Minute Menu

Author: Michael Radigan

  • CACFP Week – What does the CACFP mean to Jason Sellers?

    CACFP Week – What does the CACFP mean to Jason Sellers?

    Jason Sellers is the Director of Product Development and has been with Minute Menu for 6 years, although it seems like much longer. You may have seem him around some childcare food program conferences behind our Minute Menu HX and KidKare booth- tall guy with goofy charm. He’s unmistakable! When he’s not making jokes around the office or poking his head around doors, he is sitting down with his team working hard on improvements for our CACFP software programs.

    Why is the Child and Adult Care Food Program important?
    Child nutrition is one of the easiest ways to really improve the quality of life in America. If children start early in life with good nutrition, it has a positive effect on not only them but bubbling up to savings on ongoing medical care, improved education, which leads to better, more productive citizens and an improved quality of life. 

    How does the CACFP impact the lives of children?
    Children need to have healthy fuel to keep their little engines running and their brains working the best they can. It’s just science. The CACFP is a crucial part of providing healthy foods for kids.

    How has the CACFP inspired you in your work? In your personal life?
    At the end of the day, my job helps more kids get healthier food than they would have eaten otherwise, and that is what motivates me. 

    What is the most rewarding aspect of working with CACFP software?
    When I get the opportunity to spend time with childcare providers and hear their stories of success that children have had after joining the program – it gets me right in the feels!

    What has working with CACFP sponsors and providers taught you?
    They are tireless bunch of folks who really care about children! 

    Do you have a favorite healthy recipe that follows CACFP guidelines? If so, please share.
    We call it “Tortellini Soup”, and it contains all of the components of a creditable meal. (I know, I know, you can’t have all the components in one soup, but no one is error checking me). It has Celery, onion, spinach, shaved carrots, and chicken broth. Cook in a bunch of cheese tortellini, top with a little Parmesan cheese and away you go. Takes less than 40 minutes to make and is a crowd pleaser. Enjoy!    

     

    To learn more about CACFP Week, head to cacfp.org/cacfpweek for tips and activities from the National CACFP Sponsors Association. 

  • CACFP Week – What does the CACFP mean to Dawn Perez?

    CACFP Week – What does the CACFP mean to Dawn Perez?

    Dawn Perez is the Senior Implementation Specialist & Training Director and has been at Minute Menu for almost 14 years! Dawn has guided hundreds of Minute Menu clients through the implementation process and teaches many classes at Child and Adult Care Food Program conferences around the U.S. The CACFP has inspired Dawn to always live a healthy and active lifestyle with her family.

    Why is the CACFP important?
    People feel better when they have good, nutritious food in their body. 

    How does the CACFP impact the lives of children?
    Not only does the CACFP help provide access to healthier meals, it also teaches the importance of nutrition. And kids that are introduced to healthy foods at a young age are more likely to have good eating habits for the rest of their lives. 

    What does the CACFP mean to you?
    Helping others have access to REAL. GOOD. FOOD.

    What is the most rewarding aspect of working with CACFP software?
    Just working with the sponsors and providers themselves! I love meeting them and hearing about their work. It’s always very inspiring. 

    What has working with CACFP sponsors and providers taught you?
    When I first started at Minute Menu (back in 2004) it seemed like the CACFP was all about money and paperwork. But after talking to sponsors and attending conferences, I saw that it was so much more. I’ve heard so many life changing stories and it’s rewarding to be a part of this. Kids that would otherwise be hungry get fed thanks to the CACFP. 

    How has your role in the childcare and CACFP space changed over the years?
    After working at Minute Menu for 3 years, I moved to Austin, TX and worked for Southwest Human Development Services, a sponsor of Homes. I ended up moving back to Dallas shortly after and have been with Minute Menu ever since! 

    How do you promoted a healthy lifestyle with your own family?
    I am proud to say that I pack my son a CACFP approved lunch EVERY single day. I will say, it is a struggle sometimes – especially coming up with a vegetable every day. 

