Wisconsin Child & Adult Care
Food Program (CACFP)

Give children the nutritious meals they need during their critical developing years, and help them develop good eating habits that follow them into their adult years.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federally funded program sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As a licensed or certified child care provider, the program provides you with financial reimbursement for serving nutritious meals and snacks to kids in your care.

Get Started Today!

 

Schedule a meeting with a monitor and learn about how the food program works.

Find a sponsor that administers the Food Program in your county.

Frequently Asked Questions about CACFP

 

How does participation in the CACFP benefit a provider?

 

What children can be claimed on the food program?

 

How much paperwork is involved and how often?

 

What happens if I am not in compliance with the regulations when a representative visits?

 

Do I have to offer an iron fortified infant formula (IFIF)?

 

What if a parent refuses to enroll their child?

 

When do I have to obtain a diet statement?

 

Where can I find menus, recipes, and other resources?

 

How do I sign up?

Participation Requirements

 

Maintain regulation (license or certification)

 

Daily: Record the meals you serve and the children that ate it. The meals must meet the meal pattern requirements.

 

Monthly: Submit meal counts and new enrollment forms to your local agency to receive your reimbursement.

 

Yearly: Attend a CACFP training session or complete a home study packet.

 

Yearly: Enroll the children in your care.

 

Three Times Yearly: Meet with a CACFP monitor in your home to receive support, new education materials, and updates on program regulations.

Reimbursement Rates

 

Get reimbursed for providing nutritious meals! If you are serving breakfast, lunch, and a snack to just six children for 21 care days during a month you can be reimbursed between $3,084 and $6,592 per year.

The two rates for food program reimbursement are Tier I and Tier II.

Tier I day care homes are those that are located in low-income areas, or those in which the provider's household income is low enough to qualify. Tier II homes are those family day care homes which do not meet the location or provider income criteria for a tier I home. The provider in a tier II home may elect to have the sponsoring organization identify income-eligible children, so that meals served to those children who qualify for free and reduced price meals would be reimbursed at the higher tier I rates.

Maximum Household Income
to Qualify for Tier I

Household Size

Monthly Income

1

$23,828

2

$32,227

3

$40,626

4

$49,025

5

$57,424

6

$65,823

7

$74,222

8

$82,621

  • For each additional Household Member add $8,399

 

2023-2024 Reimbursement Rates

 

Tier I

Tier II

Breakfast

$1.60

$0.59

Lunch/Supper

$3.12

$1.88

Snack

$0.93

$0.25

 

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online here, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant's name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

  • Mail:
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW
    Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

  • Fax:
    (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

  • Email:
    program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

CACFP Meal Patterns Requirements

 

Serving meals that meet the CACFP requirements is easy! Check out these guides:

CACFP Child Meal Pattern

USDA Child Meal Pattern

CACFP Infant Meal Pattern

USDA Infant Meal Pattern