Child and Adult Care Food Program FAQ

• 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 seven States--Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.
  
  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 does CACFP cost and how many people does it serve?

  In  Fiscal Year 2001, USDA reimbursed $1.7 billion to institutions participating in CACFP. In December 2001, CACFP provided meals to 2.6 million children and 74,000 adults. Compare CACFP today with the program in:
  
  1995:2.3 million children and 44,000 adults participated at a cost of $1.5 billion.
  1990:1.5 million children and 18,000 adults participated at a cost of $812.9 million
  1985:1 million children participated at a cost of $452.1 million.
  1980: 663,000 children participated at a cost of $236.4 million.
  1975: 375,000 children participated at a cost of $51 million.

• What steps do we take in the event of an emergency, when a freezer, refrigerator or stove/range goes out?

  Equipment purchases require specific prior written approval.  The institution must request approval with documentation of price quotes or bids (depending upon value) and method of purchase and time frame for delivery.  In turn, the institution must receive written approval from the state agency.  Then they may amend their budget and proceed to purchase the item approved.

  (Source FNS 796-2, Revision 3)

• The fire department requires the purchase of a new stove/range to meet fire requirements/code. How can this expenditure be included in the new budget for CACFP?

  Equipment purchases require specific prior written approval.  The institution must request approval with documentation of price quotes or bids (depending upon value) and method of purchase and time frame for delivery.  In turn, the institution must receive written approval from the state agency.  Then they may amend their budget and proceed to purchase the item approved.

  (Source FNS 796-2, Revision 3)

• Can CACFP funds be used for equipment repair?

  Yes, if approved in budget up front.  (Source FNS 796-2, Rev. 3).