CACFP Review of Menu Records Requirements

July 15, 2004

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Sponsors must maintain menu records. Menu records must show the Sponsor is meeting Program meal requirements. The following menu records must be on file for all meals claimed for reimbursement and must be made available to reviewers during Administrative Reviews conducted by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

1. Menus:
• Date (month, day, year the meals were served)
• Site location(s)
• Actual food served each day
• Substitutions made to the planned menu
• CP (Commercially Prepared) or HM (Home Made) notations for combination food items on menus provided to ODE or USDA during an administrative review
2. Infant Menus (separate menus are required for each infant):
• Date (month, day, year the meals were served)
• Infant's name and birth date
• Actual food served for each meal each day

3. Recipes for homemade combination food items to document at least the minimum amount of required components are served. ODE recommends that the source used to determine creditable amounts of components in each serving of the recipe be documented on the recipe. Approved sources for crediting information include the USDA Food Buying Guide (November 2001 version)*, and CACFP Child Care Recipes.**

   Recipes must include:

   • Name of Recipe
   • Ingredients-Weight or Volume
   • Ingredients-Form (fresh, raw, whole, chopped)
   • Serving/Portion Size
   • Yield (number or servings or measured amount)
   • Meal component contribution: Meat/Meat Alternate, Grains/Breads, Vegetable/Fruit (a recipe for a combination food may only be used to fulfill two meal pattern components)
   • Child Nutrition (CN) label or Manufacturer's Product Analysis Sheet (MPAS) for all commercial combination food items used as an ingredient in a recipe (Example: tamale pie made with canned chili con carne)

4. Child Nutrition (CN) label or Manufacturer's Product Analysis Sheet (MPAS) for all commercial combination food items that are served and counted toward meal pattern components on the menu.

   *Available on-line: http://schoolmeals.nal.usda.gov/FBG/buyingguide.html 

   **Available on-line: http://www.nal.usda.gov/childcare/Recipes/childcare.html 

Refer to the USDA CACFP Center Manual, January 2004 Edition, Chapter 8, page 8.15 and Chapter 10, page 10.2 for policy guidance regarding homemade combination foods and menu records requirements.

Sponsors of CACFP in Adult Day Care Centers, Afterschool At-Risk Programs and Homeless Programs will receive training on recipe documentation at the annual training in September 2004.

If you have questions concerning this memo, please contact Molly Gleason, Child Nutrition Specialist at (503) 378-3600, Ext. 2615 or Lynne Reinoso, Ext. 2616.

Sincerely,

Joyce Dougherty, Director
Child Nutrition Programs
Office of Finance & Administration