The Child and Adult Care Food Program and young children’s health: a systematic review
The objective of this review was to summarize the evidence for the impact of Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) on children’s diet quality, weight status, food insecurity, and cognitive development. Nineteen articles were reviewed, most of which had been published since 2012. Seventeen used cross-sectional designs. Twelve evaluated foods and beverages served; 4 evaluated dietary intake; 4 evaluated the child care nutrition environment; 2 evaluated food insecurity, 1 evaluated weight status; none evaluated cognitive outcomes. Studies typically found either a small beneficial association with CACFP or no significant association.
Full citation: Kenney E. L., Tucker, K., Plummer, R. S., Mita, C., & Andreyeva, T. (2023). The Child and Adult Care Food Program and young children’s health: a systematic review. Nutrition Reviews, nuad016. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuad016