Adult Day Care Centers participating in CACFP must provide meals that meet meal pattern requirements.

Healthy Meals and Nutrition Environment

Adult daycare centers provide supervised care for enrolled adults outside their homes during the day. The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) plays a vital role in improving the quality of day care and making it more affordable for many low-income families. 

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) are jointly issued and updated every five years by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services. They are designed for policymakers and nutrition and health professionals. The aim of the DGAs is to promote health and prevent disease. The DGAs provide guidelines that encourage healthy eating patterns at each stage of life and recognize that individuals will need to make shifts in their food and beverage choices to achieve a healthy pattern.

The 2025-2030 DGAs recommend that Americans to prioritize diets built on whole, nutrient-dense foods – protein, dairy, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and whole grains, paired with a reduction in highly processed foods, laden with refined carbohydrates, added sugars, excess sodium, unhealthy fats, and chemical additives. 

The Key Recommendations call for Americans to:

• Eat the Right Amount for You
• Prioritize Protein Foods at Every Meal
• Consume Dairy
• Eat Vegetables & Fruits Throughout the Day
• Incorporate Healthy Fats
• Focus on Whole Grains
• Limit Highly Processed Foods, Added Sugars, & Refined Carbohydrates
• Limit Alcoholic Beverages

More information about the 2025-2030 DGAs is available at their website.

Family Style Meal Service

Family style is a type of meal service that allows adults to serve themselves from common platters of food with assistance from supervising adults. Unlike cafeteria lines and pre-plated meals, the family-style method gives adults more control over their servings. Because adults are generally used to family-style eating, the day care participants may welcome this method and feel most comfortable when the center chooses to implement this style of service.

If chosen, this serving style option must be exercised in compliance with the following practices:

• Enough food must be placed on each table to provide the full required portions of each of the food components for all participants at the table and to accommodate adults supervising the meal service at the table if they eat with the participants.
• The full minimum portion required under the applicable meal pattern must be offered to each participant.
• When a participant does not initially take the full portion required by the applicable meal pattern, the supervising adult must actively encourage the participant to accept the full portion during the meal.

Menu Planning Guidelines

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Meal Pattern Requirements, the Crediting Handbook for the CACFP, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Buying Guide (FBG) for Child Nutrition Program ensure that adults participating in the CACFP are served foods that supply the nutrients they need.

Follow these guidelines when developing menus:

• Select a form to document your daily menus. The menu template is recommended; these forms list the meal components required for each meal and snack. A five and seven-day version is available at the CACFP website   under Forms.
• Choose the menu format you will use; a three-to-four-week cycle menu format is recommended. A cycle menu is a set of menus repeated in the same order over a period of time, typically two, three, or four weeks. Cycle menus provide variety by offering different foods and/or different food combinations each day during the cycle.
• When there are substitutions from the planned menu, mark through the original menu item and enter the substitution. The original daily dated menu that notes substitutions must be kept with the monthly records and retained for three years plus the current year.
• Know the cooking abilities of the person(s) preparing the meals. Review the menu and recipes with the cook and provide training as necessary. Select or develop standardized recipes for menu items.
• Plan menu items based on the equipment available in the center’s kitchen.
• Include all meal components in at least the minimum portion sizes required for reimbursement. It is usually easiest to start by planning the main dish or entrée.
• Plan menus that focus on the nutritional needs of adults. Be sure to include a good source of iron and Vitamins A and C.
  • Iron sources include asparagus, lima beans, sweet potatoes, squash, 100% vegetable juice, turkey, tuna, apricots, cherries, dried fruit, dried peas, eggs, meat, and green beans.
  • Vitamin A sources include apricots, cantaloupe, cherries, plums, egg yolk, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, kale, peas, and sweet potatoes.
  • Vitamin C sources include citrus fruit and juice, broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, snow pears, peppers (green and red), cantaloupe, honeydew melon, mango, papaya, kiwi, and strawberries.
• Limit high-fat and sodium meats to no more than one time per week. This includes, but is not limited to, hot dogs, sausage, lunch meat, and processed meats.
• Grain-based desserts do not count toward the grain requirement, with the exception of sweet crackers, including graham crackers of all shapes and animal crackers.
• Specify the type of fruit, juice, or vegetables on your menus to ensure a variety of food is served and to document the nutritional value of the meal.
• Specify cereal and yogurt types to ensure the added sugar requirements are met. Maintain documentation with the CACFP records.
• Make sure the meals look and taste good. Introduce new foods along with familiar foods.
• Include foods that are different shapes: round, square, rectangular, and different colors: yellow, orange, red, and green.
• Combine foods that have different textures: soft, crunchy, crisp, creamy, and smooth, and different tastes: sweet, sour, tart, salty, spicy, and mild.
• Consider the different ethnic and cultural food habits and preferences of the participants.
• Whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, or fat-free milk is required at breakfast and lunch for participants, which may be flavored or unflavored. Cultured buttermilk may also be served.  A serving of milk is optional at the supper meal for the adult participant.  Document the type of milk served on the menu. This includes listing the fat content (whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, or fat-free/skim) and if the milk is flavored. Six ounces (weight) or ¾ cup (volume) of yogurt may be used to meet the equivalent of 8 ounces of fluid milk once per day when yogurt is not served as a meat alternate in the same meal.
• Use fats and oils sparingly in food preparation and limit the use of salt and high-sodium foods.

Standardized recipes: A standardized recipe is one that has been tested several times using the same method and equipment. A standardized recipe ensures consistent product quality and yields the same number of servings every time it is used when the same procedures, equipment, and ingredients are used. Because standardized recipes specify exact ingredient amounts, it is easier to manage food costs and storage. A link to the USDA Standardized Recipes is available on the CACFP website.

The USDA FBG for Child Nutrition Programs is available as an interactive web-based tool, as a mobile app, and as a downloadable PDF. USDA resources help you determine the right amount and type of food to purchase for your program. These resources aid in determining the specific meal contribution each food makes towards the meal pattern requirements, as well as providing information on recipe analysis. The FBG, Web-based Interactive FBG, The FBG Mobile App, and The FBG Calculator are available online at the USDA website. The Crediting Handbook for CACFP is a companion guide to the FBG that contains additional information on creditable foods served in adult day care centers. Links to both resources are also available on the CACFP website.

View the answer key for this exercise here.