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?
Providers receive valuable nutrition education that helps them know the proper foods to feed children in amounts appropriate for these young age groups. They receive help through nutrition education and personal visits from CACFP staff in understanding how to encourage positive eating habits that will benefit a child throughout life.
What children can be claimed on the food program?
All children from birth through age 12 can be claimed. You will need to send an enrollment form, signed by the parent, to your sponsor for each child in your care. You may claim your own children for meals at which other non-resident children that are enrolled in the Food Program are present, and if you qualify by your income level. Foster children may also be claimed for meals at which other non-resident children are claimed.
How much paperwork is involved and how often?
Each day you will need to make a record of attendance, menus and meal counts by midnight. This may sound like a daunting task, however it takes very little time. Current providers in the program state that recording menus and meal counts daily takes approximately five to ten minutes! Your monitor will provide you with forms or online access to input claim information and submit the claims monthly.
What happens if I am not in compliance with the regulations when a representative visits?
Monitors check several things when they conduct a home visit. Many times, they will provide additional technical assistance to make sure you know exactly what you are required to do to be in compliance. If you have repeated difficulty keeping daily records, an improvement plan will be started. If you are over numbers or if there is a health or safety issue, your representative will send a report to your regulator.
Do I have to offer an iron fortified infant formula (IFIF)?
You have to offer to supply an IFIF to infants enrolled in your care. If the parent refuses the brand of IFIF you offer, the infant may still be enrolled in the Food Program as long as you are willing to supply one component of the infant's meal when they are developmentally ready to eat additional foods.
What if a parent refuses to enroll their child?
Parents may choose not to enroll their child on the Food Program, and will need to send a written statement to a sponsor to say they will not participate. You will not be reimbursed for meals you serve that child.
When do I have to obtain a diet statement?
Any time a child is not able to follow the meal pattern requirements, a doctor's statement must be on file in order for the child to be claimed on the Food Program. If the child's inability to follow the meal pattern is based on a disability, you must provide the alternate food the child requires.
Where can I find menus, recipes, and other resources?
Your CACFP sponsor has many ideas that you can use when serving children. Recipes are available from many online sources, but keep in mind that simple foods with few ingredients are often the healthiest option.
How do I sign up?
In order to join the Food Program, find a sponsor that administers the Food Program in your county. Contact a sponsor by phone or email and arrange for an orientation meeting. You'll be up and running in no time!
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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.
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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
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2023-2024 Reimbursement Rates |
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Tier I |
Tier II |
Breakfast |
$1.60 |
$0.59 |
Lunch/Supper |
$3.12 |
$1.88 |
Snack |
$0.93 |
$0.25 |
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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:
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Mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
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Fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
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Email:
program.intake@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
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