comments about your experience making it and serving it in your child care, your name will be entered in a Wee Chefs drawing!
Potential submissions should be emailed on or before Tuesday, December 14th. Submissions can be emailed to me. Use Wee Chefs and the name of your child care home in the subject line of your email.
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- Did they celebrate eating?
- Did they enjoy food and trust their appetite? Did they eat enjoyable food?
- Did they eat as much as they wanted?
- Did they feed himself regularly and reliably?
Providers often express worry about a child in their center who is a picky eater or about a child who overeats.
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But I wonder how many of us have positive relationships with food. Many adults observe very restrictive diets, use sweets as rewards, limit portion sizes, and otherwise use food as a form of torture. Have you done this? I have. Or, can you answer the above questions affirmatively? How can we help the children in our care develop healthy and positive relationships with food if we, ourselves, have relationships with it that are toxic?
Let’s go forward understanding that most of us can improve how we feel about food and how we use it in our daily lives. I bet many of us focus on food, diet, and weight – inseparable as those ideas may be in our heads – at the holidays or in advance of swimsuit season. But eating competence should be our goal – for ourselves and for the children for whom we care. Imagine eating for health, eating to satisfy hunger, eating for satiety, eating for celebration, eating for pleasure!
”If it was successful to have people be uncomfortable and restrictive with what they eat, just going by the rules for the nutrients and calories they need, we would not have an obesity problem. We need a different mindset: Weight is not the big issue, but rather being comfortable with how you eat.”

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Popcorn is Credible as a Whole Grain-Rich Food
Popcorn can be credited as a whole grain-rich food on the Food Program.
However, because the required amount of popcorn may be too much for your children, WI DPI advises that you supplement the popcorn with another creditable grain item: Popcorn added to a trail mix of pretzels and an approved specific cereal, for example. Remember to list each item in the trail mix on your menus.
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Popcorn may be counted as an ingredient in store-bought foods or in foods prepared at home. It must be present in the minimum creditable amount. To be credited in a store-bought food, you must keep that product’s CN label or PFS on file.
Caramel corn or kettle corn are grain-based desserts and cannot be credited as whole grain-rich food.
Toppings like salt, butter, and cheese may be used, but you are encouraged to limit these and choose healthier options.

Remember that popcorn can be a choking hazard for very young children.
Popped Popcorn Whole-grain equivalent
 ¾ cup (.25 oz) ¼ oz equivalent
 1 ½ cups (.5 oz) ½ oz equivalent
3 cups (1 oz) 1-ounce equivalent
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Grocery Bills Going Up?
The Institute of Child Nutrition offers these 8 Tips for Making the Most of Food Dollars.
- Make a list: Resist adding impulsive purchases to the shopping cart.
- Search for the best deals: Use store ads, shopping reward programs and shopping aps to help find the best food deals.
- Buy foods when in-season: In-season produce usually tastes better and is lower in price. Check out your local farmer’s market!
- Vary the protein: Include a variety of protein sources. Legumes and beans are good protein sources, lower in cost, lower in fat, and high in fiber.
- Clip coupons wisely: Ask yourself, is the national brand with the coupon cheaper, or is the store brand a better value? Are you buying more than you can safely store or more than you need?
- Store foods promptly: Keep cold foods cold. Keep a cooler in the car, or bring a collapsible cooler bag if you use metro for your grocery errands.
- Be aware of bulk bins: Bulk bin foods are often less expensive per pound because of the lack of packaging. Even so, compare prices to be sure you are getting the lower price.
- Check out the total cost: Use a calculator or keep a running estimate in your head. Challenge any discrepancy between the item’s posted price and the price charged at the checkout.
I would add:
- Don’t shop when you are hungry – or if the cart rider shopping with you is hungry! Extra and often-costly convenience foods or empty-calorie foods may find their way unexpectedly into the cart.
Institute of Child Nutrition. (2020). 8 tips for making the most of food dollars. University, MS: Author.
