Many early educators may not be aware that they could be losing reimbursement money on the CACFP by not purchasing the correct amount of milk. Milk is a required component of the CACFP meal pattern, and early educators are required to serve the correct amount of milk to each child in order to receive reimbursement for that meal.

The correct amount of milk to serve varies based on the age of the child. Children ages 1-2 years old are required to be served whole milk, while children ages 2-5 years old can be served either whole milk or 1% milk. Children over the age of 5 can be served either 1% or fat-free milk.

If early educators do not serve the correct amount of milk to each child, they could be losing reimbursement money on the CACFP. Let’s look at an example…

Based on what’s in the system, a center is required to have 10 gallons of whole milk. But after processing all of the receipts to find out the total of milk purchased, it looks like the center only purchased 3 gallons of whole milk, which would put the center 7 gallons short. Being short 7 gallons may not seem like a but deal, considering each gallon costs around $4.00, but there is a much bigger cost that you’re missing…

One gallon of milk contains 16 cups. Those 16 cups could serve 32 children ages 1 to 2 years old. That is 32 breakfasts at a Free Rate which equals $70.72 worth of non-reimbursable meals. Now imagine being short 7 gallons of whole milk in this scenario. Not spending $28.00 on 7 gallons of milk is actually costing you $495.04. Wow!

To ensure that early educators are maximizing their reimbursements on the CACFP, it is important that they understand the milk requirements and purchase the correct amount of milk for each meal. Additionally, early educators should keep accurate records of the milk they serve to each child in order to document their compliance with the CACFP meal pattern requirements.

By purchasing the correct amount of milk and keeping accurate records, early educators can ensure that they are maximizing their reimbursements on the CACFP and providing high-quality, nutritious meals to the children in their care.