CACFP Fluid Milk Exemption Requests

A temporary emergency is a short-term, isolated issue that will resolve within a limited period. The following may qualify as a temporary emergency that results in meals served without fluid milk or with an alternate form of milk:

• Supply chain challenges (e.g., temporary packaging issues)
• Unexpected delivery delays and substitutions
• Temporary vendor closures
• Temporary vendor shortages
• Temporary storage limitations (e.g., a broken refrigerator unit)
• Fires
• Natural disasters

A continuing inability to obtain fluid milk is a recurring issue that does not have an immediate or clearly defined end date and typically lasts longer than a temporary emergency. The following may qualify as a continuing inability to obtain fluid milk that results in meals served with an equivalent amount of canned, whole dry, or fat-free dry milk:

• Rural or geographic limitations where fluid milk delivery services are not available and local retailers are unable to maintain a consistent supply of fluid milk.
• Vendor closure, and inability to procure a new vendor, resulting in continued inability to procure fluid milk.
• Vendor delivery failure where the contracted vendor repeatedly fails to deliver fluid milk consistently and alternate vendors are unable to deliver fluid milk.
• Vendor discontinuation where the previous vendor discontinued service and replacement vendors are unable to deliver fluid milk to the center’s location.

Creditable fluid milk types that may be served without the need for the operator to submit a fluid milk exemption request are listed on the CDSS Nutrition Requirements for Fluid Milk in the CACFP web page.

Lactose-free milk, lactose-reduced milk, cultured milk, such as cultured buttermilk, cultured kefir milk, and cultured acidophilus milk, acidified milk, such as acidified kefir milk and acidified acidophilus milk, Ultra High Temperature (UHT) milk, and goat’s milk are creditable fluid milk types if they meet state and local standards as well as the fat content and flavored/unflavored requirements for the participants’ age group.

As a reminder, operators are expected to meet the fluid milk requirements to the greatest extent possible, and if the CACFP operator is not experiencing a temporary emergency or continuing inability to obtain fluid milk, there are limitations on when some fluid milk types can be served. For example, CACFP operators can only serve unflavored, whole milk to children aged 12 through 23 months and unflavored fat-free (skim) or low-fat (1 percent) milk to children aged 2 through 5 years.

CACFP operators with an approved fluid milk exemption are not required to provide fluid milk substitutes (i.e., nondairy beverages) to participants with a dietary preference during a temporary emergency or continuing inability to obtain fluid milk; however, if the participant has a disability that restricts their diet, the operator must continue to accommodate the participant’s dietary needs. Reference the "Are operators approved for a fluid milk exemption required to accommodate meal modifications for participants with a disability?" section below.

Operators may request a fluid milk exemption before, during, or after the temporary emergency or continuing inability to obtain fluid milk, although operators are strongly encouraged to notify the CDSS before or immediately after, if possible.

Operators may be able to revise claims to include meals served without a creditable form of fluid milk after receiving an approved fluid milk exemption from the CDSS. For information on adjusting claims, access the CDSS Claim Submission Deadlines web page.

CACFP operators may request a fluid milk exemption by providing the information below by email to the CDSS CACFP Nutrition Team at CACFPMealPatterns@dss.ca.gov. Approved requests are effective retroactive to the first day the operator was unable to provide a creditable fluid milk.

1. Explanation of the temporary emergency (e.g., fire, electrical outage, vendor shortage) or continuing inability to obtain fluid milk (e.g., rural or geographic limitations). Include sufficient details for the CDSS to understand the situation that prevented the operator from serving a creditable form of fluid milk with meals. Documentation (e.g., invoice for refrigerator repair) may be provided, but is not required.
2. Dates, or the date range, when meals were served without the fluid milk component or with an alternate form of milk.
3. Names of specific site(s) affected. If all sites are/were affected, state ‘all sites affected’.
4. For a temporary emergency, whether the emergency is active and the expected end date or the date it ended.
5. For a continuing inability to obtain fluid milk, how long the operator expects to serve an equivalent amount of canned, whole dry, or fat-free dry milk in place of fluid milk and what is being done to resolve the inability to serve a creditable fluid milk.

The CDSS CACFP Nutrition Team will respond to requests by email within two business days.

If the CDSS approves the request, operators must save the approval email as documentation to support an administrative review and CACFP meal reimbursement claims.

If the CDSS does not approve the request, they will provide details to the operator, such as additional information required to approve the request.

For temporary emergencies: An approved fluid milk exemption is effective from the start date of the emergency until the emergency ends. Operators with an approved fluid milk exemption must notify the CDSS CACFP Nutrition Team at CACFPMealPatterns@dss.ca.gov within 10 business days after the emergency ends. CDSS CACFP review staff will verify compliance during an administrative review.

For a continuing inability to obtain fluid milk: An approved fluid milk exemption is effective from the first day the operator was unable to obtain fluid milk until the disruption is resolved. Operators with an approved fluid milk exemption must notify the CDSS CACFP Nutrition Team at CACFPMealPatterns@dss.ca.gov within 10 business days after the continuing inability to obtain fluid milk is resolved and they are able to serve creditable fluid milk. CDSS CACFP review staff will verify compliance during an administrative review.

Operators approved for a fluid milk exemption must retain the approval email sent by the CDSS CACFP Nutrition Team and provide the email to CDSS CACFP administrative review staff upon request.

As a best practice, the operator should retain any supporting documentation if available, which may include, but is not limited to:

• Dated vendor delivery receipts indicating a shortage or substitution.
• Refrigerator service requests, repair invoices, and/or replacement purchase.
• Documentation from the vendor about supply chain challenges.
• Road closure alerts.
• Electric outage notifications.
• Email notification of state of emergency proclamation by the Governor.
• Vendor discontinuation notices.

CACFP operators must retain documentation for three program years plus the current program year for administrative review purposes and to support CACFP meal reimbursement claims for meals served without the fluid milk component.

Yes. CACFP operators who have an approved fluid milk exemption are not relieved of their obligation to provide meal modifications for participants with disabilities, unless the modification would fundamentally alter the nature of the program. When planning a modified meal service, operators should consider how individuals who require meal modifications will be accommodated.

Operators are encouraged to communicate with households to determine how to continue to accommodate a participant who has a disability and to work with the child’s parents or guardian, participating adult, or a person acting on behalf of the adult participant to develop a solution as quickly as possible. Contact the CDSS CACFP Nutrition Team at CACFPMealPatterns@dss.ca.gov for questions about accommodating disabilities during an emergency.

For more information on accommodating meals for participants with disabilities, access the CDSS Meal Modifications in the CACFP web page.

No. The CDSS CACFP fluid milk exemption is only valid for meals claimed through the CACFP. For information about obtaining a fluid milk exemption for other child nutrition programs (e.g., National School Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program), contact the California Department of Education program specialist assigned to the county. A list of program specialists assigned to each county is available in the Download Forms section of the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS).