Food Program Anniversaries in September 

5 years:  Rachel Kontny 

15 years: Sheri Johnson 

20 years: Lisa Miller, Niqiesha Moody, Gail Hayes, Lisa Bucher 

30 years: Rebecca DuBois 



35 years: Sharon Pfluger 

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

Components and Crediting 

Ask the Food Program

Question:

My Area Coordinator visited me recently and said there had been changes to the CACFP milk guidance for children. What did I miss? 

Answer:

Thank you for that question!

The July 2026 issue of the Provider Connection, highlighted the new guidance. Effective June 8th, 2026, the offering of unflavored whole milk, reduced fat 2% milk, low fat 1%, and fat-free milk to ages 2+ went into effect. Whole milk is still the required milk for children aged 1. Find more information here.

Recipe(s) to Try!  

Looking for something zesty to serve? USDA's Recipes for Healthy Kids: Cookbook for Homes! student chef competition provides these tasty options!  

Try this main dish casserole: Chicken Curry Casserole. Long grain brown rice credits as whole grain-rich! 

• P 23: https://fna-bwbufwdzbabpezgc.z01.azurefd.us/sites/default/files/tn/cookbook-homes1.pdf   

Try this side dish: Oodles of Noodles. Whole wheat penne pasta also credits as whole grain-rich! 

• P 25: https://fna-bwbufwdzbabpezgc.z01.azurefd.us/sites/default/files/tn/cookbook-homes1.pdf  

Juice Reminder   

Only 100% fruit or vegetable juice is creditable on the Food Program. 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 not creditable. 
• Choose your juice from the left side of the CACFP.Net online menu page. 
• Juice is creditable only once per calendar day to children aged 1 and older. 
• Juice is not creditable for infants. 

(Source: Crediting Handbook for the CACFP p 53

https://fna-bwbufwdzbabpezgc.z01.azurefd.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/tn-cacfp-crediting-handbook.pdf) 

Using Ounce Equivalents for Grains   

Curious about ounce equivalents? Follow the link for more information.   

https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/CACFPworksheetGrainsOzEq .pdf 

Monitoring and Oversight

Will You Provide Large Family Child Care? Did You Receive Your Updated Child Care License? 

Whenever you have updates to your childcare license (e.g., address, name change, capacity, age range of children in care, hours of operation and/or days of operation) you MUST submit a copy of the updated regulation. Email a copy to foodprogram@wisconsinearlychildhood.org. Be sure to post the  most current regulation on your wall.  

While certified providers are not eligible to operate large family child care programs, these providers should submit updated copies of their regulations to WECA at foodprogram@wisconsinearlychildhood.org whenever there is a change.  

NEW CACFP Reimbursement Rates, effective July 1, 2026

Apply for the Higher Tier Anytime  

Has your household grown? Has your household income decreased? Do you now receive a qualifying service such as FoodShare? If so, you may qualify to receive the higher Tier 1 rates. Also, you may qualify to claim the children residing in your home. Applications and federal income guidelines are found here.  

State Attendance Records Do Not 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. 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.  

Wisconsin WIC Program  

Child care providers who participate on the Food Program are required to distribute or post current WIC information. The current income eligibility information is here.

To order WIC Outreach Materials in English and Spanish, follow this link.

School-Aged Child in Care During School Hours: Required September Through May  

When you claim meals or snacks for school-aged children that are customarily served during their school hours, such as A.M. Snack or Lunch, you must let the Food Program know why they are in child care. In CACFP.Net go to Site Changes, and select School Age Requests:  

Select the date, choose the name of the child from those enrolled in care, and select the meals and snacks served. Add a statement about why the child is in care, such as "No school," as shown. Be sure to save your changes.

This information will be sent electronically to the Food Program. 



Without this information on file, meals and snacks served to school-aged children during school hours from September through May could be disallowed. Note that school-aged means 5 years and older.  

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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