Child and Adult Care Food Program: Aligning Dietary Guidance for All

TABLE S-1 Recommended Age Groups for CACFP Meal Patterns

Age Group	Age Range^a
Infants	0–5 months
Infants	6–11 months
Children	1 year
	2–4 years
	5–13 years^b
	14–18 years^b
Adults	19 years and older
^aAge ranges are inclusive; e.g., ages 0–5 months includes ages 0 through 5 months. ^bThe committee recognizes that children older than 12 years ordinarily are eligible only for the at-risk afterschool program, but migrant children are eligible through age 15 years, and youths in shelters are eligible to age 18 years.

Process to Develop Recommendations

An iterative process was used to develop recommendations for revised CACFP Meal Requirements. The first step was to set key parameters, including age groups and total daily calorie requirements. Then the current intakes of individuals in these age groups were evaluated by comparison to standards for food groups and nutrient intakes. This was done to identify food and nutrient intakes of concern. Next, nutrient and food group intake targets for CACFP were developed, taking into account the identified nutritional needs of the CACFP population. Finally, meal patterns and food specifications were developed to be used as the basis of the recommended Meal Requirements for CACFP. This last step was repeated until the new Meal Requirements aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the DRIs.

As a part of this process, the committee considered the five criteria in Box S-1 and the unique aspects of the program. Importantly, the committee gave consideration to the practicality and cost of implementing revisions to the program in the different types of settings in which CACFP operates.

Age Groups

The age groups for which patterns are recommended are similar to those currently used by CACFP, although some changes have been made for the younger children to correspond to recent dietary guidance. See Table S-1 for the recommended age groups.

RECOMMENDATIONS

As structured by the committee, the recommended Meal Requirements encompass two distinct elements: meal patterns and food specifications.

Table of Contents

Front Matter R1-R14

Summary 1-14

1 Introduction 15-24

2 The Child and Adult Care Food Program 25-44

3 Methods for Examining Food and Nutrient Intakes 45-60

4 Nutritional Considerations for Infants and Children 61-76

5 Nutritional Considerations for Adults 77-88

6 Process for Developing Recommendations for Meal Requirements 89-112

7 Recommendations for Meal Requirements 113-136

8 Meal Cost Implications 137-152

9 Implementation 153-168

10 Consistency of Recommendationsfor Meal Requirements and Implementation Strategies with the Committee's Criteria 169-182

11 Evaluation and Research Recommendations 183-190

Appendix A: Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Glossary 191-196

Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members 197-204

Appendix C: Workshop Agenda: February 2010 205-206

Appendix D: Critical Issues for Consideration by the Committee to Review Child and Adult Care Food Program Meal Requirements, as Submitted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture 207-212

Appendix E: Current CACFP Meal Patterns 213-222

Appendix F: Selected Food Program Descriptions and Websites 223-228

Appendix G: Data Sources and Analytical Methods 229-234

Appendix H: MyPyramid Food Groups and Subgroups 235-238

Appendix I: Food Cost Approach and Methods 239-250

Appendix J: Nutrient Targets by Meal and Age Group and Comparison of MyPyramid Food Group and Nutrient Targets with Recommended Meal Patterns 251-268

Appendix K: Sample Menus 269-280

Appendix L: Options for Breastfeeding Incentives 281-282

Appendix M: Potential Partnerships to Assist with Technical Training for CACFP 283-284

Index 285-296

Process to Develop Recommendations

Age Groups

RECOMMENDATIONS