You are receiving this newsletter because you are enrolled in the WECA Food Program.

June 2023

Stay connected: Check out our current staff directory here.

Food Program Staff Directory

Your Monthly News & Updates

National Days in June

June 3: National Egg Day


Read The Good Egg, (Jory, 2019) and The Great Eggscape! (Jory, 2020)

Enjoy eggs as a meat/meat alternate at any meal or snack!

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Anniversaries in June

5 years: Debra Raddant; Samantha Mcbride; Emmy Wallace

10 years: Mechelle Dyson; Jena Ehlen; Anna Prado

15 years: Josette Paige

20 years: Jaime Forsythe; Amber Fellows



We applaud your commitment to serving nutritious meals and snacks to the children in your care!

Welcome to our New Providers

Robert in Eau Claire

Raylee in South Range

Linda in Milwaukee

A’kkiyah in Milwaukee

Myeshia in Milwaukee

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Ask the Food Program

Question:

I know I am supposed to find combination foods with a CN label. Where do I find foods with CN labels? What do I do if I can’t find them?


Answer:

Commercial combination foods in grocery stores often do not have a CN label, and not all commercially-made combination foods have them. You are more likely to find them on foods purchased through large food distributors.


If you cannot find a CN label for a commercial combination food you intend to serve, you must contact the manufacturer. Most manufacturers have a Contact Us tab. Use that feature and identify the specific product(s) you have interest in, using the name(s) and number(s) as written on the packaging. Request a Product Formulation Statement according to the CACFP guidelines.


Keep in mind that products with a CN label or a Product Analysis Sheet are not necessarily healthier or more nutritious than other combination foods. They may not be free of pathogens or allergens – something to be especially careful of if you have children in care with known or suspected food allergies or sensitivities. Some foods with CN labels require such large portions to meet CACFP guidelines that to serve them in the amount required may be very costly for providers. (https://www.cacfp.org/2023/02/21/child-nutrition-cn-labels/)



In most cases, when you serve commercial combination foods, you aren’t serving a healthier meal or a less costly meal. You may be serving a quicker, more convenient meal, but that comes at a price. If you want to be serving food that is minimally processed, that has recognizable ingredients and fewer potential allergens, and is, quite possibly, less expensive to serve, you are better off with a homemade alternative.

Homemade Combination Foods

Whenever you serve one of your own recipes that combines two or more foods, be sure to enter each component on your menus. We don’t know your recipes! Be sure the appropriate serving size (by age) for each component is being served to each child.

What Are Commercial Combination Foods?

Commercial combination foods are only creditable when the actual content is known and documented by the product’s manufacturer. If you serve any commercial combination food, you must keep one of these on file:

  • Its Child Nutrition (CN) label OR
  • Its product information statement, which you may request from the manufacturer.


The CN label shows the item’s contribution to the USDA meal pattern requirements. Read labels carefully: Some products might meet only one requirement. A CN label does not indicate that a product is healthy. Commercial combination foods are often high in sodium, fat, and calories and can be expensive.


When your area coordinator observes commercial combination foods being served, they may verify that adequate portions were served, using your required documentation. Your area coordinator must view this documentation when these foods are indicated on a provider’s menus. Otherwise, per USDA regulation, they must deduct that meal service.

(Taken from CACFP Creditable and Non-Creditable Foods Guide 1-18 Year Olds and Adult Participants in Adult Daycare Centers https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/community-nutrition/pdf/creditable_non_creditable_foods_guide.pdf)

(Taken from Crediting store-bought Combination Foods and Processed Meat/Meat Alternates https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/community-nutrition/pdf/cnlabelhandout.pdf)

Tiering: Expiration of the Keep Kids Fed Act

The Keep Kids Fed Act is due to expire June 30, 2023. At that time, unless other regulation extends the Act, CACFP will return to a two-tiered payment system. For illustration, for the period July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, these charts compare the usual Family Day Care Home Reimbursement vs. that under the Keep Kids Fed Act.

(from WI DPI Family Day Care Home Guidance Memorandum C)


Tier information and applications will be emailed to your email address on file on July 1st, 2023. No information is available until July 1st, 2023.

Enrolling Children in CACFP.NET

When you add a child in CACFP.Net, be sure to use the Parent email address in the field shown here:

Providers should not use their own email addresses in this field. The form that is emailed to the parent once the provider submits the child enrollment is protected by a pin. Only the parent or guardian is authorized to fill out this section of the child enrollment form; the provider is not.



If you work with a family that does not currently have an email address, you may help them set up email. DO NOT use your own email address for children that are not your own.

Enrolling Related Children on CACFP

To meet the definition for ‘related,’ a child must be a niece, nephew or 1st cousin. Other relationships are too distant to qualify them to be related to the provider.


If you have children enrolled as RR or RNR who are not nieces, nephews or 1st cousins, please email mmundt@wisconsinearlychildhood.org

Will You Be Out, on a Field Trip, or on Vacation?


Be sure to report any days or times you will be closed or away from your child care during your business hours.  Call or email your Area Coordinator before 7 a.m. to let them know.

Food Program Staff Directory

If your Area Coordinator shows up for a visit during a scheduled meal or snack service and you are gone, that meal will be deducted. This is a federal regulation.

We Need Your Updated Regulation!

Without a current regulation on file, the Food Program is unable to issue reimbursement for the nutritious meals and snacks you serve! Remember to mail, fax or email a legible copy of your updated regulation as soon as you get it! Send it to jgiles@wisconsinearlychildhood.org or fax it to 866-222-9520.

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MiPlato Your Way


My Plate offers these helpful resources to healthier eating and menu planning ideas:

My Plan

Have Questions about Creditable and Non-Creditable Foods?

  • Wondering whether Ultra High Temperature shelf stable cow’s milk is creditable? (It is!)


  • Wondering whether potted, pressed, or deviled canned meat - such as Spam - is creditable?  (It is not!)


Consult this great resource from CACFP:

Check it out!
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Offer Water Throughout the Day

You are required to offer water to children throughout the day.

Water can be self-serve, or you can make water available in a variety of ways:

  • Provide cups beside your kitchen sink.
  • Set out pitchers of water and cups.
  • Give water upon request.
  • Serve water at snack when no other beverage is served.
  • Offer water in a training cup or bottle for toddlers and infants.


Water must be available during a meal or snack, but remember:

  • Water does not replace milk.
  • Water is not part of a reimbursable meal.


Be careful not to serve too much water before and during mealtime so kids will have room for the required foods and beverages.

The Provider Connection is published by the WECA Food Program.


Any Questions: Call 608-240-9880 or visit our website.

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