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Incorporating Nutrition into Policies

April 2025

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Nutrition Policies

Your policies on nutrition should include:

Participation in the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
Meals and/or snacks prepared by your program (as applicable)
Meal patterns and schedules
Mealtime environment
Water intake
Special events
Education for parents

This slide shows some important topics that can be helpful to include in your policy. It helps families and staff know what’s expected. You will want to include the meals and foods that you provide, whether you participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, what foods families are expected to provide, if any, how you’ll handle breast milk and infant formula, where to find your menus, as well as, how you handle any special dietary needs.

�You’ll also want to include any information that staff will need to help them create a healthy mealtime environment. This would include how infants are fed, meal and snack schedules, and family style meal service if you use that. You can include food safety practices and any foods that are not allowed.

�Basically, you want to include the information that will be helpful to staff and families as they think about how and what children will be fed while they’re in your child care program.

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Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

If you participate in CACFP, you must state this in your policies, both to staff and in the parent handbook
You must also include a non-discrimination statement on all materials relating to CACFP (except menus)

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Non-Discrimination Statement

“In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.”

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Statement�Continued�

“To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation.

The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by Mail:�U.S. Department of Agriculture�Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights�1400 Independence Avenue, SW�Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

Fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or Email: Program.Intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.”

Source: https://www.usda.gov/non-discrimination-statement

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Meal Patterns and Meal Schedules

You should indicate which meals and snacks you serve and approximate mealtimes
If you prepare food at meals and/or snacks, you need to state in your policies that you provide food according to the CACFP meal patterns
Remember the recommendation is that meals should be spaced no closer than 2 hours apart and no further than 3 hours apart

You want to communicate which meals and snacks will be served at your program, as well as, whether your program or families will be providing the food.

�If a child brings a meal from home that does not appear to meet current Child and Adult Care Food Program meal pattern requirements, foods must be available to offer as a supplement to that meal.

�Depending on the length of time children are on site, you may be required to serve both meals and snacks or maybe just one. You also want to include the approximate time that meals and snacks are served and stick to those times as best you can. Best practice is that meals and snacks for toddlers and preschoolers should be served at least two hours apart but not more than three hours apart. This keeps your schedule in-line with when young children will most likely be hungry and need to eat.

�For infants, the meal schedule should follow the infant’s feeding cues and never the clock. This should also be indicated in your policy.

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Water

Drinking water shall be available and accessible to children at all times including at all meals and snacks
CACFP also requires centers to offer water to children throughout the day
Under the CACFP meal patterns, water may not be served instead of milk at meals but may be served alongside milk

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Family Participation

Partnering with families to support healthful choices can be done via:

Parent education events
Newsletters
Sharing of menus
Nutrition information listed on menu
Posters

There are a number of ways you can engage with families around nutrition and feeding. You can share information but there are also many great things we can learn when we invite families to share back. You may learn about their food culture, get some new ideas for your menu, and if families are sending in food for their child, brainstorm together ways for families to meet the meal pattern guidance that are inexpensive, easy to pack, and fun for kids to eat.

�• Children develop within an environment of relationships including parents and early childhood professionals.

• As children watch and interact with parents or guardians, they learn and form habits, attitudes, and beliefs about healthy living.

• Partnering with parents or guardians to promote consistent modeling and messaging for children will support lifelong healthy habits.

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Special Events

Make child(ren) the focus
Non-food ideas to help celebrate
Nutrient-dense options

2/3 nutrient-dense options to 1/3 non nutrient-dense options

Benefits of healthy celebrations:

Consistent messaging
Healthy environment
Limits food allergy exposure�

Holidays, birthday parties, teacher appreciation, and special events provide a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and to incorporate healthy eating, activity, and play. Providing healthy snack options can positively influence children’s habits while they are away from home. Benefits of healthy celebrations are that they:

• Provide consistent messages about positive lifestyle changes.

• Promote a healthy environment.

• Create excitement about healthy eating and physical activity.

• Protect children with food allergies.

�Nutrient-dense options and non nutrient-dense options takes ‘unhealthy’ out of the equation and also makes it more objective than subjective. Still allowing non nutrient-dense items with two nutrient-dense items allows for flexibility and possibly a transition to all nutrient-dense items or non-food celebrations.

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How to Make Mealtime Fun

Children eat best when they do not feel pressured to eat
Keep the environment relaxed
Keep conversation fun and light
Set the example by trying new foods yourself

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Resources and References

Healthy Eating Active Living in Child Care Toolkit: https://cdphe.colorado.gov/Early-Childhood-HEAL
Let's Eat Well! Supporting Nutrition in Early Care and Learning: www.coloradoshinespdis.com
Caring for Our Children National Standards: https://nrckids.org/CFOC
CDC Healthy Schools: https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-schools/index.htm
USDA MyPlate: https://www.myplate.gov/
Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center School Wellness Programs: https://coloradosph.cuanschutz.edu/research-and-practice/centers-programs/rmprc/school-wellness

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Thank you

Made possible with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention