A big part of what we do at the CACFP Roundtable is bring community members together to problem solve, share tips, best practices, resources, accomplishments, and frustrations. We also lift up the community voice to the state agency either by providing a pathway for members to discuss and ask questions of CDSS CACFP Branch leadership or we do it on your behalf. This happens every other month at our CACFP Roundtable Member Meetings and our community continues to grow in engagement and support.
Not sure what a member meeting is like? Let me tell you...
100+ operators, a lot from CA, but many from across the nation join us for a 2-hour meeting. We start with CACFP Roundtable updates that share what we've been up to as an organization and what you can expect from us in the coming months. Policy and advocacy updates at the federal and state (CA) level are shared.
Breakout groups
Then we break out into groups based on the type of program the members operate. This is where rich conversation takes place between your peers and colleagues. New and seasoned CACFP professionals ask questions of each other and discuss what is going on in the programs, interaction with the state agency, and provide support to each other. Hot topics are often administrative reviews, vendors, procurement, adoption of new rules, monitoring, and so much more. CACFP Roundtable also provides discussion prompts just in case the group doesn't know where to start.
After 20-30 minutes we come back together as a larger group and share what was discussed and we consider what questions or concerns we want to bubble up to CDSS CACFP Branch in the second half of the meeting.
CDSS CACFP Branch Joins
The second hour of the meeting, CDSS CACFP Branch leadership joins us to provide updates and useful information. They also use this time to hear directly from community members. CACFP Roundtable and CDSS CACFP Branch set the agenda together so we can do our best to ensure that the community's needs are being met during this time - so make sure you're telling us what those needs are!
Follow up
After the meeting, we send a link to a recording of the CDSS CACFP Branch part (which houses all of the member meetings) and an overview of the meeting's discussions and resources shared.
Not a Member? Consider becoming one now!
Now is the best time to become a member. Leverage the savings for conference registration before early bird rates end! Join a community that supports each other in all things CACFP, staff at the Roundtable is here for you but most importantly, the community is there for each other. Learn more and join us! I hope to see you at the next member meeting in September.
Join us at the Annual CACFP Conference in October at the Universal Sheraton, CA!
All Family Child Care Providers, registration is open for the Nutrition, Health, and Wellness Summit taking place on Sunday, October 6th!
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