CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM FACTS  

What is the Child and Adult Care Food Program?

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal food program that provides healthy meals and snacks to children and adults in day care facilities.  In California, CACFP is administered  by the California Department of Education (CDE).  The CACFP began in 1968 as part of the Special Food Service Program for Children.  In 1987, the Older Americans Act was amended to allow the Child Care Food Program to serve certain functionally impaired adults, and the program’s name officially changed to the Child and Adult Care Food Program.  In California, both names -- “CCFP” and “CACFP” -- are still used interchangeably. 

Eligible Facilities

• CACFP reimburses eligible facilities for up to two meals and one snack a day per child, with a higher level of reimbursement for serving low-income children.   Eligible facilities include:

• Public or private nonprofit child care centers

• Head Start programs

• Park & recreation centers

• After-school programs

• Homeless shelters

• Some for-profit child care centers

• Family child care homes. 

The following gives more explanatory detail about some of these facilities.

A family child care home is a day care program in the private home of a provider.  Click here for more background information on CACFP in family child care home.  To participate in CACFP, family child care homes must satisfy the following requirements: 

• They must sign an agreement with a sponsoring organization that is approved by CDE to do training, monitoring, and assistance with menu-planning and filling out reimbursement forms; and
• They must be licensed by the state or they must register as “Trustline” providers by being fingerprinted and submitting to a background check.  Click here for more information on “Trustline.”  

For-profit child care centers may be eligible for CACFP if:

• 25% of their enrolled children receive Title XX child care subsidies; or

• 25% of their enrolled children meet eligibility requirements for free and reduced-price meals. 

After-school programs may participate in CACFP if:

• They are public or private nonprofit organizations; and
• They offer supervised enrichment activities to school-aged children.  Click here for USDA's information regarding After-school snacks in CACFP.

Public, private nonprofit, and some for-profit adult day care facilities that serve functionally impaired adults also may participate in CACFP.

Why Is the Child and Adult Care Food Program Important?

CACFP is an effective way to ensure that children and adults in day care receive healthy meals. All meals served must meet federal nutrition standards, including the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. CACFP is the only program that addresses nutrition in the child care setting – where increasing numbers of children receive most of their daily nourishment.   CACFP provides higher reimbursement rates for providers serving low-income children, thereby targeting the population most in need.   And offering nutritious snacks in after-school programs provides energy for the academic, athletic and other activities that keep children occupied and safe after their school day has ended.

For family child care providers participating in CACFP, the local sponsor does training about child nutrition and food safety, and makes three monitoring visits every year to each site, which is more contact with family child care homes than any other program or agency has.   This training and technical assistance often mean that children eat nutritious fruits, vegetables, and milk rather than sugary drinks and high fat foods – and the children learn healthy eating habits that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.  CACFP training and interaction with sponsors also can motivate family child care homes to become licensed and thereby satisfy California’s health and safety standards for child care facilities.

In short, the combination of federal reimbursement, federal dietary standards, and nutrition support services at the local level contributes to better nutrition for children, increased revenues for child care providers, and higher quality facilities for parents to select. 

Who Eats CACFP Meals and Snacks?

• Children who are 12 and under (including infants and toddlers) can receive up to two meals and one snack each day.
• Migrant children who are 15 and under can receive up to two meals and one snack each day. 
• School-aged children who attend an after-school program in a low-income area can receive a snack per day up to age 19.  For CFPA's compiled information, click on  AfterSchool Snack Program.  A low-income area is served by a school where 50% of the enrolled children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.  Click here for a list of California counties meeting the 50% requirement.
• Children living in homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, and some transitional housing can receive up to three meals each day.
• Persons with disabilities, regardless of their age, can receive up to two meals and one snack each day. 
• Adults who are functionally impaired, or age 60 and older, and enrolled in an adult day care center, can receive up to two meals and one snack each day. 

Immigrant status does not affect eligibility, and CACFP does not count as a “public charge.”  Click here for more details.

How Much Funding Does CACFP Provide?

All meals are subsidized with federal and California funds.  Centers and family child care homes receive different reimbursement rates, though both get higher payments for low-income children.  CACFP reimbursement rates are adjusted annually to reflect changes in food inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.  The following chart shows current reimbursement rates, and  additional information here.

• Centers receive payments based on the type of meal served and on each child’s eligibility for free or reduced-price meals.  Shelters and after-school care programs are reimbursed at the rate for free meals.  As of July 1, 2001, the reimbursement rates for centers are:        

• Family child care homes receive payments based on a two-tier reimbursement structure for meals served.
  • Tier 1 reimbursements (which are higher) apply if:
• The home is in a “low-income” area – that is, an area where at least half the children live in families with incomes below 185% of the federal poverty guideline, or an area served by an elementary school where half of the enrolled children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.  OR
• The family child care provider’s own income is below 185% of the federal poverty guideline
• Tier 2 reimbursements apply if family child care homes are located elsewhere.  As of July 1, 2001, the reimbursement rates for family child care homes in California are: 

• Sponsoring organizations also receive payments for the cost of administering family child care homes, because sponsors are performing administrative functions on behalf of CDE.    As of July 1, 2001, the monthly administrative payments to sponsors in California are:

How Many Participate in CACFP?

During the 2000 fiscal year, California’s average daily attendance in CACFP facilities was nearly 300,000, and the number of CACFP meals served in California was nearly 182 million.  Click here for more data.

Unfortunately, because of the 2-tier reimbursement scheme for family child care homes (imposed by the 1996 Welfare Reform Act), the numbers in that part of the CACFP universe have tumbled.  Both providers and sponsors discovered that the Tier 2 reimbursement rates are not high enough to cover the program’s administrative and recordkeeping requirements, and they have accordingly stopped participating in CACFP.  In California, the number of participating family child care homes has decreased by 8.6 % over the last five years.  For more information, click on: http://www.cde.ca.gov/nsd/ca_facts.pdf and http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr3/

If you have any additional questions, contact Maria Boyle, Director of Food Access at 415.777.4422 x 129 or mboyle@cfpa.net.