Table 2.
Child and adult care food program minimum nutrition and portion size standards and mean differences (±se) between the amount of foods and beverages served among preschool-aged children attending breakfast, lunch and/or snack during childcare. Boston MA, December 2019–March 2020. (n 166 child-meals)*,†,‡
| CACFP portion size child age 2 years | CACFP portion size child age 3–5 years | Amount served (cups or ounces) | Differences between foods and beverages served from recommended amounts (accounting for age/sex) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % observations | Mean | se | Mean difference | se | P value | |||
| Breakfast (n 42) | |||||||||
| Fruit/vegetable (c) | 0·25 | 0·50 | 37 | 88·1 | 0·24 | 0·03 | −0·15 | 0·04 | 0·0005 |
| Grain (oz) | 0·50 | 0·50 | 35 | 83·0 | 0·91 | 0·09 | 0·41 | 0·10 | 0·0002 |
| Skim/1 % white milk (c) | 0·50 | 0·75 | 34 | 81·0 | 0·38 | 0·05 | −0·26 | 0·04 | < 0·0001 |
| Meat/meat alternates (oz) | – | – | 7 | 16·7 | 0·96 | 0·36 | – | – | – |
| Lunch (n 73) | |||||||||
| Fruit (c) | 0·13 | 0·25 | 56 | 76·7 | 0·67 | 0·09 | 0·44 | 0·08 | < 0·0001 |
| Vegetable (c) | 0·13 | 0·25 | 72 | 98·6 | 0·40 | 0·05 | 0·18 | 0·04 | < 0·0001 |
| Grain (oz) | 0·50 | 0·50 | 66 | 90·4 | 3·97 | 0·35 | 3·45 | 0·36 | < 0·0001 |
| Skim or 1 % white milk (c) | 0·50 | 0·75 | 42 | 57·5 | 0·26 | 0·03 | −0·43 | 0·03 | < 0·0001 |
| Meat/ meat alternates (oz) | 1·00 | 1·50 | 41 | 56·2 | 1·41 | 0·13 | −0·03 | 0·16 | 0·86 |
| Snack (n 51) | |||||||||
| Fruit (c) | 0·50 | 0·50 | 21 | 41·2 | 0·19 | 0·02 | −0·31 | 0·04 | < 0·0001 |
| Vegetable (c) | 0·50 | 0·50 | 7 | 13·7 | 0·04 | 0·02 | −0·46 | 0·02 | < 0·0001 |
| Grain (oz) | 0·50 | 0·50 | 42 | 82·4 | 0·75 | 0·09 | 0·25 | 0·14 | 0·08 |
| Skim or 1 % white milk (c) | 0·50 | 0·50 | 9 | 17·7 | 0·04 | 0·01 | −0·46 | 0·01 | < 0·0001 |
| Meat/meat alternates (oz) | 0·50 | 0·50 | 25 | 49·0 | 0·93 | 0·15 | 0·43 | 0·20 | 0·04 |
Reference: United States Department of Agriculture. Updated Child and Adult Care Food Program Meal Patterns: Child and Adult Meals. https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/cacfp/CACFP_MealBP.pdf accessed 11/09/2021.
Meat and meat alternates may be used to substitute the entire grains component a maximum of three times per week at breakfast. All five components required for a reimbursable meal at lunch; two vegetables can be offered at lunch in lieu of one fruit and one vegetable. Select two of the five components for snack.
Adjusted for clustering of observations within children and children within centers.