(P20-051-24) Influence of Meals and Snacks Provided Through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) on Young Children’s Total Dietary Intake

Objectives: To determine how consuming meals and snacks provided at childcare through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), a federal food assistance program that provides reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks for participating childcare centers and family childcare homes, influences young children’s dietary intake.

Methods: Using a nationally representative sample of children ≤6 years old attending CACFP-participating childcare centers from the USDA Study of Nutrition and Activity in Child Care Settings (n=638), we estimated energy intake and quantities of key food groups that children consumed while at childcare compared to elsewhere over the course of an entire day. Within-child fixed effects regression models tested how total dietary intake differed on days when a child attended childcare compared to days the same child did not attend childcare, and were stratified by household food security status.

Results: The majority of fruit (54%, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.59), whole grains (67%, 95% CI: 0.60, 0.73), and dairy (61%, 95% CI: 0.57, 0.65) consumed over an entire day on childcare days was from CACFP meals or snacks at the childcare center. Children, on average, consumed significantly less energy (-152.95 kcals, 95% CI: -260.11, -45.78), more dairy (0.32 cups, 95% CI: 0.12, 0.53) and less protein foods (-0.80 ounces, 95% CI: -1.40, -0.20), sodium (-211.53 milligrams, 95% CI: -377.51, -45.55), saturated fat (-3.65 grams, 95% CI: -5.44, -1.85), and added sugars (-13.24 grams, 95% CI: -18.63, -7.84) on days when CACFP meals or snacks were consumed at childcare compared to non-childcare days. In stratified analyses, the difference in fruit consumed on childcare days compared to non-childcare days was even larger for children experiencing household food insecurity (an additional 0.39 cups, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.70).

Conclusions: Meals and snacks served at CACFP-participating childcare centers support more nutritious diets for young children. Future research should examine strategies to expand access to the CACFP for childcare providers and investigate how to further improve the nutritional quality of meals and snacks served through the program.

Funding Sources: This work was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.