March 17, 2025—The South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS) Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is excited to celebrate CACFP Week, which will be held March 17-21.
CACFP is vital in combating hunger and promoting better nutrition in South Carolina by reimbursing child care centers, adult care centers, child care homes, afterschool programs, and emergency shelters serving healthy meals and snacks. This results in healthy growth, learning, and development while helping families and caregivers provide balanced meals.
“During times where food insecurity is impacting many families, CACFP matters because parents and guardians know that children in care are receiving nutritious foods essential to a healthy diet,” said Mary Abney-Young, CACFP Director. “All facilities participating in CACFP are encouraged to provide a variety of foods, fresh fruits and vegetables and select other foods which are aligned with the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”
Between October 2023 and September 2024, CACFP served more than 17 million meals in participating child and adult care centers and reimbursed more than $39 million to participating child and adult care providers in South Carolina. On average, CACFP served almost 74,000 meals to more than 165,000 children and adults daily.
This year’s theme for CACFP Week is Trying New Foods, which challenges child and adult care programs to incorporate meals and snacks based on foods from around the world.
Along with the theme, CACFP is challenging providers to participate in 5210 South Carolina, an initiative by SNAP-Ed that encourages children and adults to eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables, limit recreational screen time to two hours or less, enjoy at least one hour of active play, and drink zero sugar-sweetened beverages.
CACFP will present daily challenges to encourage participating providers and the public to incorporate healthy foods from different cultures into their meals and snacks while incorporating 5210 SC.
- March 17 – Taste of Asian Cuisine: Asian-Inspired Treats Participants will choose an Asian fruit or vegetable to create an Asian-inspired meal or snack using one of the USDA-standardized recipes.March 18 – A Taste of Spanish Cuisine: Taco Tuesday Participants will incorporate the first day of 5210 SC by incorporating 5 healthy vegetables in their tacos.
- March 19 – A Taste of American Cuisine: All American Participants will use 2 hours away from the screen to connect with a local farmer(s) to bring in SC Farm to School Palmetto Pick of the Month (lettuce). They will use the Palmetto Pick of the Month to create an American-style nutritious meal or snack.
- March 20 – A Taste of Caribbean Cuisine: Island Fresh Participants will incorporate a Caribbean-inspired meal or snack. They will also set aside 1 hour of their day to do a physical activity by walking, running, or dancing to music.
- March 21 – The Multicultural Experience: Tastes Around the World Participants will enjoy healthy foods from around the world while continuing to incorporate 5210SC by drinking water or beverages with 0 sugar added.
The daily challenges will be highlighted on the SCDSS social media channels. The agency will also share testimonies from organizations about the positive impact CACFP has made in their programs.
To learn more about CACFP, visit schealthyhabits.org. Learn more about 5210 SC at 5210sc.org.
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