National CACFP Week

About CACFP Week

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is proud to celebrate National Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Week with California CACFP Operators and providers! CACFP Week is a national education and information campaign sponsored annually during the third week of March by the National CACFP Sponsors Association (NCA).  The campaign is designed to raise awareness about the CACFP and how it works to feed 1.9 billion meals to infant, child, and adult participants yearly.¹

CACFP Week 2024

This year, CACFP Week is March 10–16, 2024.  Learn more about this event and how you can participate below.

Ways to Celebrate

There are many ways CACFP Operators can celebrate CACFP Week in 2024!  We’ve listed some of our favorite ideas below.

• Share your CACFP success stories!  Do you have photos and stories that highlight your amazing work in Farm to CACFP, Preschools SHINE, or another CACFP initiative you are proud of?  Email them to Farm2CACFP@dss.ca.gov and we may highlight you in upcoming CDSS publications!
   
• Participate in the NCA How Do you CACFP Snack? social media challenge (deadline March 15, 2024).


• Plan a nutrition or food related activity for children.  This savory sensory learning activity from PennState Extension is fun and hands-on for early learners!


• Provide nutrition education activity sheets to children in your care.  Find NCA’s activity sheets in the Children section of their CACFP Week Campaign page.


• Spread the word!  Use hashtag #CACFPWeek and post about your CACFP Week participation on social media.  Don’t forget to tag us on Twitter/X (@CaliforniaDSS) and Facebook (California Department of Social Services).

NCA Resources

• NCA CACFP Week main page


• NCA CACFP Week Campaign page: includes campaigning resources, social media outreach tools, and Certificates of Awesomeness, so you can show you appreciation to all those who work with CACFP every day.


• CACFP Week in Action: stories from CACFP operators participating in CACFP Week.

References

1. USDA, Food and Nutrition Service.  (January 2023).  October 2022 Program Information Report (Keydata).