You are receiving this newsletter because you are enrolled in the WECA Food Program.

Stay connected: Check out our current staff directory here.

September 5 - National Cheese

Pizza Day

Read Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party (Dean, 2019) and Pete’s a Pizza (Steig, 1998) and enjoy making homemade pizza with your child care! 

September 7 – National Acorn

Squash Day

Read Sophie’s Squash (Miller, 2013) and Carlos and the Squash Plant/Carlos y la planta de calabaza (Stevens, 1995)

5 years: Tashawna Green and Kari Meehan

10 years: Marisela Carpio

15 years: Ora McGahee and Shelli Laabs

20 years: Sonya Green

25 years: Jillene Johnson

30 years: Lori McCullick

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

Rachel in Hayward

Angela in Milwaukee

Cyntraya in Milwaukee

Dymonie in Milwaukee

Danielle in Milwaukee

Shakia in Milwaukee

Jeri in La Crosse

We welcome you and celebrate this sign of professionalism!

Question: I’m planning to take a field trip to the apple orchard with my child care soon, and the children and I are going to make applesauce with the apples we pick. Am I able to serve home-canned applesauce on CACFP?

Answer: First, that sounds like a great outing AND a wonderful variety of sights, smells, tastes, touches, and learning outcomes!

To answer your question in two parts:

Part 1: Home canned* fruits and vegetables are NOT creditable on the WECA Food Program (CACFP) because bacteria can be introduced during the canning process.

Part 2: Homemade applesauce IS creditable. Just forgo canning the sauce, and serve it freshly made as a meal or snack!

*Commercially-canned fruits and vegetable ARE creditable.

Will You Be Closed?

You must notify your Area Coordinator before 7 a.m. on any day you’ll be closed or out with the children. Leave a voicemail for your Area Coordinator or email them. Contact information is available in this directory.

REMEMBER:

• If your Area Coordinator attempts a visit and you are not available, that meal or snack service WILL be deducted. This is a federal regulation.
• You agreed to be visited by representatives of WECA, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) when you signed your Food Program agreement. Refusing a visit can be grounds for termination.

State Attendance Records: No Substitute for

Daily Meal Counts!

Your menus and meal counts (including each child’s name or ID number) must be recorded online by the end of each business day. Paper templates are to be used for emergencies only.

State attendance records will not be accepted by your Area Coordinator as a substitute for your daily meal counts. State attendance records will be used ONLY to compare with your Food Program records. 

Registration is open for the 2022 WECA Annual Conference! The event returns in a virtual format Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 with a range of informative and engaging keynotes, breakouts and interactive sessions through the theme, “Cultivating Connections.” Don’t miss out on the conference, an incredible learning and professional development opportunity. All registrants will receive two FREE BOOKS written by our keynote speakers. Register before Sept. 1 to ensure you receive them before the conference!

We cannot wait to see you this fall! See the event website for additional conference details, including the event schedule. More information on sessions that will be interpreted and offered in Spanish will be available soon. Check back for updates!

Early childhood educators, help advance a diverse and representative workforce in Wisconsin at all levels by participating in an equity study. It seeks to elevate the voices and lived experiences of early educators who identify as BIPOC – Black, Indigenous or Person of Color. Learn more about the study and how to participate by contacting Toshiba Adams, Ph.D./Lead Researcher at EquityInWIECE@gmail.com. Para más información o para participar en este estudio, comuníquese con Olga Neira en oneira@wisconsinearlychildhood.org.

Power of Advocacy

WECA has long been a leader in advocacy efforts supporting the early childhood workforce and early care and education in Wisconsin. Our newest step this year was launching Raising Wisconsin, an initiative supported by a broad multi-sector coalition of partners working to advance accessible, affordable child care, a well-compensated early childhood workforce, and optimal child health and well-being.

Want to stay informed and engaged in WECA and Raising Wisconsin’s efforts? Sign up for our Advocacy Digest and Alerts to receive timely and relevant updates, calls to action, research articles, and more. Note, the e-newsletter currently is available in English.

