National Days in June

June 3rd: National Egg Day  



Read The Good Egg, (Jory, 2019) and The Great Eggscape!  (Jory, 2020) and enjoy eggs as a meat/meat alternate at any meal or snack.  

Welcome to Our New Area Coordinators 

Tracie Jackson

Before coming to WECA, Tracie Jackson supervised a team of representatives at a call center. In her spare time, Tracie spends as much time as possible with her family at family gatherings and outings.  

Mikayla Gander

Before coming to WECA, Mikayla Gander was a lead teacher in a child care program. In her spare time, Mikayla enjoys drawing, sketching, and dabbling in nail art. Mikayla also enjoys doing puzzles like Sudoku to relax.

Food Program Anniversaries in May

• 5 years: Renee Coleman and Aquanesha Rodgers-Wood 
• 15 years: Pam Erickson, Lesa Perry, Cindy Brueggeman, and Rebecca Minor  
• 20 years: Jacqueline Singer and Sarah Gruenewald  

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

Welcome to Our New Providers!

• Santaja, India, Briana, Shelia, Veronica, and Myrtle in Milwaukee 
• Angela in Crivitz  
• Chong in Weston 
• Sherry in Athens 
• Brittany in Oostburg 
• Julianne in Sheboygan  
• Sierra in Prairie Du Chien 
• Sydney in Wisconsin Rapids  

We welcome you and applaud this mark of professionalism!  

Components and Crediting 

Recipes to Try! 

Looking for new, summery recipes? Look no further! MyPlate offers these recipes with the fresh taste of citrus.

Monitoring and Oversight

Tiering: Expiration on June 30, 2024!  

Every income eligibility determination expires on June 30, 2024.  

Important reminders about tier applications: 

• Remember that the deadline for a July 1 effective date is always July 31. 
• USDA does not allow adjustments for late or missing paperwork/documentation. 
• It is your responsibility to submit all required forms and documentation by the deadline. 

Tier information and applications will be emailed to your email address on file on July 1, 2024. No information is available until July 1, 2024. 

Reducing Added Sugars: Institute of Child Nutrition  

“The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting added sugars to less than 10% of daily caloric intake... Foods high in added sugars tend to be heavily processed, high in calories, and lacking essential nutrients.”  

CACFP meal patterns were revised in 2017 with the aim of reducing dietary sugar by: 

• Limiting sugar in yogurt to <23 g of sugar per 6 ounce serving; 
• Limiting sugar in cereal to <6 g of sugar per dry ounce; 
• Restricting the use of 100% fruit or vegetable juice to once per day. A creditable juice product must state full-strength juice; single-strength juice; 100% juice; and reconstituted juice; juice from concentrate or juice concentrate. Items named cocktail, beverage or drink are not 100% juice and are not creditable. Juice is not creditable for infants. 
• Disallowing the use of grain-based desserts – i.e., cookies, brownies, cakes, pies, ice cream, doughnuts, and pastries – which are among the leading sources of added sugars. 

See: Grain-Based Desserts in the Child and Adult Care Food Program  

Some sugars in foods are naturally occurring, such as lactose, found in dairy products, and fructose, which is found in fruit. Sugars are also added to foods such as jarred pasta sauce, ketchup, and canned fruit. 

Things to Look for on Product Packaging: 

• Check the ingredients list for brown sugar, cane juice, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, molasses, maple syrup, and other ingredients that end in ‘ose,’ such as glucose or dextrose. 
• “Ingredients are listed by weight.” The first few ingredients, therefore, are the ingredients found in greatest concentration in a product. 
• Look for Total Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Label. This includes both naturally-occurring and added sugars. Select products that are lower in total sugar, such as canned fruit packed in water or fruit juice, rather than in heavy syrup. 

Tips for Home Bakers: 

• Try reducing the amount of sugar in your recipes, often without a significant change in taste; OR 
• Substitute unsweetened applesauce or ripe banana for part of the sugar; OR 
• Swap out some of the sugar in a recipe for a dollop of cinnamon or vanilla, which lend flavor, a hint of sweetness, and a lovely aroma! 

Source: Reducing Added Sugars - National CACFP Sponsors Association

Offer Water Throughout the Day  

You are required to offer water to children throughout the day. Water can be self-serve, or you can make water available in a variety of ways, including: 

• Providing cups beside your kitchen sink; 
• Setting out pitchers of water and cups. 
• Giving water upon request. 
• Serving water at snack when no other beverage is served. 
• Offering water in a training cup or bottle for toddlers and infants. 

Water must be available during a meal or snack, but remember: 

• Water does not replace milk. 
• Water is not part of a reimbursable meal. 
• Water is not listed on the drop-down menu in CACFP.Net and is not recorded on daily menus. 

Be careful not to serve too much water before and during mealtimes so kids will have room for the required foods and beverages. 

Enrolling Children in CACFP.Net  

When you add a child in CACFP.Net, be sure to use the parent email address in the field shown here:

Providers should not use their own email addresses in this field. The form emailed to the parent after the provider submits the child enrollment information is protected by a pin. Only the parent or guardian is authorized to fill out this section of the child enrollment form; the provider is not. 



If you work with a family that does not currently have an email address, you may help them set up email. DO NOT use your own email address for children that are not your own.   

Note: Children will be subject to re-enrollment one year from the day the parent signs the enrollment form.  

Documenting a Child’s Special Diet   

A Special Diet Form is required whenever a child in your care can’t be fed according to CACFP guidelines.

Documents to Complete for Disability Related Special Dietary Needs Requests: “A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more ‘major life activities’ including caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, eating, breathing, digestive, bowel and bladder, neurological, respiratory, circulatory, and endocrine functions.”   

1. Special Dietary Needs Tracking Form Section 1: Disability (For Providers to Complete)  
2. Medical Statement (For Licensed Health Care Professionals to Complete: Physician, Physician Assistant, Nurse Practitioner (APNP), Dentist, Optometrist, or Podiatrist ) 

Documents to Complete for Non-Disability Special Dietary Needs Requests: i.e., for preference, including religious or ethnic preferences, or lifestyle reasons.  

1. Special Dietary Needs Tracking Form Section II: Non-disability Special Dietary Need (SDN) Request (For Providers to Complete)  
2. SPECIAL DIET FORM (For Providers to Complete)  

• When a parent requests an alternate milk due to preference, consult the Creditable Non-Dairy Beverages (Milk Substitutions) for beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to cow’s milk:   
• Refer to Creditable Non-Dairy Beverages (Fluid Milk Substitute)

Credible or Creditable?    

The Food Program uses the word “creditable” often. It means that a food item can be credited – claimed – when served in combination with other components to meet CACFP guidelines. MANY foods are creditable. 

No foods are credible, which means “able to be believed or trusted” (dictionary.cambridge.org)  

The Food Program: a credible source about creditable foods. (See what we did there?)  

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.

Explore more of what WECA has to offer:

T.E.A.C.H. | REWARD | FOOD PROGRAM | WECA MEMBERSHIP |

CONFERENCE | TRAINING | WEESSN | RAISING WISCONSIN