Food Program Anniversaries in August

5 years:  Ashley Wenker, Taylor Schuler, Charlesha Mayes 

10 years: Michelle Krupkowski 



SPECIAL RECOGNITION: Diana Smith, who is retiring after 41 consecutive years of participation on CACFP and 60 years providing family child care! 

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

Components and Crediting 

Ask the Food Program

Question:

I know providers must enter our menu and attendance information into CACFP.Net every day to be up to date. What should I do if my power goes out?

Answer:

Thank you for that question!

Keeping accurate daily menu and attendance information is a cornerstone of maintaining the integrity of the Food Program. There can, however, be barriers to entering menu and attendance information online, and the Food Program is aware of that. 

1. If you experience a power outage, use your phone to email foodprogram@wisconsinearlychildhood.org right away to let us know. 
2. Record your menu components for each meal/snack for each day of your power outage and list the name or ID number of each child that was offered each meal or snack on that date in the Menu Template linked here. All the same information you would usually record online should be recorded in the template.
3. Email a copy or clear image of the completed menu and attendance template to the Food Program when your power is restored. Be sure you also retain a copy for yourself in the event your Area Coordinator comes out to conduct a Home Visit.
4. The Food Program can temporarily unlock CACFP.Net for you to allow you to add the information you recorded on the template into the database.
5. Keep a printed menu and attendance template on hand, possibly in your Food Program binder, so you always have this tool available for backup.

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 Peppy Quinoa: Quinoa credits as a whole grain-rich source on CACFP!  

Try Purple Power Bean Wrap, which uses Great Northern Beans, which may credit as a meat alternate OR as a vegetable on CACFP. Note: They may not credit as both at the same meal or snack.  

Home Canned Foods  

Home canned foods are not allowed for service in CACFP for health and safety reasons. Fresh, commercially canned, dehydrated, commercially frozen, or home-frozen produce is allowed.  

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.  

CACFP Training Spotlight: CREDITING DOCUMENTATION FOR PROCESSED FOOD ITEMS  

"What are Processed Food Items? Processed food items are commercially purchased items, such as: 

• Combination foods like pizza, chicken nuggets, ravioli, soups and breaded fish sticks.   
• Processed meats/meat alternates like Salisbury steak, meatballs, summer sausage, Polish sausage, [processed lunch meats] and plant-based items (ex. Soy products, vegetarian patty.) 
• Other foods like smoothies, pasta salad containing vegetables, and other items that do not have a standard of identity, contain two or meal components, and/or contain non-creditable ingredients.” 

Prior to purchasing, serving, and claiming processed food items, you must request a CN label or Product Formulation Statement from the manufacturer. Find more information here.

Nut Butter  

Only peanut butter and other nut/seed butters are creditable on the Food Program. Products labeled spread, such as peanut butter spread, Nutella spread, etc., are not creditable. Always read product labels carefully to be sure you serve nut butter.  

Infants in Care? Your CACFP Requirements  

Do you provide care for infant children? Be aware of the following:

As shown below, providers who provide care for infant children are mandated to offer a brand of iron-fortified infant formula at no additional cost to the family. During the electronic Child Enrollment/Formula Agreement process, when you input a date of birth for an enrolling child that shows the child is younger than 12 months of age, the Parent Provider Formula Agreement is part of that electronic form.  

Then, the family will decide whether to accept the iron-fortified infant formula offered by the provider or to provide breastmilk or iron-fortified infant formula themselves. Parents make that selection when they complete their part of the electronic Child Enrollment/Formula Agreement.  

Providers are also mandated to offer all foods for infant meals and snacks – at no additional cost to the family – when the infant children are developmentally ready for them.  

Then, the family of the child will decide whether to accept the provider's offered foods or to provide them, making that selection when they complete their part of the electronic Child Enrollment/Formula Agreement.   

(Source: https://dpi.wi.gov/media/9509/download?inline ) 

How is Developmental Readiness determined? Consult these resources from USDA: 

• For parents  
• For child care providers 

Failure of a provider to enroll infant children onto CACFP or to offer a brand of iron-fortified infant formula and infant foods when the children are developmentally ready may be a Civil Rights violation, in that CACFP is not equally available to all children in care. 

CACFP Infant Meal Pattern and Grains Chart  

https://dpi.wi.gov/media/27697/download?inline 

Preparing Homemade Baby Food 

Making homemade baby food may be less expensive than offering commercial baby food, and it’s easy to do! Consider using local produce, which helps to keep money in your local economy! Consult these resources for more information about making homemade baby food: 

• https://files.constantcontact.com/4faf7d75801/236db432-9dbd-4b3d-a8ab-e971e8d2a7b0.pdf
• https://dpi.wi.gov/media/13512/download?inline 

Wisconsin Local Foods  

Looking for sources for fresh, local foods? Check out the resources below! 

• Farm Fresh Atlas Wisconsin: https://farmfreshatlas.org/ 
• Wisconsin Local Foods Database: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/17f93959be3d48eda612a315482729a2/page/Farms-Search 
• Wisconsin Food Hub Coop: https://wifoodhub.com/ 

Claim Summaries: Tier Expiration and Update  

Many income eligibility determinations expired on June 30, 2026. If your Household Income Determination expired June 30th, updated Tier information and application information was emailed to your email address on file in July. (If your income determination was made later – for example, if you joined the WECA Food Program in October and submitted Household Size Income information at that time – your Tier 1 status would not have expired.) Check your Tiering approval letter, which should be in your Food Program binder, for the date of your approval.  



Review your July and subsequent Claim Summaries for the current information about how your claim was paid. How? In CACFP.Net, select Claim Report and find the Claim Summary for the month you wish to review in the dropdown menu:

Tier 1 Eligibility for Children Enrolled in Head Start   

Children in Head Start who are enrolled in a Tier 2 family child care home are eligible for higher Tier 1 reimbursement when served eligible meals and snacks in child care.  

• A copy of the current approved Head Start application from the child’s family or a statement of enrollment in Head Start must be on file at the Food Program office. 
• Current documentation must be received for each fiscal year. The provider may assist in providing this documentation to WECA. 
• Siblings or other children in the child’s household are not automatically eligible for Tier 1 rates. 
• A provider is not automatically eligible for Tier 1 reimbursement because the provider’s own child is enrolled in Head Start. 
• Children who are officially categorized as Homeless, Runaway or Migrant children may also qualify for Tier 1 reimbursement. 

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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