Unflavored whole milk only
No other milk counts for 1-year-olds. In a mixed room, each child gets the milk for their own age.
Free tool · Built for directors
CACFP menu template, checked for 2026
Plan your week free, and every meal shows if it meets the CACFP meal pattern. The checker flags no whole grain-rich food that day, a grain dessert, juice twice a day, and the right milk for each age under the June 2026 rule. Then download your weekly menu.
9-page kit you can type into · Payment calculator · 2026 milk rule
Updated November 2, 2026 · Checked against the USDA CACFP meal patterns
Free, no sign-up to useUpdated for the 2026 milk rule2026–27 payment rates
Free tool · no sign-up to use it
Type your menu. We check it as you go.
Fill in the week like a paper menu. Each box tells you if that meal meets the CACFP meal pattern. Add a tab for each of your groups or classes, with its own age. Then download it as a PDF.
Skip the printing. In My Kid Reports you share the week’s menu with families by room, and teachers record each meal as it’s served.Start your 14-day free trial →
The check reads the foods you type and matches them to CACFP food groups, the June 2026 milk rule and the daily whole grain and juice rules. It doesn’t check portion sizes, sugar limits or paperwork. Your state agency or sponsor has the final word. Nothing you type is saved or sent.
The short version: a CACFP menu that passes a review
- Breakfast: milk, a fruit or vegetable, and a grain. Lunch and supper: milk, meat or meat alternate, a vegetable, a fruit and a grain. Snack: any 2 of those 5.
- Milk since June 8, 2026: age 1 gets unflavored whole milk; ages 2 to 5 unflavored whole, 2%, 1% or fat-free; 6 and older any of those, flavored or not. Write it on the menu.
- Every day: at least one whole grain-rich food, juice at only one meal or snack, and no grain desserts counted as the grain.
- Counts: tick meals at the table as you serve them, up to 2 meals and 1 snack per child per day.
Free calculator
What CACFP could pay your center each month
Uses the USDA rates for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. Change the numbers to match your center.
Meals each child gets a day
CACFP pays for up to 2 meals and 1 snack, or 1 meal and 2 snacks, per child per day. The estimate counts the highest-paying allowed mix.
Centers: free, reduced and paid come from each family’s income form. Homes: Tier I or II is set by your sponsor.
Estimated federal payment
$0
a month
An estimate from the USDA payment rates per meal (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027). It does not include USDA Foods or cash in lieu, and you are paid only for meals that meet the meal pattern and are counted when served. Your state agency or sponsor pays the actual claim.
New in 2026
The CACFP milk rule changed in June
USDA’s final rule Expanding Fluid Milk Options in Child Nutrition Programs took effect June 8, 2026. Whole and 2% milk are now allowed for children 2 and older. Low-fat and fat-free still count.
Unflavored whole, 2%, 1% or fat-free
No flavored milk at this age. Before June 2026, whole and 2% didn’t count here.
Whole, 2%, 1% or fat-free, flavored or unflavored
Flavored milk is allowed from age 6. Check your state for any extra limits.
Why the milk line on your menu matters
In one 2019 Tennessee review, a sponsor lost 583 breakfast meals because its menus didn’t say which milk was served and its receipts didn’t show the right milk was bought. Write the milk type on the menu for each age, and keep the receipts.
Some USDA charts may still show the older milk rule. Follow your state agency or sponsor’s guidance on when they apply the change.
Meal pattern chart
CACFP meal pattern by age, on one chart
The minimum amounts for children. Ages 13 to 18 use the same amounts as 6 to 12.
| Component | Ages 1–2 | Ages 3–5 | Ages 6–18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast (all 3) | |||
| Milk | 4 fl oz | 6 fl oz | 8 fl oz |
| Vegetable, fruit or both | 1/4 cup | 1/2 cup | 1/2 cup |
| Grains | 1/2 oz eq | 1/2 oz eq | 1 oz eq |
| Lunch and supper (all 5) | |||
| Milk | 4 fl oz | 6 fl oz | 8 fl oz |
| Meat or meat alternate | 1 oz eq | 1 1/2 oz eq | 2 oz eq |
| Vegetable | 1/8 cup | 1/4 cup | 1/2 cup |
| Fruit (a vegetable can replace it) | 1/8 cup | 1/4 cup | 1/4 cup |
| Grains | 1/2 oz eq | 1/2 oz eq | 1 oz eq |
| Snack (2 of the 5) | |||
| Milk | 4 fl oz | 4 fl oz | 8 fl oz |
| Meat or meat alternate | 1/2 oz eq | 1/2 oz eq | 1 oz eq |
| Vegetable | 1/2 cup | 1/2 cup | 3/4 cup |
| Fruit | 1/2 cup | 1/2 cup | 3/4 cup |
| Grains | 1/2 oz eq | 1/2 oz eq | 1 oz eq |
Rules for every day
- At least one whole grain-rich food a day
- Juice at only one meal or snack a day
- Grain desserts never count as the grain
- Meat or meat alternate can replace the breakfast grain up to 3 times a week
- Two vegetables at lunch must be different kinds
- Milk and juice can’t be a snack’s only two items
Grain desserts include cereal, breakfast and granola bars, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, sweet rolls and toaster pastries. Plain graham crackers and animal crackers are not grain desserts. Cereal: no more than 6 g added sugars per dry ounce. Yogurt: no more than 12 g added sugars per 6 ounces.