    Do you have a favorite healthy recipe that follows CACFP guidelines? If so, please share. 

    Pesto Pasta served with a Salad and an Apple

    Puree the following in a food processor for the pesto:

    Fresh basil
    Parmesan cheese
    Extra virgin olive oil
    Pine nuts (or you can substitute walnuts)
    Fresh Garlic
    Salt

    Top your cooked whole wheat spaghetti with the pesto and voila! It’s pretty easy!

    We served a nice spring mix with grape tomatoes on the side. We use walnuts instead of croutons – added protein and still crunchy and delicious! And I served a delicious apple on the side. Even my 2 year old liked the pesto but the apple was his favorite. Ha!

    To learn more about CACFP Week, head to cacfp.org/cacfpweek for tips and activities from the National CACFP Sponsors Association. 

  • CACFP Week – What does the CACFP mean to Lori Johnson?

    CACFP Week – What does the CACFP mean to Lori Johnson?

    Lori Johnson is our Senior Implementation Specialist and has been with Minute Menu for 8 years. She works mainly with new sponsors who have purchased Minute Menu HX. You will also hear her friendly voice on our KidKare training webinars for childcare providers! Lori has been in the childcare industry for a very long time, and her passion and excitement shines through for the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

    Why is the CACFP important?
    Nutritious food is very expensive; the CACFP helps child care providers keep the fees for parents reasonable and allows the child care provider to be able to afford more vegetables, fruits, whole grain items and lean meats.

    How does the CACFP impact the lives of children?
    The CACFP impacts children in many ways – by providing nutritious meals and snacks to keep them healthy and educating them early in life to make healthy choices. Some children may not get a proper meal or enough food at home to develop normally and this certainly can impact their entire lives.

    What does the CACFP mean to you?
    The CACFP means that children are being taken care of as far as their nutritional needs, to grow up healthy and strong. They are the future of this world!

    How has the CACFP inspired you in your work? In your personal life?
    In my work life, it has inspired me to do the best I can for the providers and the sponsors teaching them how to use KidKare or Minute Menu HX. In my personal life, the CACFP has inspired me to watch what I eat, exercise regularly and to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

    What is the most rewarding aspect of working with CACFP software?
    Knowing that we are helping sponsors and child care providers make record keeping easier, so they can spend more time with the children. Even though I am not working with children directly, it’s very rewarding knowing that because of what I do the children are impacted in a positive way.

    What has working with CACFP childcare sponsors and childcare providers taught you?
    There are very caring people out there that want to do what’s best for children, they go the extra mile. In turn, I go the extra mile for childcare providers and sponsors.

    How has your role in the childcare and CACFP space changed over the years?
    When I started on the CACFP I was a childcare provider, and then moved on to work with a sponsoring agency, finally landing at Minute Menu. The CACFP has changed for the better in recent years by moving to the new meal pattern, as a former child care provider and sponsor I see all sides and how difficult change can be for all.

    How do you promote a healthy lifestyle with your own family?
    We follow pretty much the guidelines for the meal pattern, adding whole grains as much as possible and lots of vegetables. We mostly grill our meats and not very often do we have fried food. We rarely eat out, as you have no idea of what’s been added to the meal. We exercise regularly, mainly by taking walks with our dog Boots.


    Boots

    Do you have a favorite healthy recipe that follows CACFP guidelines? If so, please share.

    Yes, Six- Week Bran Muffins. I used to make these all the time when my daughter was younger, she thought they were cupcakes.

    • 4 eggs
    • 3 cups sugar
    • 1 quart buttermilk
    • 6 cups bran cereal with raisins
    • 5 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 cup vegetable oil
    • 5 teaspoons baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon salt

    DIRECTIONS

    In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until well combined. Stir in buttermilk, cereal, flour, oil, baking soda and salt; mix well. Refrigerate at least 6 hours before using. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Batter may be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. Yield: 5-6 dozen.

