Thank you for attending MegaCon 2025 and making it a success!

Congratulations to the contracting entities recognized by Commissioner Sid Miller and Bob and Kelli Phillips at the closing awards event. You can view and download photos with the Commissioner here! Click the grid layout in the upper right hand corner to see thumbnails. These images will also be available on the SquareMeals website.

We need and value your feedback! 

Click here or the button below to take a short survey about your MegaCon 2025 experience. If you would like to give feedback about the individual sessions you attended during Megacon, please log into the app and click on the session to give it a rating. 

Recap the MegaCon Breakout Sessions!

Visit SquareMeals.org to view and download handouts from the MegaCon breakout sessions.

On May 6, USDA issued Policy Memo SP 11-2025, CACFP 09-2025, SFSP 05-2025, Using Federal Funds to Purchase Local Foods. The purpose of this memorandum is to remind schools, sponsors, and institutions participating in any U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Child Nutrition Program (CNP), including  the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), Special Milk Program for Children (SMP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO), of the many ways they can purchase local foods to serve in Program meals. 

Sourcing and serving locally grown foods, and other farm to school activities, such as taste testing, gardening, and agriculture education, can infuse new energy and vision into CNP operations, support community health, create new opportunities for American farmers, invest Federal dollars in local economies, and strengthen strategies to encourage healthy choices. 

Visit USDA for more information on the Final Rule and upcoming changes. Let us know what kind of resources would best support you in implementing these new meal standards – Click here!

Congress recently signed a Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act for 2025 that includes three provisions affecting the child nutrition programs. In response to this, USDA released policy memo SP 13-2025, Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025: Effect on Child Nutrition Programs on May 14, 2025, detailing the effect of the Act on the CNPs, which includes the following:

Crediting of Vegetables at Breakfast: school food authorities (SFAs) participating in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) may credit any vegetable offered in place of fruit without including vegetables from other subgroups in the weekly menus through the end of the current school year. Beginning SY 2025-2026, consistent with the Final Rule – Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020 - 2025, schools that offer vegetables in place of fruit at breakfast more than once per week must offer at least two vegetable subgroups per week.

Prohibition on the Use of Chicken and Seafood from China: the Act extends the current provision preventing program funds from being used to procure raw or processed poultry or seafood products from the People’s Republic of China through September 30, 2025.

Paid Lunch Equity (PLE) Exemption: the Act continues the exception of PLE requirements into SY 2025-2026 for SFAs with zero or positive balances in their nonprofit food service accounts as of June 30, 2024. Only SFAs with negative balances in their nonprofit food service accounts must complete PLE requirements for SY 2025-2026.

You can access the full memo here.

USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has launched two new CORE online courses for CACFP sponsoring organizations. CACFP Operational Resources and Education, or CORE, is a USDA-funded training initiative developed in collaboration with MH Miles Company to provide practical CACFP sponsor-focused trainings and resources for State agencies. The two new courses are Corrective Action and Trainer Success. 

The CORE CACFP Corrective Action course explains the purpose of corrective action and provides sponsoring organizations with practical tools to assist in determining the root cause of noncompliance, developing an effective corrective action plan, and evaluating corrective action plans submitted by their facilities. 

The CORE CACFP Trainer Success course is an effective resource for sponsoring organizations to learn the trainer competencies necessary for delivering effective CACFP training to key staff within their organizations and to facility key staff.

Organizations can learn more about CORE and available resources by visiting this website.

A new 2024-2025 WIC Information Flyer in English and Spanish has been posted on the CACFP Administration/Forms page.

TDA has updated CACFP Form H4515, Free and Reduced Price Meal Policy Statement (For Contracting Entities that Charge Separately for Meals). TDA has combined the H4515 and H4515-A (Collection Procedures) into a single document. Additionally, non-substantive revisions update terminology and procedures that better represent both child care and adult day care sponsored centers. TDA has retired H1667 for Adult Day Care Centers, as the H4515 form can be used by ADC sponsors in accordance with the CACFP handbook.

Finally, TDA also has corrected references to erroneous forms. Sponsors that already have approved H4515 forms on file are not required to complete a new form.

The updated form is available on the CACFP Administration/Forms page.

TANS implementation timelines have changed since the publishing of this article. Please visit the TANS SquareMeals page for the most current information.