Sources: USDA CACFP breakfast, lunch and supper, snack and infant meal patterns (read November 2, 2026); USDA memo CACFP 16-2017 on grain-based desserts; the June 2026 milk final rule as summarized by the National CACFP Association. General guidance; your state agency or sponsor has the final word.
What’s inside the kit
Everything for your food program, in one kit
Nine printable pages for the director and the kitchen. Type into them on screen, or print and fill in by hand.
Milk by age, the 2026 rule
A poster for wherever milk is poured.
Meal pattern on one page
Breakfast, lunch, supper and snack by age.
Infant meal pattern
Birth to 5 months and 6 to 11 months.
Weekly menu you can type into
With the milk line and a whole grain check.
Daily meal count sheet
Tick at the table, as each meal is served.
Review-ready self-check
The things that cost centers meals at reviews.
Milk bought vs. milk served
A monthly check before you claim.
Infant feeding log
Time, amount and food for every feeding.
Inside My Kid Reports
From the menu to the meal count, in one place
The planner above is free. In the Food Program in My Kid Reports, the menu goes further: to families, to teachers, and to every meal served.
Build the week with Edit Meals
Add Meat, Grain, Vegetable, Fruit and Dairy to each meal. Each meal is checked against its food groups as you plan. Run more than one menu, and copy a meal across many days with Duplicate Meals.
Record each meal as it’s served
Tap Record on a meal, pick the children, and mark how much they ate: All, Most, Some or None. The meal type and the foods fill in from your menu, and it posts to the Activity Feed.
Send the menu to families
Share the week’s menu with families in one step: with everyone, with chosen rooms or children, or with staff only.
What a teacher sees
One tap from the menu to the record
This is the Record screen, rebuilt from our demo center: Monday’s breakfast, with the foods already filled in from the menu. The teacher picks the children and how much they ate, and posts it.
FAQ
Questions directors ask
What milk can a child care center serve under CACFP in 2026?
USDA's final rule Expanding Fluid Milk Options in Child Nutrition Programs took effect June 8, 2026. One-year-olds get unflavored whole milk. Children 2 to 5 get unflavored whole, 2%, 1% or fat-free milk. Children 6 and older can have any of those, flavored or unflavored. Write the milk type for each age on your menu.
What does a CACFP breakfast need?
Three components: milk, a vegetable or fruit (or both), and a grain. A meat or meat alternate can replace the grain at breakfast up to 3 times a week. For ages 3 to 5 the minimums are 6 fl oz milk, 1/2 cup vegetable or fruit and 1/2 oz equivalent of grains.
What does a CACFP lunch or supper need?
All five components: milk, a meat or meat alternate, a vegetable, a fruit and a grain. A second vegetable can replace the fruit, and the two vegetables must be different kinds. For ages 3 to 5 the minimums are 6 fl oz milk, 1 1/2 oz equivalent meat or meat alternate, 1/4 cup vegetable, 1/4 cup fruit and 1/2 oz equivalent grains.
What counts as a CACFP snack?
Any two of the five components: milk, meat or meat alternate, vegetable, fruit and grain. Milk and juice can't be the only two items. Two fruits count as one component, so they don't make a snack on their own.
How often do I need to serve a whole grain-rich food?
At least one whole grain-rich serving every day, across all the meals and snacks you serve that day. Mark it on your menu so a reviewer can see it.
Which foods are grain-based desserts in CACFP?
Grain-based desserts don't count toward the grain. They include cereal, breakfast and granola bars, cookies, cakes and brownies, doughnuts, sweet rolls, cinnamon rolls and toaster pastries, and puddings. Plain graham crackers and animal crackers are not grain-based desserts.
Can juice count in CACFP?
Yes, 100% pasteurized juice can count as the fruit or vegetable at only one meal or snack a day. Infants can't have juice.
How much does CACFP pay per meal in 2026-2027?
From July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, child care centers in the lower 48 states get $2.54 for a free breakfast, $4.76 for a free lunch or supper and $1.30 for a free snack. Reduced-price rates are $2.24, $4.36 and $0.65. Paid rates are $0.42, $0.45 and $0.12. Alaska, Hawaii and the territories have higher rates.
How many meals a day can a center claim per child?
Up to two meals and one snack, or one meal and two snacks, per child per day.
Is this CACFP menu template free?
Yes. The menu checker, the payment calculator and the 9-page kit are free. It is general guidance built on the USDA meal patterns; your state agency or sponsor has the final word.
More for your food program: CACFP food program software · How to offer a nutritious daycare food program · All free forms
For the whole center
A menu that passes, every week
Check this week’s menu, post it with the right milk, and pass this page on to another director who runs a food program.
Made by the team at MyKidReports, childcare software for centers. See what we make