OUR BLOG
Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 at Meal Times/Deliveries
During these challenging times, it is important to do our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among participants, especially when serving and delivering meals. Please take the following steps, especially to adult participants since adults over the age of 60 and/or with underlying health conditions are at an increased risk of serious illness due to COVID-19: Ensure Staff Members are Healthy and Symptom-Free Send any staff with respiratory symptoms home (fever, dry cough, etc.). Check in with staff members frequently to assess their health status/possible exposures. You may want to take periodic temperatures of staff who directly [...]
Why Your Child Care Center Should Strive for a Parent Aware Rating
When it comes to making your child care center stand out from the rest, there’s nothing like a quality rating. The good news is that this is fairly accessible; many states, including Minnesota, have a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), such as Parent Aware. Parent Aware serves both parents and child care providers, connecting the two and providing benefits to child care programs that achieve a rating within its system. Partners in Quality Care can help your child care center achieve one of these ratings; our child care quality improvement consulting services will guide you through the [...]
How Adult Care Centers Can Benefit from the CACFP
Adult care centers, on their own, do amazing things for the health of adults in need. An adult care center can be an affordable alternative to a traditional full-time nursing home or other care facility, making it easier for low-income families to take care of their loved ones. In addition, adult day care centers have the potential to impact their clients through nutrition. Providing healthy snacks and meals can improve the emotional and physical well-being for anyone—especially senior citizens or other adults in need of daily care. However, providing nutritious meals can be expensive; this is where the [...]
Does Your Center Qualify for Financial Reimbursement?
If your center serves meals, it may qualify for financial reimbursement for the healthy meals you feed. This happens through a USDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) operation called the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Because of this program, as of November of last year, over four million children and 130 thousand adults benefited, according to the National Food and Nutrition Service. They received daily nutrition-packed meals and snacks through care centers that helped them grow and succeed. How do you know if your center’s food program can get financial assistance through the CACFP? Partners [...]
Why Child Nutrition Matters
The first few years of a child’s life largely influence the quality of his or her future. Children are constantly developing mentally, emotionally, and physically. When child care and after school programs provide nutritious meals, children have the foundation to grow up healthy and strong. Participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), can help set children on a lifelong path to greater physical health. Why Give Nutritious Meals? The benefits of nutritious meals span age groups, but for children there are a few key advantages. Nutritious meals: Give Long-lasting Energy | Sugar-filled foods might give [...]
What Are The Nutrition Standards For the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)?
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) provides federal funding to child and adult care providers in order to serve nutritious meals and snacks each day. The CACFP requires care providers to meet nutrition standards in order to be reimbursed through the program. At Partners in Quality Care, we’re here to help you navigate the nutrition standards that child and adult care programs are required to meet. So what are CACFP’s nutrition standards? The CACFP bases its nutrition standards for healthy, balanced meals and snacks on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and recommendations from the National Academy [...]