You are receiving this newsletter because you are enrolled in the WECA Food Program. |
|
Your Monthly News & Updates |
|
Stay connected: Check out our current staff directory here. |
|
|
|
CACFP Week is March 13-19, 2022 |
CACFP Week is a national educational and information campaign sponsored annually by the National CACFP Sponsors Association designed to raise awareness of how the USDA's Child and Adult Care Food Program works to combat hunger. The CACFP brings healthy foods to tables across the country for children in child care centers, homes and afterschool, as well as for adults in day care. |
|
|
|
Share Your CACFP Experiences
We're sharing stories from the CACFP Community in our blog, CACFP Week in Action. Click here to share your experiences and be featured.
Or, take the Social Media Challenge and tell us how you CACFP Snack for a chance to win $100. Post a #CACFPCreditable snack on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtags #NCASuperSnack and #CACFPWeek, and tag the @NationalCACFP account. The post with the most likes, shares or retweets by March 19 will win $100.
|
|
National Days in February ! |
|
February 9th – National Pizza Day
Read Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party (Dean, 2019.)
|
|
February 27th – National Strawberry Day!
Read The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher (Bang, 1980.) Enjoy some Whole Wheat Crepes filled with – you guessed! – strawberries!
|
|
|
Congratulations! We are so impressed by your commitment to serving healthy meals and snacks to the children in your care.
5 years:
Cynthia Reineking
30 years:
Gwen LaPour
|
|
Want to know an easy way to support your CACFP?
Submit a monthly food program claim.
Did you know that the money to operate CACFP – any CACFP! – comes from USDA? It is a pre-set amount that Food Programs receive for each claim that our providers submit. Whether you claim one snack for one child in that month or all meals and snacks for your fully enrolled child care, we receive the same stipend from USDA. Your claim helps you – and it helps CACFP.
|
|
Let's Cook! Wee Chefs - Big Results!
by Julie Giles, WECA Food Program Specialist
|
|
I had crepes long ago on a trip to Paris and loved them (and Paris!), and I decided in advance that we would adhere to the preparation details listed in the recipe. Quelle surprise!
Arlo decided he would read out our ingredients as Sully and I measured and added them. The batter had to chill for an hour, which I had forgotten! But, determined – for once! – to be true to the directions, I exercised patience!
Et voila! Our efforts to be faithful to the recipe paid off. We ate our crepes with lunch, so I decided not to fill them with whipped cream and make them quite so dessert-like. Instead, I used sliced bananas – a favorite fruit here – and some pineapple, and we had plain yogurt (which I enjoyed as a topping) and potatoes O’Brien, along with our 1% milk. The shape of our crepes was a little wonky (oops!), but the flavor was wonderful.
A bit to my dismay, we ate them ALL. (I was hoping for leftovers for my breakfast tomorrow.) And, I would have preferred to have been eating my crepes while strolling along the left bank of the Seine! But, on a January day in Wisconsin, this was a warm reminder of a wonderful trip. And this time I had the pleasure of sharing them – and preparing them! – with my petite friends.
|
|
Cook with Us!
Care to join us?
If you do and wish to send in comments about your experience making it and serving it in your child care, your name will be entered in a Wee Chefs drawing! Potential submissions should be emailed on or before Friday, February 19th. Send to jgiles@wisconsinearlychildhood.org. Use Wee Chefs at name of your child care home in the subject line of your email.
|
|
Love/Hate Relationships with Food?
Is your relationship with food problematic? Is mealtime in your child care home nourishing AND pleasant? Do you worry about a child who is too fat or about your own body image?
First, let me state the obvious: I am not a dietician. Ellyn Satter is, and her experience and wisdom can help any of us who have difficulty with our own approach to food and weight or those of our child care friends. Ellen’s advice:
- Whatever your size, to keep from being caught in the weight dilemma, work with your body rather than against it.
- Eat well and joyfully, and trust your internal regulators to guide you in what and how much to eat.
- Move your body in ways that you enjoy and can sustain.
- Let your body weigh what it will in response to your positive and consistent eating and activity.
- Develop loyalty and respect for your body.
- Stop postponing living until you get thin.
When we make eating certain foods taboo or subject to strict limitations, either for ourselves or for the children we care for, we add to their emotional power.
“Eat all your vegetables, and THEN you can have some ice cream.”
People want what they don’t have. When a food is withheld or limited it becomes something to seek out. When a particular food is looked at in this way, eating it can become something we do in secret or think of as a guilty pleasure.
It’s a strange example, but think about toilet paper early in the pandemic: Because it was scarce, people bought it whenever they could find it, whether they currently needed it or not. People hoarded it. An attitude of scarcity where food is concerned can bring out the same behaviors: Overconsumption, bingeing, secrecy, hoarding.
There can be sound medical reasons for adhering to certain types of dietary patterns, such as carbohydrate restrictions for diabetics, for example. Apart from that, what’s wrong with consuming a wide variety of foods - both for our health and for our enjoyment! - and modeling that for the children in our care. What’s wrong with thinking of eating well and joyfully as an act of self-love. Maybe the answer should be absolutely nothing!
|
|
|
|
Safe Kitchen Checklist from National CACFP Sponsors Association |
Before you begin cooking and baking, review these guidelines from Home Baking Association to help keep you safe. You can use this resource to educate yourself and the children in your care.
|
|
Refer a Friend to WECA CACFP
Do you know another provider who does not participate on a Food Program? Think she might like WECA? If you refer a friend who joins our program and claims for at least two months, YOU will receive a nice parcel of children’s books as a thank you! You appreciate good word of mouth advertising, and WECA does, too.
|
|
Reminder: Child Enrollment Forms (including Infants)
You must offer the Food Program to every child enrolled in your care; therefore, every child enrolled in your care must have an enrollment form on file for the Food Program. All enrollment forms must be filled out by the first day of care and submitted to the WECA Food Program by the 5th of the claim month. Enrollment forms must also be completed for infants on the first day they start the Food Program. There is no grace period.
