Report Publish Date: September 14, 2022

This journal article describes a longitudinal study of meals provided by childcare centers to see whether changes to nutrition standards for the Child and Adult Care Food Program led to more nutritious meals at childcare centers.

Primary Takeaways

Childcare centers participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, or CACFP, were more likely than non-CACFP centers to serve: 

• A fruit and a vegetable at lunch 
• At least one serving per day of whole grains 
• Fruit more often than juice 
• No foods with added sugar 

However, the researchers did not find that CACFP centers improved more after the 2017 changes, providing more whole grains, fruit, and vegetables, compared to non-CACFP centers. 

“The centers in this sample, regardless of CACFP participation, overwhelmingly served low-fat milk to 2–5-year-olds, offered fruits and vegetables daily, and limited serving juice and grain-based desserts, making it difficult to impossible for there to be a significant difference for CACFP centers,” the authors write. 
 

Overview and Objectives

CACFP is a federal nutrition assistance program that reimburses childcare centers for the cost of serving healthy meals to the children they care for. The authors wanted to see whether new guidelines for CACFP meals, put in place in 2017, resulted in higher quality menus and better nutrition for children.
 

Hypothesis or Approach 

The authors surveyed licensed childcare centers in Connecticut. They used state administrative records to identify centers. To have a stronger comparison group with CACFP centers, which tend to serve low-income communities, the researchers oversampled non-CACFP centers in low-income communities. The researchers collected surveys from 237 childcare centers in 2016 and from 201 centers in 2019. Directors of 92 centers provided weekly menus. The final samples included 55 non-CACFP centers and 37 CACFP centers.

The surveys asked about accreditation, participation in Connecticut’s School Readiness Program, nonprofit or for-profit status, kitchen facilities, data on household income and demographics, and other questions.

The researchers classified and coded menu items to assess whether menus met CACFP standards.
 

How This Influences Change

“To effect more beneficial changes to the foods and beverages served to the millions of children who receive subsidized meals through CACFP, stronger nutrition standards for the program, with appropriate accompanying financial and technical support for implementation, may be needed,” the authors write.