Food Program Question

[MrsB]

Yeah the food program is government mandated rules. Maybe each rep is interpretting it differently!:confused:

[MrsB]

I found my old book (I dont do the food program any more, too much a PIA) and Black Cat is right. Only 2 ingredients can be counted per dish. I have notes that say it has to be measured too. So you couldn't claim store bought strawberry yogury as a dairy and fruit because you dont know how much fruit you are serving. But you could cut up fresh strawberries and put them in plain yogurt and count both.

So back to OP questions. If you are making smoothies you can claim both the milk and banana but you need to make sure that the serving size is correct. So if you have 4 kids you need to make it with at least 4 serving sizes of bananas and 4 serving sizes of milk. Just be careful, with the meal you are claiming. Are you serving it in a meal that requires the milk to be liquid. Not sure if this would count:confused:

[DCBlessings27]

Food Program

I'm wondering if it depends on the rep since the food program is a federal program. My rep said that I can claim 3 of the 4 meal components from a casserole/dish. So, I can claim tater tots, ground beef, corn for tater tot casserole as long as I have made it with enough of servings of each ingredient. If it was chicken noodle soup, I wouldn't be allowed to claim just the soup if I wanted to claim: celery, noodles, carrots, chicken. My rep says that 1 component of the meal must be separate so that I have offered something besides the casserole/dish in case the child doesn't like the casserole/dish.

For OP, I agree with the others. As long as you have used the correct serving size of fruit and milk, you could count as fruit and milk for a snack.

[Blackcat31]

I'm wondering if it depends on the rep since the food program is a federal program. My rep said that I can claim 3 of the 4 meal components from a casserole/dish. So, I can claim tater tots, ground beef, corn for tater tot casserole as long as I have made it with enough of servings of each ingredient. If it was chicken noodle soup, I wouldn't be allowed to claim just the soup if I wanted to claim: celery, noodles, carrots, chicken. My rep says that 1 component of the meal must be separate so that I have offered something besides the casserole/dish in case the child doesn't like the casserole/dish.

For OP, I agree with the others. As long as you have used the correct serving size of fruit and milk, you could count as fruit and milk for a snack.

Honestly, I would double check that your rep is interpreting this info correctly. It IS confusing but the USDA federal web-site says ONLY 2 components in combination dishes can be counted. The wording is hazy so I am not doubting that your rep said you can count 3 things, I am just saying she probably mis-interpreted.

I just submitted an e-mail to the USDA site and will post when I receive an answer.

I also called my food program rep just to double check and she says that I can only claim 2 components in a combination dish and as far as she knows that is a federal rule not an area one.
She also said she would rather not comment on other people's interpretations of the program. LOL!!

[familyschoolcare]

The food program is federal funded but run by the states so each state has slightly different rules. What my rep told me was that the federal

goverenment comes out with the guidlines/recomendations and each state chooses what and how to use them.

[iheartkids]

Ok so here's a wierd question. Lets say I am serving Tator Tot casserole...could I just bake the casserole with the hamburger and tots and serve the vegetables seperate? And spaghetti...make it with the sauce and noodles then serve the hamburger on the side? Would I then be able to count all three components?? Sorry OP I'm kind of going off on a tangent from your question...

[MarinaVanessa]

Yep, it's so wierd how it works. I always serve spaghetti and count the noodles, meat and the sauce. All I have to do is serve the milk and add another fruit or vegetable on the side to complete the lunch meal. My sponsor always approves it.

[littlemommy]

Ok so here's a wierd question. Lets say I am serving Tator Tot casserole...could I just bake the casserole with the hamburger and tots and serve the vegetables seperate? And spaghetti...make it with the sauce and noodles then serve the hamburger on the side? Would I then be able to count all three components?? Sorry OP I'm kind of going off on a tangent from your question...

I asked my rep and she said claiming them all (in one dish) is fine. And honestly, how would they know whether you are serving them as one dish or separately unless they come for a visit? I just enter what ingredients make up my meal, I don't have to write that it was tator tot casserole, so they wouldn't even know.

[grandmom]

[QUOTE=Blackcat31;206683]I was wrong though about how many components you can claim...it says 2 MAX.
So you could claim a veggie and a meat if you made lasagna but you can't claim the noodles as a grain too and claim more than 2 components.

It depends on your state. Washington says :

Combination foods served as an entree or main dish may be credited as the meat/meat alternatie plus a maximum of two of the required meal components if amounts of each are suficient to meet meal pattern requirements.

Examples:
Beef Stew with beef, carrots, potatoes, and onions; credit as:
1. Meat/meat alternate component
2. Fruit/vegetable component
3. Fruit/vegetable component

They also list chef salad with egg, turkey, cheese, lettuce tomatoes, celery, and cucumber as meat, and 2 vegetables.

How can USDA have two different interpretations? I got my info from p73 of

http:https://www.k12wa.us/ChildNutrition/...R2007FINAL.pdf

which was a direct link from my food sponsor.

[Blackcat31]

www.k12wa.us/ChildNutrition/pubdocs/CredibleFoodsGuideMAR2007FINAL.pdf[/url]

which was a direct link from my food sponsor.

The link you provided is for your state. I ONLY said that each state/agency differs in how they interpret things. I didn't say the USDA has two different interpretations. The link I posted with the info saying a MAX of 2 components in a combination dish was directly from the USDA web-site NOT my state one. MY state chooses to only allow us to claim 2 ingredients in a combination dish. Obviously other states allow you to claim more.

As I said before, I e-mailed the USDA and asked them specifically about this issue and this is the response I received today:

Hello,

Your request to USDA’s Ask the Expert asking for clarification about the meal component requirement for CACFP was forwarded to the Healthy Meals Resource System.

While the CACFP is regulated by USDA, it is administered by the individual states. Program requirements may differ slightly between states. Please contact your State Agency that oversees the CACFP.

If your CACFP coordinator has any questions about USDA program regulations, they should contact their ageny supervisor or contact us directly.
You will find other useful information and resources on the Healthy Meals Resource System website at: http://healthymeals.nal.usda.gov.

Sincerely,
Natalie

Natalie U. Partridge, MS, RD
Software Evaluation Coordinator for
Nutrient Standard Menu Planning Software
301-504-5414
hmrs@ars.usda.gov
http://healthymeals.nal.usda.gov

So, I called my food program rep and asked her and she again clarified that in my state I am only allowed to claim 2 MAX components of combination dishes as that is how our state agency is choosing to interpret what the rules are.

I would suggest that any time a provider who participates in the food program is not sure of something, they should contact their state agency for clarification as this is a perfect example of how each state has it's own way of doing things.

[littlemommy]

Thanks BlackCat!!