CACFP Menu Planner

What is CACFP?

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal program administered by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service that provides reimbursement for meals and snacks served to children in licensed childcare centers, family daycare homes, and after-school programs. Proper documentation is essential: reimbursement depends on serving complete meals that meet USDA meal pattern requirements and maintaining accurate records of what was served and how many children were present.

This template reflects the 2025-2026 USDA CACFP meal pattern requirements and reimbursement rates. Use it to plan compliant menus, track daily meal counts, and keep your program audit-ready.

Meal Pattern Reference Charts

Minimum serving sizes per child. All components must be served for a meal to qualify for reimbursement.

Breakfast (all 3 components required)

Meat/meat alternates may substitute for grains up to 3 times per week at breakfast.

Lunch/Supper (all 5 components required)

Snack (any 2 of 5 components required)

Milk and juice cannot be the only two snack components served together.

Weekly Menu Planner

Week of: ______________    Age Group: ______________

Fill in each cell with specific foods to be served. Ensure all required components are covered for each meal type.

Breakfast

AM Snack

Lunch

PM Snack

Daily Meal Count Record

Record the number of children present and served for each meal. Maintain this log daily for CACFP compliance and audit readiness.

Quick Reference: Key Rules

Important CACFP rules effective October 1, 2025:

• Whole grain requirement: At least one whole grain-rich serving is required daily across all meals served.
• Yogurt sugar limit: Maximum 12g of added sugars per 6 oz serving.
• Breakfast cereal sugar limit: Maximum 6g of added sugars per dry ounce.
• Grain-based desserts excluded: Cookies, cakes, brownies, and similar grain-based desserts do NOT count toward the grain component requirement.
• Juice restrictions: Must be pasteurized, 100% full-strength juice. Limited to once per day across all meals and snacks.
• Milk types by age: Ages 1-2 must receive unflavored whole milk only. Ages 3-5 must receive unflavored fat-free, skim, low-fat, or 1% milk. Ages 6-12 may receive flavored or unflavored fat-free, skim, low-fat, or 1% milk.
• Snack pairing rule: Milk and juice cannot be the only two components served at snack.

2025-2026 Reimbursement Rates

Child Care Centers, contiguous United States. Rates effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.