The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), a federally funded program administered by the South Carolina Department of Early Care and Education (SCDSS), plans to celebrate healthy food and nutrition during CACFP Week, March 13-17. The CACFP seeks to promote better nutrition in South Carolina by By reimbursing child care centers, adult care centers, child care homes, after-school programs, and emergency shelters that provide eligible healthy meals and snacks.
Why is CACFP important? “They are important because of their positive influence in shaping good eating habits for children and encouraging adult participants to make healthy food choices,” says Mary Abney Young, director of the state CACFP. “For providers, it is certain that the meals offered meet the high standards of the CACFP and reflect updates to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and recommendations from the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics.”
Between October 2021 and September 2022, the CACFP paid out nearly $29 million to South Carolina child and adult caregivers and served more than 15 million meals at participating adult and child care centers across the state.
To celebrate CACFP Week, the program will be offering a daily challenge to service providers while using the hashtags #CACFPWeek2023 and #SCCACFP and the corresponding hashtag for each day. Daily challenges include:
• March 13 – All About Community (#AllAboutCommunity) Providers are encouraged to reach out to local growers (farmers) to bring in fruits and vegetables, and/or incorporate locally grown ingredients into one of their meals.
• March 14 – StarStuddedChef (#StarStuddedChef)
Providers celebrate the chef or cook for their program by wearing a gold star and presenting a certificate to the individual.
• March 15 – Eat The Rainbow (#EatTheRainbow) Servers can prepare an honorable CACFP snack that creatively reflects the colors of the rainbow and wear a colorful T-shirt that matches the color of their favorite fruit or vegetable.
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• March 16 – Discover New Foods (#ExploreNewFoods) Providers can taste test two or three new CACFP honoree foods and track their reactions.
March 17 – Lettuce Eats Green (#LettuceEatGreen)
Providers wear green and show off their green fruits and vegetables.
Daily challenges will be highlighted on the SCDSS Facebook and Twitter pages. The agency will also share testimonials from organizations about the positive impact CACFP has had on their programs.
To learn more about the CACFP, visit the SC Child Care website. Eligible organizations may apply to participate in the CACFP at https://cacfp-apps.dss.sc.gov/WelcomeSNPM.aspx.