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Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
2026-03
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Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Division of Finance and Support Services
Child Nutrition Programs
P.O. Box 110500
Juneau, AK 99811 |
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This newsletter contains hyperlinks to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the reader’s convenience. DEED does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Furthermore, the inclusion of links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered, on these sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.
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 Sponsoring organizations and institutions are required by regulation to keep Bulletins, Instructions, and USDA Policy Memorandums for reference and to apply immediately the appropriate instruction to agency programs. The latest policy memos are found on the USDA FNS policy page. Call Child Nutrition Programs if you need further clarification.
CACFP 01-2026: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 – Promoting Real Food in Child Nutrition Programs
This memorandum and its attachments provide information and guidance on the updated Guidelines.These Guidelines place real food, defined as whole, nutrient-dense and naturally occurring, back at the center of our diets.
USDA Food Nutrition Service (FNS) is actively developing a proposed rule to update child nutrition program nutrition standards and meal requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations to align with the goals of the updated Guidelines. However, regulatory updates can take significant time to publish, review, and finalize. Until a final rule implementing changes to meal requirements is complete, all child nutrition program operators should continue meeting current requirements. Operators are still strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the key recommendations and consider how these Guidelines can be incorporated into program meals and snacks to promote healthy outcomes and healthy families.
Scroll down for more information on the updated Guidelines.
CACFP 02-2026: Incorporating Local Beef into Child Nutrition Program Meals
This memorandum provides helpful resources and strategies for Child Nutrition Program (CNP) operators and ranchers to incorporate local beef into school meals. Resource topics cover procurement, funding resources, food safety, crediting, and technical assistance contacts from the Farm to School Program. It supports Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’ commitment to American beef and the recently published USDA Plan to Fortify the American Beef Industry.
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 On January 7, 2026, the USDA released the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030. These Guidelines have been updated by:
• Prioritizing a variety of high quality, nutrient-dense protein foods at every meal from animal sources, including eggs, poultry, seafood, and red meat, as well as a variety of plant-sourced protein foods including beans, peas, lentils, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy;
• Encouraging a variety of dairy fat options, including whole and reduced-fat milk;
• Promoting the consumption of vegetables and fruits of all types, including fresh, frozen, canned, juiced, and dried, throughout the day;
• Incorporating healthy fats from whole foods such as meats, poultry, eggs, seafood, nuts, seeds, full-fat dairy, olives, and avocados;
• Prioritizing fiber-rich whole grains while significantly reducing refined grains, especially those high in added sugars; and
• Limiting certain highly processed foods, added sugars, and refined carbohydrates.
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The Guidelines also include updates for serving infants and other special populations and considerations. More information is available at https://realfood.gov/.
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Additional Topics
Annual Financial Reviews
The Alaska Department of Education & Early Development (DEED) Child Nutrition Programs team is continuing to conduct our Annual Financial Review. This review does not apply to independent centers and school food authorities operating both CACFP and NSLP.
This is in line with federal requirements for State agencies to conduct an annual reconciliation of bank account activity and accounting of reported actual expenditures with Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) payments.
Representatives from our third-party contractor may reach out to you in the coming weeks. But when in doubt about the veracity of an email requesting for your financial information, please verify with us first before providing the sender any confidential documents.
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National CACFP Week: Stirring Up Goodness
National CACFP Week is on March 15-21, 2026! CACFP Week is a national education and information campaign sponsored annually by the National CACFP Association (NCA) the third week of March. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of how the CACFP works to combat hunger. It's a good opportunity to let people in your community know about the program and how it benefits our children and other participants.
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 How Does Your Garden Grow? Recipes
If you missed out on ordering the National CACFP Association (NCA)'s How Does Your Garden Grow? calendar, don't fret. You can still get all 24 recipes, serving sizes and crediting information in this year's recipe book.
You can also access the 2026 Calendar Training module though this link.
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Early Childhood Alaska: A Strategic Direction for 2025-2030
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The Strategic Plan Framework for 2025-2030 outlines a comprehensive approach to improving outcomes for children prenatal through age 8 in Alaska. Guided by the North Star Ten-Year Vision, the plan focuses on clear goals, measurable objectives, and coordinated strategies, with specific activities
designed to drive meaningful change.
This was developed by the Alaska Early Childhood Joint Task Force. You can read more about their efforts here.
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Team Nutrition Resources
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Contact Us
Child and Adult Care Food Program
School Meals
Summer Meals
Food Distribution Program
Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program
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Farm to School
The Emergency Food Assistance Program
Child Nutrition Grants
Child Nutrition Financial Management
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USDA Nondiscrimination Statement (English)
In accordance with federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the state or local agency that administers the program or contact USDA through the Telecommunications Relay Service at 711 (voice and TTY). Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
Fax: (202) 690-7442; or
Email: program.intake@usda.gov.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
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