Providers Choice Blog

The holiday season brings joy, warmth, and—let’s be honest—a lot of delicious food! From cookies and cakes to pies and pastries, holiday sweets are an expected part of the festivities, especially in childcare settings. While it’s tempting to fill your menus with festive treats, remember that Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) regulations stand true, even during the holidays. Grain-based desserts are not creditable in the CACFP.

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November is Gluten Free Diet Awareness Month! As a childcare provider, you are required to provide creditable gluten free foods for kids who have a medical need and special diet statement for a gluten free diet, such as celiac disease, wheat allergy, or gluten sensitivity. Not sure where to start? In this blog post, we’ll guide you through what you need to know to accommodate gluten free diets.

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Food Program Training season is almost upon us! This program year, annual training will take place in February 2025. Trainings will continue to provide 2 hours of Develop-approved continuing education and fulfill the annual CACFP and Civil Rights training requirements.

This year’s theme, Growing Adventurous Eaters, is about how to navigate selective eating in children. As a childcare provider, we know the health and nutrition of the kids in your care is one of your top priorities. This training will equip child care providers with the knowledge and tools to promote healthy eating habits in children while fostering an adventurous attitude toward eating.

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Many changes and updates have impacted child care providers this year, especially changes that will impact family child care in the year ahead. This blog post will highlight some of the changes that impact licensed child care providers and how Providers Choice will adjust to align with some of the new timelines or requirements.

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Does your child care center ever serve something other than the foods on your pre-approved menu? That’s ok, and it’s expected! We call these "menu substitutions", and we just need to know about them.

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Summer is winding down and it's almost time for busy school schedules to resume. Set yourself up for success this school year by dedicating time to menu plan. Menu planning takes the stress out of deciding what to feed your children, streamlines your shopping trips, and even saves you money!

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In April 2024, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its final rule updating nutrition requirements in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to better align with recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In addition to this final rule updating sugar limits from total sugar to added sugar for breakfast cereals and yogurt, it now allows registered dietitians to sign medical statements requesting meal modifications for children with food allergies, medical conditions or other disabilities.

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On April 24, 2024, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released updates to Child Nutrition meal patterns for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) in the Child Nutrition Programs Final Rule: Updates to the CACFP & SFSP Meal Patterns. This change is to more closely align with WIC and school meals based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025.

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Food Program Training season is HERE! Starting October 2023, Providers Choice will hold annual Food Program Training workshops in the fall. Trainings will continue to provide 2 hours of Develop approved continuing education and fulfill the annual CACFP and Civil Rights training requirements. If you already attended training this spring, Healthy Habits Count, that training met requirements for fiscal year 2023 and a new CACFP training year started on October 1 for fiscal year 2024.

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As part of our ever-evolving approach at Providers Choice (PCI), we go above and beyond for our providers. From ensuring you get the maximum reimbursement while maintaining the highest integrity to the Food Program Guidelines to interpreting and changing laws for your benefit, we support every aspect of your business. This dedication includes advocating for you at the highest level.

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Prioritizing children’s health goes beyond nutrition. Exercise and physical activity are equally as important as the foods children eat, and the importance of physical activity is a focus of Providers Choice’s Healthy Habits Count Food Program Training this year.

5-2-1-0 is a framework for children’s health that encourages 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, the 2 bite club (a way to encourage hesitant eaters to try new foods), 1 hour of physical activity daily and 0 sugar-sweetened beverages.

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We’re in the dog days of summer. Temps are high, days are long and children can get restless. But it’s still important to get those kiddos outside! In fact, eating meals outdoors or on-the-go is a great way to get outside and practice healthy meal planning all at once.

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Serving healthy food isn’t always easy or straightforward. One way to ensure you have access to fruits and vegetables is by growing your own! Plus - having a garden saves you money and grocery trips!

For example, even just one tomato plant can be super affordable—think $3 to $5—and provide up to 10 pounds of tomatoes over the season, which otherwise can easily run you $20 or more.

From seasoned gardeners to those just starting out, gardening is a positive activity that provides many benefits.

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On May 11, 2023, the U.S. Department of HHS (Health and Human Services) declared the COVID public health emergency over. This means that the recent flexibilities and waivers for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) are ending soon.

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As we enter spring, we’re reminded of the annoyance outdoor allergies can bring. But for people with food allergies, the annoyance becomes a potentially life-threatening concern that must be focused on every day, all year long. For child care providers specifically, food allergies are a consideration that require constant consideration.

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CACFP Week is a national education and information campaign sponsored by the National CACFP Sponsors Association. It kicks off Monday, March 13 and runs through the end of the week, concluding on Friday, March 17.

CACFP week is all about raising awareness of the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), highlighting how it works to combat hunger and providing helpful tools to help providers with healthy eating for the children in their care.

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From feeding the children, to licensing and continuing education, there are many variables to getting it right. PCI has a library of resources that support family child care programs and child care centers. Categories include meal patterns and creditable foods, allergies, shopping lists like creditable cereals and yogurts, recipes, CACFP forms and more.

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This year’s food program training is focused on adopting healthy habits. The early years of children’s lives are an important time to establish positive eating habits, along with other overall healthy habits such as brushing teeth, washing hands, etc. It is much easier to implement these routines earlier in life than fix them later!

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