Facts about the Child and Adult Care Food Program
What is CACFP?
CACFP is the Child and Adult Care Food Program, a Federal program that provides healthy meals and snacks to children and adults receiving day care. It plays a vital role in improving the quality of day care and making it more affordable for many low-income families. CACFP reimburses participating centers and day care homes for their meal costs. It is administered at the Federal level by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The State education or health department administers CACFP, in most States. Independent centers and sponsoring organizations enter into agreements with their State agencies to operate the program.
What types of facilities provide CACFP benefits?
Child Care Centers - Public or
private nonprofit child care centers, Head Start programs, and some
for-profit centers which are licensed or approved to provide day care
may serve meals and snacks to infants and children through CACFP.
Afterschool care programs in low-income areas can participate in CACFP
by providing free snacks to school-aged children and youths through age
18. Reimbursable suppers are also available to children in eligible
afterschool care programs in six States--Delaware, Michigan, Missouri,
Pennsylvania, New York, and Oregon.
Family Day Care Homes - CACFP provides reimbursement for meals and
snacks served to small groups of children receiving nonresidential day
care in licensed or approved private homes. A family or group day care
home must sign an agreement with a sponsoring organization to
participate in CACFP. The sponsoring organization organizes training,
conducts monitoring, and helps with planning menus and filling out
reimbursement forms.
Homeless Shelters - Emergency shelters which provide residential and
food services to homeless families may participate in CACFP. Unlike
most other CACFP facilities, a shelter does not have to be licensed to
provide day care.
Adult Day Care Centers - Public, private nonprofit, and some for-profit
adult day care facilities which provide structured, comprehensive
services to functionally impaired, nonresident adults may participate
in CACFP.
Who gets CACFP meals and snacks?
Children age 12 and younger are
eligible to receive up to two meals and one snack, each day, at a day
care home or center, through CACFP. Children who reside in homeless
shelters may receive up to three reimbursable meals each day. Migrant
children age 15 and younger, and persons with disabilities, regardless
of their age, are also eligible for CACFP. Afterschool care snacks are
available to children through age 18. Adult participants must be
functionally impaired or age 60 or older, and enrolled in an adult care
center where they may receive up to two meals and one snack, each day,
through CACFP.
How much reimbursement does the Federal government provide?
Most centers include meals as part
of their fees. Centers receive payments based on the type of meal
served and the child or adult’s eligibility for free, reduced-price, or
paid meals, while shelters and afterschool care programs are reimbursed
at the free rate.
Day care homes cannot charge separate fees for meals. Higher payments
(tier I) are paid to homes in low-income areas and to low-income
free and reduced-price school meals also receive higher rates of
reimbursement. As of July 1, 2004, tier I and tier II rates are:
(excluding Hawaii and Alaska)
[Please CLICK HERE for the current year reimbursement rates.]
| Meal Type |
Tier I |
Tier II |
| Breakfast |
$1.04 |
$0.39 |
| Lunch or Supper |
$1.92 |
$1.16 |
| Snack |
$0.57 |
$0.15 |
How much does CACFP cost, and how many people does it serve?
In Fiscal Year 1999, USDA
reimbursed $1.6 billion to institutions participating in CACFP. In
December 1999, CACFP provided meals to 2.6 million children and 62,500
adults. Compare CACFP today with the program in:
| Year |
Number of children and adults |
Cost |
| 1995 |
2.3 million children and 44,000 adults |
$1.5 billion |
| 1990 |
1.5 million children and 18,000 adults |
$812.9 million |
| 1985 |
1 million children |
$452.1 million |
| 1980 |
663,000 children |
$236.4 million |
| 1975 |
375,000 children |
$51 million |
Where can I get more information?
For more information, please contact your
State Agency.
[from: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Care/CACFP/cacfpfaqs.htm]
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