They're here: Electronic Parent Provider Formula Agreements!
Effective now: When you enroll an infant into your child care electronically, it will trigger an immediate, electronic PFA for that child. Be sure to keep a copy – printed or electronic – with your Food Program records. Less paper, less postage.
|
|
|
|
Whether you have tons of advocacy experience, or none, NAEYC's Public Policy Forum is THE place for you to sharpen your skills & help us move a nonpartisan agenda in support of young children & the ECE profession! As always, the Public Policy Forum is a NAEYC Member-Only Benefit so this is the perfect time to become a member if advocacy is at the heart of your work. |
|
Save Time, Save Money! Join WEESSN Today!
The Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network (WEESSN) brings together family and center-based early care and education programs to pool resources and leverage economies of scale. By sharing resources, knowledge, and expertise, child care programs can save time and money. Being a part of a network allows you to be BIG where big is important (purchasing and resources sharing) while still staying small, where small is everything – providing care and education within your community, the way you know best.
Think of WEESSN as an extra team member dedicated to helping you improve your programming, decrease your costs and save you time. Our #1 goal is to make your professional life less stressful.
|
|
Licensed Providers with Assistants |
|
|
Has Your Regulation Been Updated?
If there are any changes to your child care certification or license, such as type of regulation, address, name change, capacity, age range of children in care, hours of operation and/or days of operation, you MUST submit a copy of your new cert or license to the WECA Food Program or fax it to 866-222-9520. Make sure the current version is posted on your wall.
|
|
Remove Children from Care at CACFP.Net
To drop a child from care, wait 60 days after you last claimed that child to be sure you’ve been paid correctly.
-
Log in to CACFP.Net.
- On the main menu page, click on Drop a Child from care, located under Claim Tools.
- Complete and submit the form.
|
|
CACFP has added a new plant-based protein source to its list of creditable foods:
- WOWBUTTER is a peanut free & treenut free spread that is a complete plant protein source, 1.12oz can credit as 1 M/MA or 1/4c Veg.
|
|
Take Care of Your Scannable Forms
When the Food Program receives bar-coded forms (paper menu forms) that were folded, damaged, wrinkled or stained, there’s a chance the information on those forms won’t scan properly. You can lose reimbursement.
This is provider error and is not adjustable. You work too hard to lose money, so take the time to review your forms and submit them in good condition.
Remember to mail us the original hard copies and always keep the carbon copies for your own records.
|
|
Extra Steps Required for Paper Claimers
Food Program Direct Deposit Date Hotline
Dial 1-800-783-9322
- For English, press 1
- Para español, presione 2
- For the Food Program, press 2
- Para el Programa de Alimentos presione 1
- For the check mailing date, press 1
- Para la fecha del cheque / depósito directo, presione 2
|
|
Quick Review: Fruits, Vegetables, and More |
|
Per USDA Meal Pattern Requirements (this is not a complete list of requirements):
- Do not serve juice to infants.
- You can serve juice one time each day per family day care home, to children one and up.
- Enter “100% fruit juice” or “100% vegetable juice.” Just “juice” is not enough information.
- Or enter the name of the first fruit or vegetable listed in the juice ingredients (orange juice, tomato juice, etc.)
- The specific name of each fruit or vegetable you serve must be entered on menus. The only non-specific terms allowed are “mixed fruit” or “mixed vegetables.”
- You must serve at least one vegetable at lunch and dinner.
- At snacks, you must serve two of the five components. You may serve a fruit and a vegetable as two of the five components. Do not serve two fruits or two vegetables.
- Never serve only two liquids at a snack.
- Do not cook vegetables (or fruits) by submerging them in hot oil or other fat (French fries, tater tots, hash browns, etc.)
-
More Information on fruit/vegetables is included in the Wisconsin DPI Fruit and Vegetable Components handout.
|
|
|
|
Annual Income Guidelines for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch Program |
The income guidelines, updated annually, are effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, and apply to student eligibility for free and reduced‑price school meals offered through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, and milk offered through the Special Milk Program. For the 2021-22 school year, USDA has provided regulatory waivers, allowing for all students to eat free meals through the National School Lunch Seamless Summer Option without student eligibility determination. For more information:
|
|
Do You Have a Special Diet Form for a Child Receiving Non-Dairy Milk?
If you previously had a Special Diet Form approved for a child receiving non-dairy milk due to parent’s lifestyle BUT NOT due to allergy or disability, please review the current list of approved, creditable non-dairy milks. Some of the formerly approved non-dairy milks no longer meet CACFP requirements to replace cow’s milk at a meal service. You may need to update your paperwork in this instance. If you have questions, please contact jgiles@wisconsinearlychildhood.org.
|
|
Both the Special Diet Form and Special Dietary Needs Tracking Form are Required
YOU MUST REPORT EVERY SPECIAL DIET required for a child, whether it’s a disability or preference. It doesn’t matter if the meals are reimbursable or not.
Remember that NOT EVERY SPECIAL DIET CAN BE REIMBURSED.
- The Special Diet Form and the Tracking Form will help you determine if you can claim that child’s meal.
- You must work with parents/guardians to obtain the required documentation so that appropriate and safe meals can be served to the child.
Find the Special Diet and Special Dietary Needs Tracking Form here:
|
|
The Provider Connection is published by the WECA Food Program Claims Director: Pam Polenz
Provider Connection Editor: Julie Giles Questions: Call 608-240-9880 or visit our website.
|
|
This institution is an equal opportunity provider |
|
Explore more of what WECA has to offer:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
