Abstract
Objective
In October 2017, substantial changes were made to improve the nutritional quality
of meals served in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). This study describes the experience of child care providers and sponsors
during the first year of implementation.
Methods
A 1-time survey was administered to CACFP sponsors in Delaware 1 year after implementation
of the changes. Data analysis included frequencies and chi-square tests of independence.
Results
Among respondents (n = 137), 21% faced moderate or significant challenges. Food cost
(53.1%) and communicating with parents about changes (44.6%) were the most common
challenges faced. The majority reported that parents supported the changes and that
children and teachers generally ate the new food.
Conclusions and Implications
A minority of providers in Delaware faced significant challenges, suggesting that
broad changes to CACFP may be feasibly implemented across settings. Training focused
on food cost and parent communication may be warranted.
Key Words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessSNEB Member Login
SNEB Members, full access to the journal is a member benefit. Login via the SNEB Website to access all journal content and features.Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Nutrition Education and BehaviorAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
REFERENCES
Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). Child and Adult Care Food Program: Participation Trends 2017. Washington, DC: FRAC; 2018.
- Assessment of nutrition knowledge of childcare providers regarding the implementation of the 2017 CACFP meal pattern update.Am J Health Educ. 2018; 49: 384-394
- Foods served in child care facilities participating in the child and adult care food program: menu match and agreement with the new meal patterns and best practices.J Nutr Educ Behav. 2018; 50: 582-588
- Compliance with the new 2017 child and adult care food program standards for infants and children before implementation.Child Obes. 2018; 14: 393-402
- Obesity prevention in Early child care settings: a bistate (Minnesota and Wisconsin) assessment of best practices, implementation difficulty, and barriers.Health Educ Behav. 2017; 44: 23-31
- Early childhood education centers’ reported readiness to implement the updated child and adult care food program meal pattern standards in the United States, 2017.Child Obes. 2018; 14: 412-420
- Latino family childcare providers’ beliefs, attitudes, and practices related to promotion of healthy behaviors among preschool children: a qualitative study.J Obes. 2015; 2015409742
Pew Research Center. Questionnaire Design. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center; 2019.
- Controlling the false discovery rate: a practical and powerful approach to multiple testing.J R Stat Soc B Methodol. 1995; 57: 289-300
- Engaging parents to promote children's nutrition and health: providers’ barriers and strategies in head start and child care centers.Am J Health Promot. 2017; 31: 153-162
- Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: benchmarks for nutrition in child care.J Acad Nutr Diet. 2018; 118: 1291-1300
- Achieving a State of Healthy Weight 2017 Supplement: State Profiles.University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO2018
- Making sense of implementation theories, models and frameworks.Implement Sci. 2015; 10: 53
Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 19, 2019
Accepted:
October 20,
2019
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The author has not stated any conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.