Child and Adult Care Food Program
What is the Child and Adult Care Food Program?
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a Federal program that provides healthy meals and snacks in child and adult day care facilities. CACFP reimburses participating day care operators for their meal costs and provides them with USDA commodity food. The program generally operates in child care centers, outside-school-hours care centers, family and group day care homes, some adult day health care centers and emergency shelters for homeless children. Day care providers in the CACFP must serve meals that meet federal guidelines and must offer meals at no cost. First authorized as a pilot project in 1975, the program was formerly known as the Child Care Food Program. The purpose of the program is to encourage child care centers, outside school hours programs, and day care homes to provide more nutritious meals to children twelve years of age and under in nonresidential daycare settings. The objectives of the program are to; improve the diets of children under 13 years of age by providing the children with nutritious. well-balanced meals, and to develop good eating habits in children that will last through later years. It was made a permanent program in 1978, and the name was changed in 1989 to reflect the addition of an adult component. CACFP is administered at the Federal level by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), an agency of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. State agencies or FNS regional offices oversee the program at the local level.
What types of institutions provide benefits?
Child Care Centers - Includes licensed or approved non-residential, public or private non-profit child care centers; and Head Start centers, settlement houses, and neighborhood centers. For-profit child care centers may also participate if they meet certain criteria for serving low-income children.
Family Day Care Homes - Generally, family day care homes provide care in a licensed or approved private home for a small group of children. Family or group day care homes must be administered by a sponsoring organization that maintains Federal and State regulations, and prepares a monthly food reimbursement claim. The sponsor also receives Federal reimbursement for administrative expenses, based on the number of homes it sponsors.
  Directory of Family Day Care Sponsors March 2008
"At-Risk" After School Care Programs - Community based programs that offer enrichment activities for at-risk children and teenagers, after the regular school day ends, can provide free snacks through CACFP. Programs must be offered in areas where at least 50% of the children are eligible for free and reduced price meals based upon the school data.
Emergency Shelters - Which provide residential and food services to homeless children may receive reimbursement for serving up to three meals each day to homeless children through age 18, who reside there.
Adult Day Health Care Centers - Licensed day health care centers that are operated by public agencies for functionally impaired adults may receive cash reimbursements and commodity foods under the adult component of the CACFP. Private organizations, both non-profit and for-profit, are also eligible if they meet certain criteria for serving low-income people.
Who gets free or reduced-price meals?
Operators of child and adult day care centers get reimbursed at either the free, reduced, or paid rate for the meals they serve to the participants. Meals served to participants from families with income at or below 130 percent of the poverty level are reimbursed at the free rate. Meals served to participants from families with income between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level at reimbursed at a reduced rate. Meals serves to participants from families with income above 185 percent of the poverty level are reimbursed at the paid rate. Currently through June 30, 2008, for a family of four, 130 percent of the poverty level is $26,845 a year; 185 percent is $37,203 a year. For family day care homes, Congress instituted a two-tier system of reimbursements under the welfare reform act of 1996. Under the new system, which went into effect July 1, 1997, day care providers located in low-income areas or whose own households are low income, are reimbursed at a single rate (tier 1 reimbursement). Other providers will be reimbursed at a lower rate (tier 2 reimbursement) unless they choose to have their sponsoring organizations identify income-eligible children through use of income applications similar to those used in day care centers. Meals served to such income-eligible children will be reimbursed at the higher tier 1 level.
How much reimbursement does the Federal Government provide?
Current reimbursement rates are located on our Financial Management page.
For more information:
Please contact Amy Socolow, Robin Haunton (ext. 3760), Kevin Matthews or Anne Marie McDonald. (781) 338-6499
For further details, please contact the USDA Food and Nutrition Service by mail at 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22302. Information about FNS programs is also available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.fns.usda.gov
last updated: April 28, 2008
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