The REWARD Wisconsin Stipend and T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood^® Wisconsin programs have significantly expanded to serve even more of Wisconsin’s early childhood professionals as you navigate your career and educational journeys.  

REWARD is serving even more early educators at higher stipend amounts with significantly expanded eligibilities. To learn more, visit our website for eligibilities and application links, which are available in English and Spanish.

T.E.A.C.H. is now accepting applications for the spring 2023 semester! The deadline is Nov. 1, so don’t delay. Learn more about the key enhancements to the program by reading the FAQs here and visit this page to get your application process started.

Crediting Foods Using CN Labels

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, like 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.  Please contact your Area Coordinator if you are uncertain about how to credit a meal using a CN label.

CN labels and Product Formulation Statements for Commercial Combination Foods you serve must be kept for review by your Area Coordinator (AC). Your AC will introduce you to an easy system for doing so during their next Home Visit.

If a combination food is homemade, both meal components can be counted because the provider knows the quantity of each ingredient in the recipe. This assures each portion provides at least the minimum serving sizes required for each component the combination food item is being claimed for. Your Area Coordinator can ask to see your recipe.

Can I Serve Seitan on CACFP?

Seitan is a plant-based meat substitute designed to look and taste like meat. Unlike tofu or tempeh, it is not made from soy. Instead, it is made from wheat gluten. DPI has determined that seitan does NOT credit on CACFP as either a meat alternate OR a grain product.

If you choose to serve seitan, it would be an extra food.

Vegetarian and Vegan Diets

Looking for plant-based proteins to accommodate a family with a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle preference* OR to consciously reduce the amount of meat and animal products you serve? This great resource can help.

*Remember, any Special Diet must be documented with a Special Diet Form and Special Dietary Needs Tracking Form and must be approved by the Food Program for that child’s meals and snacks to be reimbursed.

July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 WIC Rates

Current WIC rates are available here.

Remember: You must distribute current WIC information to each of your child care families OR post the information in a prominent place for their review.

Juice Reminder

Only 100% fruit or vegetable juice is creditable on the Food Program. You must choose your juice from the list of foods on the left side of your CACFP.Net online menu page, so the program can keep track of how many times you serve juice each day.

A creditable juice product will state Juice, 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.

Per USDA meal pattern requirements:

• Juice is not creditable for infants.
• You may serve juice once per day, per family child care home, to children 1 year and older.

Did You Know? Special Needs and the Food Program

The Special Needs designation that is an option for providers and parents to check while enrolling a child pertains to an “individual 13 years or older if there is a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities.”

It is NOT applicable to a child younger than 13 years old, as all children below that age must have equal access to participation on the Food Program. Children 13 or older would normally “age out” of Food Program participation, but Verification of Special Needs overrides that and allows a provider to be paid for those meals and snacks, provided the provider’s current Certificate or License authorizes care for children of that age.

Hungry for more information about whole grains, why to eat them, and ways to serve them? The Grains Foundation provides a wealth of information, including recipes!

Follow the link to this cute snack idea for barn owl English muffins.

If your child care children enjoy nut butter, consider using peanut or other nut butter to replace cream cheese. Nut butter is creditable on CACFP, but cream cheese is not! 

WECA’s Policy on Provider Suspension from Wisconsin Shares

Here’s an important reminder of the WECA Food Program’s Wisconsin Shares Policy:

• If a provider is suspended from the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy payment system, WECA will suspend that provider from Food Program participation effective the date of the Shares suspension, until the provider communicates to WECA what their intention is regarding the Shares suspension: i.e., to stay open and appeal suspension, or to close the family child care center.
• If a provider intends to close and not appeal, or fails to communicate with WECA within seven working days of the suspension, then WECA will drop that provider.
• If the provider states they intend to stay open and provide care for the children even though she/he is not being guaranteed payment, or has private pay children and remains regulated, WECA will closely monitor that provider. WECA may request that a copy of state attendance records be sent with the monthly claim to ensure the claim is valid. Additional requirements such as monthly parent signatures on attendance records may also be required.