On April 25, 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published the final rule "Child and Adult Care Food Program: Meal Pattern Revisions Related to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010". This final rule also updated the National School Lunch Program's and School Breakfast Program's meal pattern requirements for infants and preschoolers under 7 CFR 210.10 and 220.8.
While many of the changes to the infant and preschool meal patterns make them more consistent with the requirements for older grade groups (K through 12th grade), some of the meal pattern requirements for infants and preschoolers are different. For children under 4 years of age, schools are required to comply with the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) meal pattern. The CACFP meal pattern is required when meals and snacks are provided to children under 4 separately from school-aged children, either in location or in timing. This is considered a non-comingled meal service, and full details on this practice can be found in the USDA Memo, SP 37-2017 Flexibility for Co-Mingled Preschool Meals: Questions and Answers.
The USDA and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) understand that schools may serve and claim meals and snacks to infants and children under the age of 4 under the NSLP and be unfamiliar with the CACFP meal pattern requirements. In order to provide schools with the necessary information on the CACFP meal pattern, the Office for Food and Nutrition Programs (FNP) is providing a training opportunity to detail the CACFP meal pattern and what comingling looks like.
The following training event is currently available for registration:
Registration is required for all trainings as space is limited. Unregistered participants will be accommodated based on available space. A "Certificate of Participation" with total training hours documented will be available for registered participants who have confirmed attendance for a completed training. Any questions about the training sessions can be directed to Shannon Raymond.
For registration assistance please contact Marisol Montes by telephone at 781-338-6480 or by email at mmontes@doe.mass.edu. You will receive confirmation of your training registration via email.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149
Voice: (781) 338-3000 TTY: (800) 439-2370
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