SCDSS Celebrates Child and Adult Care Food Program Week

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tiffiney Miles
803-898-7364
Tiffiney.F.Miles@dss.sc.gov

SCDSS Celebrates Child and Adult Care Food Program Week

Columbia, SC - The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), housed at the SC Department of Social Services, celebrates CACFP Week from March 13 through March 19. CACFP is a federally funded program that provides reimbursements to child care centers, adult care centers, child care homes, afterschool programs, and emergency shelters that serve nutritious meals and snacks.

“The Child and Adult Care Food Program contributes to the wellness, healthy growth, and development of young children, and the health and wellness of older adults and chronically impaired persons in non-residential care,” says Mary Abney-Young, CACFP State Director. “CACFP contributes to the provision of quality care by assisting in improving the nutritional quality of the meals and snacks served to children and adults in care settings in South Carolina.”

Between October 2020 and September 2021, CACFP served more than 13 million meals to child and adult care centers in the state and provided nearly $23 million in reimbursements.

This year, CACFP encourages child and adult care providers to participate in the celebration by sharing pictures and videos of the healthy meals and snacks they are serving in their programs. Every day, CACFP will present a different challenge for providers while using the hashtags #CACFPWeek2022, #SCCACFP, and a corresponding hashtag for each day. Challenges for the week include:

• March 14 - Eat Well & Feel Golden, Wear Something Gold (#EatWellFeelGolden)
  Providers wear the color gold and show what grains they are including in their meals or snacks.
  
  
• March 15 - Hats Off to the Chef (#HatsOffToTheChef)

Providers celebrate their program’s chef or cook by presenting the individual with a certificate.

• March 16 - Eat the Rainbow (#EatTheRainbow)
  Providers take pictures of their CACFP credible meals or snacks that reflect the colors of the rainbow.
• March 17 - Don’t Just Wear Green – Show Your Green Fruits & Vegetables (#WearGreenEatGreen)
  Providers wear the color green and show off their green fruits and vegetables.
  
  
• March 18 - Imaginary Grocery Store Field Trip (#GroceryStoreGames)
  Providers take an imaginary trip to the grocery store and purchase CACFP credible items.

Providers can also sign up for a nutrition webinar on Monday, March 14, hosted by USDA’s Team Nutrition: https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/halftime-cacfp-thirty-thursdays-training-webinar-series.

Providers can apply for CACFP at https://cacfp-apps.dss.sc.gov/WelcomeSNPM.aspx.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program is administered by the South Carolina Department of Social Services’ (SCDSS) Division of Early Care and Education. To learn more about CACFP, visit https://www.scchildcare.org/programs/child-and-adult-care-food-program/ or at https://www.scchildcare.org/news/.

Here is the link with events happening throughout the week https://www.scchildcare.org/news/celebrate-cacfp-week/. 

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