SCDSS Celebrates Child and Adult Care Food Program Week

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

SCDSS Celebrates Child and Adult Care Food Program Week

March 9, 2023 - The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), a federally-funded program operated by the South Carolina Department of Social Services’ (SCDSS) Division of Early Care and Education, plans to celebrate healthy food and nutrition during CACFP Week, March 13th-17th. The CACFP program strives to promote better nutrition in South Carolina by reimbursing child care centers, adult care centers, child care homes, afterschool programs, and emergency shelters that serve qualified healthy meals and snacks.

“Why does CACFP matter? It matters because of its positive impact in shaping good eating habits for children and encouraging adult participants to make healthy food choices,” says Mary Abney-Young, CACFP State Director. “For providers, it is an assurance that meals served meet the high standards of CACFP and reflect updates to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and recommendations from the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics.” 

Between October 2021 and September 2022, CACFP reimbursed nearly $29 million to South Carolina’s child and adult care providers and served more than 15 million meals in participating child and adult care centers around the state.

To celebrate CACFP Week, the program will present a daily challenge for providers while using the hashtags #CACFPWeek2023, #SCCACFP, and a corresponding hashtag for each day. The daily challenges include: 

• March 13 – All About Community (#AllAboutCommunity)
  Providers are encouraged to connect with their local farmer(s) to bring in fruits and vegetables, and/or incorporate locally-grown ingredients into one of their meals.

• March 14 – Star Studded Chef (#StarStuddedChef)

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

• March 15 - Eat the Rainbow (#EatTheRainbow) Providers can create a CACFP creditable snack reflecting the colors of the rainbow in a creative way and wear a colored shirt that matches the color of their favorite fruit or vegetable.

• March 16 – Explore New Foods (#ExploreNewFoods)
  Providers can taste test with two or three new CACFP creditable foods and track their reactions.

• March 17 – “Lettuce” Eat Green (#LettuceEatGreen)

Providers wear green and show off their green fruits and vegetables.

The daily challenges will be highlighted on SCDSS Facebook and Twitter pages. The agency will also share testimonies from organizations about the positive impact CACFP has made in their programs.

To learn more about CACFP, visit our SC Child Care website. Eligible organizations can apply to participate in CACFP at https://cacfp-apps.dss.sc.gov/WelcomeSNPM.aspx.

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