CACFP Sample Weekly Menu for Family Day Care Homes

The meal pattern this menu follows

Every meal below is built from the CACFP components. Breakfast is milk, a fruit or vegetable, and a grain. Lunch and supper are milk, a meat or meat alternate, a vegetable, a fruit, and a grain. A snack is any two of the five components: milk, meat or meat alternate, vegetable, fruit, or grain.

Portions grow with age. For breakfast, children ages 1–2 get 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of fruit or vegetable, and 1/2 ounce equivalent of grain; ages 3–5 get 3/4 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of fruit or vegetable, and the same 1/2 ounce equivalent of grain. At lunch, ages 1–2 get 1/2 cup milk, 1 ounce of meat or meat alternate, 1/8 cup vegetable, 1/8 cup fruit, and 1/2 ounce equivalent of grain; ages 3–5 get 3/4 cup milk, 1 1/2 ounces of meat or meat alternate, 1/4 cup vegetable, 1/4 cup fruit, and 1/2 ounce equivalent of grain. For the full chart, see our guide to CACFP meal pattern requirements by age group. At least one serving of grain each day must be whole grain-rich, and juice can count as the fruit or vegetable at only one meal or snack per day.

Breakfasts and lunches, Monday to Friday

Each day lists breakfast first, then lunch. Milk is served at both meals, in the amounts for each age group above. Water is always available.

• Monday — Breakfast: oatmeal (whole grain-rich) with banana slices, milk. Lunch: turkey and cheese roll-ups, whole-wheat bread, cucumber sticks, peach slices, milk
• Tuesday — Breakfast: scrambled eggs, whole-wheat toast, orange sections, milk. Lunch: chicken and rice soup with carrots, crackers, applesauce, milk
• Wednesday — Breakfast: whole-grain pancakes, strawberries, milk. Lunch: beef and bean soft tacos on corn tortillas, corn, melon chunks, milk
• Thursday — Breakfast: yogurt, whole-grain granola (low sugar), blueberries, milk. Lunch: whole-wheat pasta with meat sauce, green beans, pear slices, milk
• Friday — Breakfast: whole-grain cereal (low sugar), apple slices, milk. Lunch: homemade cheese pizza on whole-wheat crust, tossed salad with ranch, pineapple, milk

Snacks for the week

A creditable snack is any two components. Keep shelf-stable backups on hand for the days the fresh fruit runs out early.

• Monday — Whole-grain crackers and cheese slices
• Tuesday — Apple slices and peanut butter (or sunflower seed butter)
• Wednesday — Milk and whole-grain banana muffins
• Thursday — Carrot sticks and hummus
• Friday — Cottage cheese and canned peaches (in juice)

The shopping list behind this menu

One weekly shop covers this menu for a small group. If you want to see what it costs per child, run your grocery receipt through our Food Cost per Child Calculator — most providers are surprised how much of it CACFP hands back.

• Milk: whole milk for under-2s, 1% or skim for ages 2 and up
• Grains: oats, whole-wheat bread, whole-grain pancakes or cereal, corn tortillas, whole-wheat pasta, pizza crusts, crackers
• Proteins: eggs, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, turkey, chicken, ground beef, beans, hummus, peanut or seed butter
• Fruits: bananas, oranges, strawberries, blueberries, apples, peaches, melon, pineapple, applesauce
• Vegetables: cucumbers, carrots, corn, green beans, salad greens, canned tomatoes for sauce

Serving ages 1–2 and 3–5 at one table

Family day care tables are mixed-age, and this menu is built for that. Cook one meal, then adjust the serving: cut food smaller and skip hard raw vegetables for the youngest children, serve the larger portions to the 3- to 5-year-olds, and keep the components the same so the meal stays creditable for everyone.

Write the menu down and keep it. Your CACFP sponsor will ask to see menus that match your claims, and a posted weekly menu also reassures parents. Repeating a two- or three-week rotation is perfectly fine — most providers rotate a few favorite weeks rather than inventing new meals every Monday.

Swaps that stay creditable

Once the pattern is familiar, swaps are easy as long as each component stays in place and the daily rules still hold.

• Swap any fruit for another fruit — fresh, frozen, or canned in juice or water
• Swap proteins freely: chicken for turkey, beans for beef, yogurt or cheese as the meat alternate
• Keep at least one whole grain-rich serving per day across all meals and snacks
• Use juice at no more than one meal or snack per day — whole fruit is always the safer choice
• Skip grain-based desserts (cookies, sweet crackers, granola bars with chocolate): they do not count as the grain component
• For supper, reuse the lunch pattern — a soup, sandwich, or breakfast-for-dinner plate all work

Common questions

Keep reading

Disclaimer: HomeDaycareTools.com provides free calculators and general information for planning purposes only. Nothing on this site is tax, legal or financial advice. Tax rules, CACFP rates and licensing rules change — confirm your figures with IRS Publication 587, your CACFP sponsoring organization, your state licensing agency, or a qualified tax professional before filing or signing anything.