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Reminder: You Must Provide WIC Information to All Parents
WIC promotes and maintains the health and well-being of nutritionally at-risk pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women and to infants and children. It provides nutrition, education, breastfeeding education/support, supplemental nutritious foods and referral to other health and nutrition services.​
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Parents Must Complete Child Enrollment Forms Thoroughly
- Each parent or guardian must complete all the applicable information on the Child Enrollment Form for his or her child.
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It is your responsibility to make sure all information is complete and correct before you submit any enrollment forms to the WECA Food Program.
- Be sure to keep a copy of the completed enrollment form.
The Importance of Claim Summaries
Do you read your claim summaries? Claim summaries show how your recent claim was paid – or deducted. Were you deducted for a missing PFA or enrollment form? Caught early and corrected immediately, you will avoid hundreds of lost Food Program dollars.
Do you think the Food Program made an error in processing your claim? You can request an adjustment for an on-time claim.
Deductions due to provider error are not adjustable.
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Find Health Insurance Today – Enroll by December 15 for 2022 Coverage |
It’s important to be healthy so you can take good care of yourself, your family, and the children who are counting on you. Thanks to COVID-19 relief, health insurance prices are lower than ever before. You may now qualify for financial help, even if you did not qualify in the past. This means that four out of five people can find a plan for $10 or less.
It’s time to take care of you. Enroll by December 15, 2021 for coverage to start January 1, 2022. If you have questions, Covering Wisconsin is here to help. Covering Wisconsin is a nonprofit that helps people in Wisconsin find and use health insurance for FREE.
There are two ways to make an appointment:
- Call Covering Wisconsin at 608-261-1455 or 414-400-9489
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Save Time, Save Money! Join WEESSN Today!
The Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network (WEESSN) brings together family and center-based early care and education programs to pool resources and leverage economies of scale. By sharing resources, knowledge, and expertise, child care programs can save time and money. Being a part of a network allows you to be BIG where big is important (purchasing and resources sharing) while still staying small, where small is everything – providing care and education within your community, the way you know best.
Think of WEESSN as an extra team member dedicated to helping you improve your programming, decrease your costs and save you time. Our #1 goal is to make your professional life less stressful.
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How Long Should I Keep Food Program Records?
- Food Program records must be kept at the child care site for the current month plus the previous 12 months.
- Records for the three years that preceded that can be store onsite or offsite.
- Records may be stored electronically.
ALL RECORDS MUST BE ACCESSIBLE for review by representatives of the WECA Food Program, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) or by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) at any time during your regular child care hours. Best Business Practices advise that you back up your food program records periodically
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Licensed Providers Caring for Five-Year Olds
Do you care for two or more children under the age of two? Wisconsin licensing rules allow you to claim a 5-year old who is enrolled in school and is in care no more than three hours per day, up to a maximum group size of eight. Be sure to complete and submit the School-age Verification for Child 5 Years Form so that you can be paid correctly.
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Do We Have Your Correct Email Address?
If we don’t, you risk missing out on notifications, such as tier renewal letters and other information that can have a direct impact on your child care business.
To change your email address, log into CACFP.Net and choose Changes from the menu bar at the top of the page. Then select Providers Changes, complete the required information, and click Submit.
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We Need Your Updated Regulation!
Remember to mail, fax, or email us a legible copy of your updated regulation as soon as you get it! Send it to jgiles@wisconsinearlychildhood.org  or fax it to 866-222-9520 so your claim will be paid correctly.
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What is a Household Contact?
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Do You Know Tom Copeland? |
​Tom Copeland has been a trainer, author, and advocate for the business of family child care providers since 1981. His Family Child Care Resource Directory covers everything from marketing and money management to record-keeping and taxes.
Tom offers several workshops and trainings throughout the year. Many of them are recorded webinars for you to reference later. His blog posts up-to-date information on best business practices, tax preparation and more.
His blog is awarded the Money Management Top Blog as well as a Top 75 Child Care Blog!
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Your 2020 WECA Food Program Earnings
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The Provider Connection is published by the WECA Food Program Claims Director: Pam Polenz
Provider Connection Editor: Julie Giles Questions: Call 608-240-9880 or visit our website.
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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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