If you are curious about family style dining, whether or not you’re currently on the food program, this short booklet will show you all the equipment you need, how to introduce the idea to children and their families, and tips for ensuring compliance with CACFP regulations.
Family Style Meal Service With Children in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (cacfp.org)
Manipular, almacenar, calentar y alimentar con leche materna puede parecer que tiene muchos pasos. Este PDF imprimible repasa cómo proporcionar leche materna de forma segura a los lactantes cuyas familias se la proporcionan, incluyendo el almacenamiento, la preparación y la alimentación. A continuación, también encontrarás un vídeo de Head Start en el que se ve a una profesora de Early Head Start dando el biberón a un bebé y demostrando la alimentación receptiva y la interacción con un bebé a la hora de comer. 
Gestión de la leche materna en el cuidado de los niñosHandlingBreastmilk
¿Qué notas en este vídeo de la profesora de Early Head Start dando de comer al bebé? ¿Cómo responde el bebé a sus acciones y a su forma de hablar?March 28th, 2024
2:00-2:30 PM EDT
Encourage young ones to share their thoughts and stories as they gather around the dining table- family style. This interactive experience fosters not only healthy eating habits but also helps them learn the art of conversation, where little voices can be heard and cherished. Receive tips on how to make family style dining kid-friendly and discover resources to start conversing with children at the table!
Isabel Ramos-Lebron, MS,RDN, LD
Nutrition Education Specialist
National CACFP Sponsors Association
Family Style Dining: Conversations Around the Table – Event Registration (growthzoneapp.com)
The important but routine tasks involved in ensuring children’s needs are met through each day. Care tasks may include feeding, diapering, toileting, washing, dressing/undressing, putting a child to sleep, and more. The time spent with children during these routines can be some of the most valuable for connection if adults take the time to involve the child, talk to the child, and make it enjoyable.
Like the Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act, this proposal will benefit family child care providers who participate in the CACFP.
It will:
- Provide an additional 10 cent reimbursement for each meal and snack served in the CACFP
- Eliminate the tiering of family child care homes
- Allow family child care home providers to claim their own children’s meals for reimbursement
- Shift the calculation of family child care homes’ reimbursement from “food at home” to “food away from home” to align with centers
Click here to send a letter of support to your representative!
On October 26, the Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act (H.R.6067) was re-introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Congressman Marc Molinaro (R-NY). This bipartisan legislation would:
- Allow providers who are open for more than 8 hours in a day to be reimbursed for an additional meal (up to 3 meals and 1 snack).
- Align the calculation of reimbursement rates for family child care homes with that of centers by shifting to “food away from home.”
- Allow annual eligibility for for-profit child care centers to streamline program operations.
This would make a huge difference in children’s nutrition and providers’ bottom lines.
Read More Here from the CACFP!
Click here to send a letter of support to your representative!
For more opportunities to advocate for yourself and your fellow providers, read about the Child Care Nutrition Enhancement Act here!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has some resources available to help maintain healthy eating in your family child care home. There are links and information for adults about how to “Go Further with Food” during National Nutrition Month. There are also resources for older school-age children on the Body and Mind (BAM) page, including these great healthy recipes that children can help prepare.
The Illinois Child Care Bureau (ICCB) sponsors reimbursement for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), a program funded by the US Department of Agriculture that provides partial reimbursement for providing healthy meals and snacks to the children in your care. The site includes free training for FCC professionals to qualify for the CACFP program and offers menus, recipes, and directions for reimbursement.
