Formula Shortages
We know that you are not alone in the formula shortage that is occurring nationwide. These images are from local stores in North Dakota.
Unlike other food items, there is not a replacement for infant formula. Infants are a vulnerable population and formula is specially made to be iron fortified (along with other vital nutrients) to support healthy, rapidly growing infants.
If you are having difficulties obtaining the formula needed at your center, keep communication open with families on any changes that may occur. Encourage them to visit with their Pediatrician if they have concerns about infant formula or how to go about changing formula or starting alternatives.
Feeding infants safely has not changed!
- Wash hands prior to preparing infant formula or a bottle with breastmilk
- Make sure bottles are cleaned and sanitized, and stored appropriately
- Use prepared infant formula within 2 hours of preparation, 1 hour from start of feeding
- Never microwave bottles, infants do not need to have warm milk…water can be room temperature, or if baby prefers warm bottles, then use a bottle warmer or run bottle under warm water
- Do not dilute formula to make it last longer, this will impact infant's growth
- Switching to Cow's milk (or other animal/plant milks) do not provide the nutrients that infant formula offers, such as being iron fortified, which is needed to support rapid growth, leading to low hemoglobin blood levels
- Check out the CDC for more information regarding infant formula and breastfeeding information and tips. Infant Formula Preparation and Storage | Nutrition | CDC
The transitional standards for the next two years (School Year 2022-2023 & 2023-2024) are termed as “bridge rules”, until further guidance is provided regarding the meal requirements for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Although this is for school age programs, the CACFP was mentioned in the rule.
What applies to you:
- For children ages 6+, your milk offerings can continue to include 1% flavored milk. This means that for those ages 6+ in your facility, the options for milk are: Skim or 1%; flavored or unflavored.
- If you would like to continue to offer the same variety of unflavored milk (for example 1% unflavored), to stay consistent within your Center, you can! Or maybe the 1% chocolate milk is the ‘treat’ for those school agers!
The CACFP offers a good preliminary ground to introduce whole grains, fruits, vegetables, protein items and milk to kiddos before their school years. Thank you for continuing to provide well rounded meals and snacks for our Nation’s kids!
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Contact Information in NDFoods
Has your facility had change in Lead Food Service Worker or Director? Have you updated NDFoods to reflect the updated contact information?
Email our office dpicnfd@nd.gov to let us know if you have had any staffing changes that need to have a new log in profile in NDFoods. We can help walk you through it!
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Kellen Leier and Amy Nelson returned from the annual Child Nutrition Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, held April 18-22, 2022. They could participate in many sessions ranging from nutrition, policy, education, and more. Amy convinced Kellen to try some new food items...let's say they were 'interesting'!
There are currently 2 bills making their rounds to help improve child and adult care food programs in Washington DC. The bill in the House (H.R. Bill 5919 ) is the Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act, and the bill in the Senate ( S. Bill 1270 ) is the Access to Healthy Food for Young Children Act. There are three parts to these bills that are very similar to one another and have the potential to have the most significant impact on the CACFP program. They are as follows:
- Allows annual eligibility for proprietary childcare centers compared to monthly.
- Allows an additional meal service to be claimed.
- Creates an advisory committee to help reduce paperwork and improve program administration.
More information to come on the bills, if they are passed.
On May 5, 2022, the Food and Nutrition Service’s (FNS), Civil Rights Division, issued a memo updating the Nondiscrimination statement (NDS) and the And Justice for All (AJFA) posters to include gender identity and sexual orientation. The new NDS is listed below.
The revised USDA NDS includes updated language for all other FNS programs. New And Justice for All posters are in the design/printing phase and will be distributed once the State Agency receives their orders.
All documents, pamphlets, websites, etc. should be updated with the 2022 NDS as follows:
- Website must be updated withing 90 days of the date of this memorandum.
- Documents, pamphlets, brochures, etc., using 2015 NDS language must be updated when current supply on hand is exhausted or by September 30, 2023.
- All new printing must use the 2022 NDS.
And Justice for All Posters
Until the new posters are received all currently posters must not be removed until replaced with the new posters.
Click HERE for a download of the updated 2022 Nondiscrimination Statement.
Chic’ Penne USDA Recipe for Child Care Centers (1st Place Winner) – Child Nutrition Recipe Box (theicn.org)
The Chic’ Penne dish caught our eyes as it looked delicious and easy to make. Who wants to try a recipe without knowing how it will taste? Kellen volunteered to offer his family up as testers, and, it was a hit. It has now been added to the supper rotation. If you click on the above link, it will take you to the recipe. The recipe calls for only broccoli, but carrots were added to give extra color and extra vegetables. Whole grain-rich penne pasta was used, and with the combination of the cheese sauce, the kids did not have a clue. If I were to make any deviation from the recipe, I would cut the black pepper in half, and add a pound of carrots. The total cost to make this meal was about $18 or $.72/child based on the recipe of 25 servings.
UPDATED Crediting Handbook (April 2022): Crediting Handbook for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (azureedge.us)
New CACFP Snack Recipes: 2022 CACFP Snack Recipes – Child Nutrition Recipe Box (theicn.org)
National CACFP Sponsors Association Farm to Table Lesson Plans: https://www.cacfp.org/assets/pdf/Farm+to+Table+EN-SP+cacfp.org/
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