National CACFP Association marks 40 years with 1,500 attendees in Las Vegas

By AI, Created 4:56 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – More than 1,500 child nutrition professionals gathered in Las Vegas for the National CACFP Association’s 40th National Child Nutrition Conference, highlighting the group’s role in supporting meals for children and adults in care settings. The event also pointed ahead to Chicago in 2027 as federal and industry leaders discussed policy, training and program impact.

Why it matters: - The National CACFP Association serves the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program community, which helps ensure access to nutritious meals for children and adults in care settings. - The conference spotlighted the people who run that system every day, from family child care homes to sponsoring organizations and federal agencies. - NCA said the community supports 4.4 million children and adults in care settings every day.

What happened: - More than 1,500 child nutrition professionals gathered in Las Vegas for the 40th National Child Nutrition Conference. - The conference ran April 13-17 at the Westgate Las Vegas. - The event marked NCA’s 40th anniversary, dating back to its founding in 1986 by five advocates. - Attendees took part in preconference sessions, workshops, an exhibit hall and a 40th anniversary celebration.

The details: - NCA President Alexia Thex said the Las Vegas turnout reflected the organization’s founding vision and the importance of the work. - Tuesday’s general session featured NCA Board Chair Alix Pasillas, USDA Deputy Under Secretary Patrick Penn, Sesame Workshop’s Antonio Freitas and motivational speaker Dee Hankins. - Pasillas welcomed attendees to Nevada and shared her own CACFP path from field monitor to executive director of Food For Kids Nevada. - Penn addressed child nutrition policy. - Freitas discussed play in early childhood nutrition education. - Hankins closed the session with a story about resilience and the power of a meal. - Wednesday and Thursday included five workshop blocks each day. - Sessions covered CACFP compliance, special diets, self-care, AI tools for stronger programs and USDA summer meal policy updates. - Sessions including “Resilience is Everything,” “MAHA’s Impact on the CACFP” and “Self-Care Strategies to Manage Stress and Burnout” reached capacity. - Exhibitors donated more than 1,300 pounds of food to Las Vegas’s Three Square Food Bank on Wednesday. - A conference visit brought Penn, USDA Deputy Associate Administrator Tina Fritz Namian and Thex to Lulu’s Kids Care, a CACFP family child care home in Las Vegas run by Orly Adani and supported by Food for Kids, Inc. - The group observed breakfast service, spent time with children and saw the home-based setting central to the program. - Penn said each CACFP site visit underscores the program’s importance for children, families and communities and USDA’s commitment to supporting caregivers and strengthening the program.

Between the lines: - The conference paired celebration with policy and practice, suggesting NCA is trying to keep the CACFP network connected to federal decision-makers while also giving operators practical tools. - The food donation and site visit reinforced the group’s message that the program is about both nutrition access and community support. - Strong turnout and full sessions signal sustained demand for training on compliance, burnout and new tools such as AI.

What’s next: - NCA is already looking ahead to the 41st National Child Nutrition Conference in Chicago in 2027. - The 2027 theme will be “Fresh Ideas, Shared Purpose.” - NCA said the Chicago conference will continue work focused on helping children and adults in care settings get nutritious meals every day.

The bottom line: - NCA used its 40th conference to showcase the scale of the CACFP network, the policy issues facing it and the hands-on work needed to keep it running.