     

    To learn more about CACFP Week, head to cacfp.org/cacfpweek for tips and activities from the National CACFP Sponsors Association. 

  • CACFP Week – What does the CACFP mean to Cindy Vian?

    CACFP Week – What does the CACFP mean to Cindy Vian?

    Happy CACFP Week from your Minute Menu team! Everyone here at Minute Menu holds the Child and Adult Care Food Program very close to our hearts. We have not only provided CACFP software to childcare providers and childcare center and home sponsors all over the nation for over 20 years, but our entire team has also been enriched by the program in their personal lives, as well. This week, we have had the privilege to sit down with some of our team members to learn what the CACFP means to them. Follow us throughout the week to learn something new about our team every day!

    Today we found out what the CACFP means to Cindy Vian. Cindy is the Director of Sales and has been with Minute Menu since January 2010. If you know Minute Menu, then you probably know Cindy! Cindy is our outspoken, passionate, creative redhead of the office. If there is one thing that she is passionate about, it is the CACFP.

    Why is the CACFP important?
    It ensures that all children receive healthy, nutritious meals in childcare. The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) has a proven track record of supporting healthy and safe child care environments which support the working family.

    How does the CACFP impact the lives of children?
    The CACFP reduces instances of food insecurity, overweight and obesity in children. It exposes children to a wide variety of foods they might otherwise not have access to. It teaches children what a healthy plate of food looks like so they can make better choices themselves as they grow.

    What does the CACFP mean to you?
    During the years that I was a family child care provider it meant I could supply high quality, hot meals for the children in my care along with my own children. As a sponsor I was part of a larger mission to improve the quality of child care programs and teach good nutrition practices to the participants of our program. Now, it means helping people embrace technology to improve program integrity and increase program participation.

    How has the CACFP inspired you in your work? In your personal life?
    The CACFP has inspired me to push myself beyond what I might see as my limitations. I’ve learned that what you put in your body has a lot to do with how you feel, how you perform, and what you can expect from your body.

    What has working with CACFP sponsors and providers taught you?
    Its taught me that the world is full of bright, beautiful people who want to do good work. 

     How do you promote a healthy lifestyle with your own family?
    We include fruit and vegetables at all meals and most snacks. We’re all pretty adventurous so we make a game out of bringing new foods or recipes to family functions. Recently our family has begun to add some type of physical activity after every holiday meal to help us balance out those occasions. Now, we’re going to add in growing our own produce we’ll be planting a family garden in April.

    Do you have a favorite healthy recipe that follows CACFP guidelines? If so, please share. 

    Strawberry Banana Split:
    Makes 1 serving
    Prep time: 5 mins
    Ingredients:
    1 small banana
    ½ cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
    1 tablespoon lowfat granola
    ½ cup sliced strawberries
    Cut the banana lengthwise. Spoon yogurt into a bowl. Place the banana halves on both sides of the yogurt. Then top the yogurt with granola and strawberries. Serve.

     

    To learn more about CACFP Week, head to cacfp.org/cacfpweek for tips and activities from the National CACFP Sponsors Association. 

  • Updating and Saving in Minute Menu CX

    Updating and Saving in Minute Menu CX

    Updating Minute Menu CX

    If your Minute Menu CX update won’t complete, try shutting down and restarting your computer before trying again.

    Saving information in Minute Menu CX

    If you are unable to see the button to save your information inside CX, you will need to auto-hide the Windows task bar at the bottom of the screen.

    To auto-hide your task bar:

    1. Right click on any blank space in your task bar
    2. Select Properties
    3. On the next screen, check the box for “Auto-hide the task bar”
    4. Click “OK” to save

    Then you will be able to see the Save button hidden behind the task bar.

