Serving Sizes for Children
Why Measure Serving Sizes for Children?
USDA requires family daycare homes to accurately serve the recommended portion sizes.
Any daycare home receiving USDA reimbursement must follow the USDA guidelines meals submitted. The earlier a child is taught to eat appropriate portion sizes, the better their chances are of maintaining a healthy weight throughout their lifetime.
Serving sizes that are posted on manufacturer labels are adult portion sizes meant for children 6 years and older. For a child in the preschool age group, portion size is ½ of that amount.
Example: If package reads that 30 grams is a serving, ½ of that (15 grams) would be a serving for a child through age 5. This is important when serving snacks in particular.
Clarendon Early Education Services (CEES) will disallow a meal if a Home Monitor has identified age appropriate portions are not being followed. If changes are made at the last minute to the menu, adjustments must be written in for that meal or snack for that day.
Breakfast Meal Pattern
Select all three Components for a Reimbursable Meal
1 milk | 1 cup | fluid milk |
1 fruit/vegetable | 1/2 cup | juice,1 and/or vegetable |
1 grains/bread 2 | 1 slice 1 serving 3/4 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup |
bread or cornbread or biscuit or roll or muffin or cold dry cereal or hot cooked cereal or pasta or noodles or grains |
2 Breads and grains must be made from whole-grain or enriched meal or flour. Cereal must be whole-grain, enriched, or fortified.
Lunch or Supper Meal Pattern
Select All Four Components for a Reimbursable Meal
1 milk | 1 cup | fluid milk |
2 fruits/vegetables | 3/4 cup | juice,1 fruit and/or vegetable |
1 grains/bread2 | 1 slice 1 serving 1/2 cup 1/2 cup |
bread or cornbread or biscuit or roll or muffin or hot cooked cereal or pasta or noodles or grains |
1 meat/meat alternate | 2 oz. 2 oz. 2 oz. 1 large 1/2 cup 4 Tbsp. 1 oz. 8 oz. |
lean meat or poultry or fish 3 or alternate protein product or cheese or egg or cooked dry beans or peas or peanut or other nut or seed butter or nuts and/or seeds4 or yogurt 5 |
2 Breads and grains must be made from whole-grain or enriched meal or flour. Cereal must be whole-grain, enriched, or fortified.
3 A serving consists of the edible portion of cooked lean meat or poultry or fish.
4 Nuts and seeds may meet only one-half of the total meat/meat alternate serving and must be combined with another meat/meat alternate to fulfill the lunch or supper requirement.
5 Yogurt may be plain or flavored, unsweetened or sweetened.
Snack (Supplement) Meal Pattern
Select Two of the Four Components for a Reimbursable Snack
1 milk | 1 cup | >fluid milk |
1fruit/vegetable | 3/4 cup | juice,1 fruit and/or vegetable |
1 grains/bread2 | 1 slice 1 serving 3/4 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup |
bread or cornbread or biscuit or roll or muffin or cold dry cereal or hot cooked cereal or pasta or noodles or grains |
1 meat/meat alternate | 1 oz. 1 oz. 1 oz. 1/2 large 1/4 cup 2 Tbsp. 1 oz. 4 oz. |
lean meat or poultry or fish3 or alternate protein product or cheese or egg or cooked dry beans or peas or peanut or other nut or seed butter or nuts and/or seeds or yogurt 4 |
2 Breads and grains must be made from whole-grain or enriched meal or flour. Cereal must be whole-grain, enriched, or fortified.
3 A serving consists of the edible portion of cooked lean meat or poultry or fish.
4 Yogurt may be plain or flavored, unsweetened or sweetened.
Serve Tasty and Healthy Foods in the CACFP Poster Series
Meal Planning for the CACFP can help you plan tasty, healthy, and appealing meals for the children who participants in your program. Many of the examples come from the four posters in the “Serve Tasty and Healthy Foods in the CACFP” poster series, which are available on the Team Nutrition website.
Posters are also available in Spanish here (click any poster to see both versions there).
As many of you know, the updates to the CACFP meal pattern that was released in April 2016 were the first major changes to the nutrition standards since the program began in 1968. These updates will help make sure children served by the CACFP have even more access to healthier meals and snacks throughout their days. These healthier meals and snacks will help kids get the nutrition they need to learn, grow, and play. Team Nutrition created the “Growing a Healthier Future With the CACFP infographic” that highlights how the foods served in the CACFP can have a positive impact on the health of the children you serve.