Proposed Meal Changes for CACFP: Impact on Child Food Intake and Costs
Condition: Food Security
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) meals are an important influence on diets of
      children from low-income families enrolled in the CACFP and should meet children's nutrient
      needs while fostering healthy eating habits that enable them to maintain energy balance.
      Recent national data revealed that children consumed low intakes of foods that support
      healthy dietary patterns (whole grains, fruit and vegetables other than potatoes), but high
      intakes of low nutrient, energy dense foods. The 2011 USDA-commissioned Institute of Medicine
      (IOM) report for CACFP meals provided new recommendations that include new meal pattern
      requirements for the meals programs, aligning them with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines to ensure
      that the meals promote health and reduce inadequate and excessive intakes. The report
      recommended inclusion of more whole grains, fruit, vegetables, and meat/meat alternatives
      which will likely increase meal costs. Two of the IOM report recommendations call for
      research to better understand how the new meal requirements would change children's CACFP
      meal dietary intakes and food service costs. These are important questions, and answers are
      needed to inform policy and future technical and educational assistance needs. The overall
      objective of this project is to implement the IOM meal pattern requirements for CACFP meals
      in day homes and centers in Texas. The multidisciplinary team will focus on nutrition,
      economics, and provider outcomes. The specific aims are to assess the impact of the new meal
      pattern requirements on 1) Meal participation rates; 2) Provider food service costs (food,
      labor, total meals); and 3) Child dietary intake at CACFP homes and centers. It is
      hypothesized that, compared with control sites, intervention site children will select and
      consume healthier diets (more fruit, vegetables and whole grains) at school. A total of 32
      day care sites will be recruited for the study. It is hypothesized that, compared with
      control sites, children at the intervention sites will select and consume healthier diets
      (more fruit, vegetable and whole grains) at the center. It is also hypothesized that the
      increase in food costs will be less than that projected in the IOM report. The results on the
      costs associated with creating the desired meals will be very important as these data have
      not been systematically collected in previous studies. This significant study targets
      underserved minority populations with health promoting intervention to reduce health
      disparities, and in addition, will inform policy on the influence of a healthy food
      environment on children's diet, as well as provide critical information on costs.
    


Intervention name(s): Proposed Meal Changes for CACFP: Impact on Child Food Intake and Costs
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Other
Keywords: Child care food costs; Meal participation rates; Child and Adult Care Food Program