  • Meal Pattern Change and Minute Menu CX

    Meal Pattern Change and Minute Menu CX

    In an effort to make day 1 of the new meal pattern changes as painless as possible for centers, there will be no new version to download on that day.  The new version can be downloaded on Friday, so that it’s ready to go Monday morning. Here is what the timeline will look like:

    Thursday night, September 28th. There will be a mandatory release of CX (version 14.0)  that will contain all of the changes for the new meal pattern. Minute Menu CX users will update on Friday morning.

    Sunday morning, October 1st.  We will switch all users over to the new pattern, convert the menus, and then stop all open sessions so that all users will log in fresh Monday morning.

    Monday morning, October 2nd.  All users will log in and see all of the new changes without the need to spend any time updating.

    Are your centers curious about what the new meal pattern changes will look like? Please click here to view/download a 2 page PDF describing the main changes to the center side of the Minute Menu CX program. Feel free to print, email, and share this with your centers!

  • New Meal Pattern Copy and Paste

    New Meal Pattern Copy and Paste

    Copy. And Paste. But do it now.

    Copy and paste any menus that you plan to reuse (such as cycle menus or seasonal menus) to future months now, while you still can. Those menus will be merged into the new Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) meal pattern on Oct. 1st.

    Copying and pasting from the old meal pattern to the new meal pattern will NOT be available after Oct. 1st.

    Starting on Oct. 1st, it will not be possible to copy and paste menus from prior months. On Oct. 1st, center accounts will be converted to the new meal pattern. Menus made on the new meal pattern can be copied and pasted to future months.

    Menus on the old meal pattern cannot be copied and pasted to the new meal pattern, after October 1st.

    Review

    Review scheduled menus to make sure that they meet the new meal pattern requirements.

    Make sure that…

    • Juice is planned for no more than once per day.
    • There is a vegetable at each lunch and dinner.
    • A whole grain-rich food is planned at least once per day.
    • Grain based desserts have been removed.

    Mark your calendar for Oct. 1st to check for missing components by looking for lowercase letters on the Menu Calendar screen.

    Some meals may lose components during the merge process (such as lunches and dinners that had 2 fruits, 1 fruit will be lost during the merge process). On Oct. 1st or after, check the Menu Calendar screen. Any scheduled menu that is missing a component will be listed with a lowercase letter (balpde). These are most likely lunches and dinners that included 2 fruits OR food items that are no longer approved (such as grain based desserts).

  • KidKare Support

    KidKare Support

    Hello Sponsors,

    Over the past 6 months, we’ve had more customer support calls than in any other period in our 24 years as a business. We have struggled to keep up as tens of thousands of providers have been transitioning to KidKare. We know that you are all in a similar position. I want you to know that we are taking this issue seriously and doing everything we can to overcome this challenge.

    Over the past three months, in response to this issue, Minute Menu has made dramatic changes across the company to resolve your provider’s concerns. Recently we have:

    • Quadrupled the server capacity supporting KidKare, speeding up login and saves and nearly eliminating timing out.
    • Hired the most talented customer support team in the history of the organization, to address the most complex technical issues.
    • Moved our customer support ticketing system to a more responsive and flexible product, allowing us to resolve ticket faster.
    • Added two more talented people to our support team to help through the next few months.
    • Dedicated significant time and resources to creating help articles and videos for reference at help.kidkare.com.
    • Launched help.minutemenuhx.com, which will be the first online help resource exclusively for HX users.
    • Prioritized sponsor tickets over provider tickets to ensure timely claims processing and reimbursement.
    • Expedited the bug fix process to correct issues in KidKare faster.

    I want all of our sponsors to know that we are working incredibly hard to continue improving the KidKare product and make absolutely sure it is ready for meal pattern changes. It has been a tough experience for us as an organization, as I’m sure it has been for you as well. As a company and individually, we are dedicated to you and to the food program. We understand the responsibility that we bear as your business partner, and we appreciate your trust as we work our way together through this monumental change.

