CACFP menu planner for daycare and preschool v0.1.0
Plan a week of breakfast, snacks, lunch and supper (or a four-week cycle menu), mark what each food counts as, and see straight away whether every meal meets the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program meal pattern for your age group. Print the posted menu with the pattern chart under it. Free, kept on this device.
Don't put a child's name in the note: say what is swapped, not who it is for.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Milk (Milk) Banana slices (Fruit) Whole-wheat toast (Grain, WG) | Milk (Milk) Oatmeal (Grain, WG) Blueberries (Fruit) | Milk (Milk) Scrambled egg (M/MA) Orange slices (Fruit) | Milk (Milk) Whole-grain cereal, low sugar (Grain, WG) Peach slices (Fruit) | Milk (Milk) Whole-wheat English muffin (Grain, WG) Melon (Fruit) |
| Lunch | Milk (Milk) Baked chicken (M/MA) Steamed broccoli (Veg) Apple slices (Fruit) Brown rice (Grain, WG) | Milk (Milk) Black beans (M/MA) Corn (Veg) Pineapple chunks (Fruit) Whole-wheat tortilla (Grain, WG) | Milk (Milk) Turkey meatballs (M/MA) Green beans (Veg) Carrot coins (Veg) Whole-wheat pasta (Grain, WG) | Milk (Milk) Baked fish (M/MA) Sweet potato (Veg) Pear slices (Fruit) Dinner roll (Grain) | Milk (Milk) Mozzarella cheese (M/MA) Side salad (Veg) Grapes, cut in quarters (Fruit) Whole-wheat pizza crust (Grain, WG) |
| Afternoon snack | Cheese cubes (M/MA) Whole-grain crackers (Grain, WG) | Plain yogurt (M/MA) Strawberries (Fruit) | Hummus (M/MA) Cucumber slices (Veg) | Milk (Milk) Apple slices (Fruit) | Hard-boiled egg (M/MA) Whole-grain toast (Grain, WG) |
| Minimum, ages 3–5 | Breakfast: serve all three. | Lunch and supper: serve all five. | Snack: serve two of the five. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amounts | Fluid milk: 6 fl oz Vegetables, fruits, or both: ½ cup Grains: ½ oz eq | Fluid milk: 6 fl oz Meats/meat alternates: 1½ oz eq Vegetables: ¼ cup Fruits: ¼ cup Grains: ½ oz eq | Fluid milk: 4 fl oz Meats/meat alternates: ½ oz eq Vegetables: ½ cup Fruits: ½ cup Grains: ½ oz eq |
Milk: Unflavored fat-free or low-fat (1% or less) milk. At least one grain a day, across all meals and snacks, must be whole grain-rich. WG = whole grain-rich; M/MA = meat or meat alternate.
The CACFP meal pattern for children (minimum amounts)
Breakfast: serve all three.
| Component | Ages 1–2 | Ages 3–5 | Ages 6–12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fluid milk | 4 fl oz | 6 fl oz | 8 fl oz |
| Vegetables, fruits, or both | ¼ cup | ½ cup | ½ cup |
| Grains | ½ oz eq | ½ oz eq | 1 oz eq |
Lunch and supper: serve all five.
| Component | Ages 1–2 | Ages 3–5 | Ages 6–12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fluid milk | 4 fl oz | 6 fl oz | 8 fl oz |
| Meats/meat alternates | 1 oz eq | 1½ oz eq | 2 oz eq |
| Vegetables | ⅛ cup | ¼ cup | ½ cup |
| Fruits | ⅛ cup | ¼ cup | ¼ cup |
| Grains | ½ oz eq | ½ oz eq | 1 oz eq |
Snack: serve two of the five.
| Component | Ages 1–2 | Ages 3–5 | Ages 6–12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fluid milk | 4 fl oz | 4 fl oz | 8 fl oz |
| Meats/meat alternates | ½ oz eq | ½ oz eq | 1 oz eq |
| Vegetables | ½ cup | ½ cup | ¾ cup |
| Fruits | ½ cup | ½ cup | ¾ cup |
| Grains | ½ oz eq | ½ oz eq | 1 oz eq |
The rules the planner checks
- At least one grain a day, across all meals and snacks, must be whole grain-rich.
