Where does your food come from?

It’s a simple question — but for the children in your care, it can open up a world of connection. To the farmer who grew the carrots on their plate. To the garden outside their classroom window. To the community around them.

That’s what Farm to CACFP Week is all about. Organized each year by the National CACFP Association, this national campaign highlights the ways child and adult care programs can connect local food, gardening, and agriculture education with the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

This year, Farm to CACFP Week runs October 18–24, 2026 — and September is the perfect time to start planning.

📣 Free Webinar: Root for Local Food — September 10

Before the week kicks off, NCA is hosting a free webinar to help you prepare:

Root for Local Food: Let’s Cheer for Farm to CACFP 📅 Thursday, September 10, 2026 🕑 2:00 – 2:30 PM Eastern

Hosted by the National CACFP Association in partnership with the National Farm to School Network and the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists, the webinar will cover practical ideas and resources for celebrating Farm to CACFP Week — whether you’re already sourcing local foods or looking for a place to start.

Attendees will also receive a complimentary promo code for the on-demand session Root to Fruit: What Grows Where?

Register for free →

🌱 What Is Farm to CACFP?

Farm to CACFP connects three areas — and you don’t need to do all three to participate:

🥕 Local food procurement Purchasing food from local farms, farmers markets, or community gardens. Even sourcing one item locally — like apples from a nearby orchard or sweet potatoes from a regional farm — counts. Every local food purchase supports your community’s agriculture and keeps food dollars circulating locally.

🌿 Gardening and agriculture education Growing herbs in a windowsill planter, planting a raised bed, or visiting a local farm. When children participate in growing food, they develop curiosity about healthy eating and a hands-on connection to where their meals come from.

📖 Nutrition education with a local focus Reading books about farming, talking about what grows in your region, introducing seasonal produce at mealtimes, and leading taste tests with locally grown fruits or vegetables. These activities connect nutrition education to real-world experiences children can see, touch, and taste.

🍎 Simple Ways to Celebrate Farm to CACFP Week in Your Program

You don’t need a farm partnership or a garden to participate. Here are ideas you can do with whatever resources you have:

For any program

• Host a fall taste test. Pick 2–3 seasonal fruits or vegetables available at your local farmers market or grocery store — apples, pears, squash, sweet potatoes. Let children taste, compare, and vote on their favorite.
• Read a book about farming or food. Picture books like The Ugly Vegetables, Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, or Tops and Bottoms connect mealtime to where food grows.
• Feature a “local food of the week.” Highlight one locally grown item on your menu and talk about where it came from, who grew it, and how it ended up on their plate.
• Make a seasonal placemat. Have children draw or color the fruits and vegetables they see at the farmers market or grocery store. Display them at the table during Farm to CACFP Week.

If you have outdoor space

• Plant a fall herb or lettuce garden. Lettuce, kale, parsley, and cilantro can all be started in the fall in many climates. Even a small planter outside your door counts.
• Harvest and eat together. If you’ve been growing herbs or vegetables, Farm to CACFP Week is the perfect time to harvest with the children and use what you grew in a meal or snack.

For sponsors

• Share Farm to CACFP resources with your sites. Forward the NCA Farm to CACFP toolkit and encourage providers to try at least one activity during the week.
• Highlight a provider doing Farm to CACFP work. Feature a site that gardens, sources local food, or leads nutrition education in your newsletter or social media.
• Register your team for the free September 10 webinar. Share the registration link with your network so providers can attend too.

🔗 How Farm to CACFP Connects to Your Fall Menus

If you’re already planning your fall CACFP menus (and September is the time to do it), Farm to CACFP gives you a reason to think about where your ingredients come from — not just what they are.

Fall produce that’s both in-season and CACFP-creditable includes apples, pears, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, beets, cabbage, kale, and broccoli. Many of these can be sourced locally depending on your region.

For fall recipe ideas using seasonal produce, check out our CACFP Fall Recipes blog — featuring standardized recipes from the NCA and ICN with crediting information already calculated.

Additional Resources

From the National CACFP Association:

• Farm to CACFP Week 2026 (October 18–24) — Official campaign page
• Farm to CACFP Resources — Toolkits, activity pages, and guides
• Get Ready for Farm to CACFP Week (NCA Blog) — Webinar details and preview
• Register: Root for Local Food Webinar (September 10) — Free, 30 minutes

From partner organizations:

• National Farm to School Network — Resources for connecting farms, schools, and early care
• ASPHN Farm to CACFP Resources — Vegetable and fruit snack menus with cultural recipes
• USDA Farm to School — Federal resources, grants, and census data

From KidKare:

• CACFP Fall Recipes: Seasonal Meals and Snacks — Fall recipe ideas with crediting information
• KidKare Meal Planning Tips — Practical guidance for building CACFP menus