     

  • Hurricane Update: We Are Safe

    Hurricane Update: We Are Safe

    Thank you to those of you who have reached out to check on us. Our offices are safely located in the Dallas, Texas, area—roughly 400 miles north of Houston. Right now we’re seeing cloudy skies and a little rain, but it’s not currently anticipated that the storm will affect Dallas more than giving us a few thunderstorms later this week.

    We want to take the opportunity to let you know a little about our disaster preparation for you, your providers, and your centers. Most importantly, the cloud servers that all of you access for Minute Menu HX, Minute Menu CX, and KidKare are all hosted with a top-tier cloud service provider in the North Texas area. This facility has redundant power sources and redundant internet connections, in addition to 24-hour staffing and monitoring. While outages are never 100% out of the question in a catastrophic weather event, they are highly unlikely given the infrastructure of our service provider.

    Where our offices are concerned, we understand that we serve customers all over the country—so when we have bad weather, we need to be prepared to work. Just about everyone is set up to work effectively from home, should the need arise. Even with a power or internet outage at our offices, most of our support systems are cloud-hosted, so we can continue to answer support tickets remotely and send email notifications to you.

    Our hearts go out to our friends in South Texas, including the many CACFP Sponsors who will be struggling to overcome this setback while working through the new meal pattern. Because disaster relief agencies do not provide diapers as a part of their relief efforts, we’ll be donating to the Texas Diaper Bank, in the interest of supporting the tens of thousands of families with young children who have been affected by this ongoing natural disaster.You can learn more about them here:  https://texasdiaperbank.networkforgood.com/

  • CACFP Rates Announced for 2017-2018

    CACFP Rates Announced for 2017-2018

    Each year USDA must adjust meal reimbursement rates and the administrative reimbursement rates for sponsors of homes according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) change during the prior 12 month period. Click here to view rates.

    The CPI is broken down into many sub-categories, and Congress has determined in the law which parts are used to adjust rates in the CACFP.  Rates for Family Day Care Home meals are based on the “food at home” series of the CPI for All Urban Consumers.  Rates for centers are based on the “food away from home” series of the CPI for All Urban Consumers and the administrative reimbursement rates for sponsors of homes are based on all items of the CPI for All Urban Consumers added together.

    This year, the CPI on all items increased 1.87%, which resulted in a $2 (rounded) increase to admin rates on the first 50 homes for sponsors of homes and a $1 increase for homes 51 and up.   The CPI for food away from home showed a 2.31% increase, which resulted in higher meal reimbursement rates for meals served by centers.  This increase is slightly lower than last year’s increases, which benefited from rounding up due to a few tenths of percentage higher increase in the CPI.

    Unfortunately, the food at home series showed a drop of 0.16% over the same period.  This means that, by law, USDA had to adjust meal reimbursement rates downward for Family Day Care Homes.  Fortunately, the percentage decrease was quite small, so in most cases it was not enough to round down to a decreased reimbursement rate. However, any percentage-based decrease affects the higher reimbursement rates more than the lower rate, so some of the higher-reimbursed meals for Alaska and Hawaii did go down a small amount.  (We are asking for clarification now on why the rate for Tier 2 lunches and suppers specifically appears to be rounded down instead of up and will update this post when we hear back.)

    There’s no easy way to break the news to providers that they will not receive an increase in money this year, particularly when most of us aren’t actually seeing that food prices have dropped at all in the last year.  The only way to keep this from happening again is to urge Congress to change the law, prohibiting any future downward adjustment in reimbursement rates and admin rates and asking for a more realistic measure of the costs of serving food in family childcare.  This is not something that a sponsor, a state agency, or even USDA can change.

    Child Nutrition Reauthorization hasn’t moved forward yet, so there may still be opportunity to urge your Congressperson to ensure that the good nutrition that CACFP provides stays accessible to the neediest children.  It certainly can’t hurt to let them know how much more difficult this makes getting healthy food to our most underserved kids.  Go here to find out how to contact your Senators and Representative.