- Grain-based desserts (cookies, cake, sweet rolls, granola bars, graham crackers) never count as the grain.
- Juice must be pasteurized, full-strength, and can count at only one meal or snack a day.
- At lunch and supper a vegetable may take the place of the fruit; two vegetables must then be two different kinds.
- At breakfast, a meat or meat alternate may take the place of the whole grain, up to three times a week.
- A snack can't be milk and juice alone.
- Breakfast cereal: no more than 6 g of added sugars a dry ounce. Yogurt: no more than 12 g of added sugars per 6 ounces.
Babies under 12 months
Infants follow their own pattern, so they aren't planned here; each baby's feedings go in the daily log.
| Age | Breakfast, lunch or supper | Snack |
|---|---|---|
| Birth through 5 months | 4–6 fl oz breast milk or formula | 4–6 fl oz breast milk or formula |
| 6 through 11 months | 6–8 fl oz breast milk or formula; and 0–½ oz eq infant cereal, or 0–4 tbsp meat, fish, poultry, whole egg, cooked beans, peas or lentils, or 0–2 oz cheese, or 0–4 oz cottage cheese, or 0–4 oz (½ cup) yogurt; and 0–2 tbsp vegetable or fruit | 2–4 fl oz breast milk or formula; and 0–½ oz eq bread, or 0–¼ oz eq crackers, or 0–½ oz eq infant cereal, or 0–¼ oz eq ready-to-eat cereal; and 0–2 tbsp vegetable or fruit |
Solid foods are served once a baby is developmentally ready; no juice for infants; formula and infant cereal must be iron-fortified.
Snacks the children can help make
From the Kitchen on peabody.kids, step by step with a grown-up. Mark each part on the menu as what it counts as.
- Rainbow Fruit Cup
- No-Bake Pumpkin Pie Cups
- English Muffin Pizzas
- Yogurt Parfait
- Ants on a Log
- Banana Oat Cookies
- Banana Sushi
- Kiwi Turtles
- Trail Mix Your Way
- Teddy Bear Toast
- Frozen Yogurt Bark
- Turtle Sandwich
Sources, read on 2026-10-31
- USDA FNS: CACFP breakfast meal pattern (2 Oct 2024)
- USDA FNS: CACFP lunch and supper meal pattern (3 Oct 2024)
- USDA FNS: CACFP snack meal pattern (24 Apr 2024)
- USDA FNS: CACFP infant meal pattern (24 Apr 2024)
- 7 CFR 226.20, Requirements for meals (eCFR) (in force 1 Oct 2026)
How to use it
- Pick the age group and the meals you serve.
- For each day, list the foods and choose what each one counts as: milk, meat or meat alternate, vegetable, fruit or grain.
- Fix anything the planner flags, then print the week for the wall or the whole cycle.
Ideas for class
- Write a mixed dish as its parts (chicken, brown rice, peas) so each one is checked.
- Plan a four-week cycle once and reuse it all season.
- Post the menu where families sign in, and send it home on Fridays.
- Put a Kitchen snack the children can help make on the menu once a week.
Related
- Home daycare tax kit (meal counts)
- Daily schedule
- Preschool theme planner: the week, planned and printed
- Daycare and preschool newsletter maker
- Daycare daily report app: the daily log, kept on your device
- Daycare sign-in app: a tablet by the door with a live count
- Daycare sign-in sheet, daily or weekly
- Daycare daily report slip: infant, toddler and preschool
- Name tags and cubby labels for preschool
- Circle time board: calendar, weather, days at school and helper
Questions
What does a CACFP lunch need?
All five components: fluid milk, a meat or meat alternate, a vegetable, a fruit and a grain. A second, different vegetable may stand in for the fruit.
What does a CACFP snack need?
Two of the five components. Milk and juice can't be the only two.
Does every grain have to be whole grain?
No. At least one grain a day, across all the meals and snacks, must be whole grain-rich. Grain-based desserts never count as the grain.
Is this the official chart?
It is USDA's chart and rules in our words, read on fns.usda.gov and in 7 CFR 226.20 on 2026-10-31. Your sponsor or state agency decides what credits, and the Food Buying Guide has each food's yield.
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