On March 10-16, we will celebrate National CACFP Week!
Why?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is an essential federal program that addresses hunger and builds healthy eating habits by providing reimbursement for nutritious foods to children enrolled for care at eligible child care programs, including child care centers, home-based programs and after-school care. Every day, 4.2 million children receive healthy meals and snacks through CACFP, supporting their health, well-being and development. We celebrate the Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (CCR&Rs) across the country who serve as CACFP sponsors and the child care programs who participate in CACFP.
What is National CACFP Week?
National CACFP Week is an annual campaign sponsored by the National CACFP Sponsors Association to raise awareness about the CACFP program and its role in addressing nutrition and food insecurity in child care programs.
The National CACFP Week webpage has resources to promote the campaign, including an opportunity to win $100 by participating in a Social Media Challenge.
CACFP: Promoting Access to Good Nutrition
At Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA), we believe access to good nutrition is essential to healthy child development and a critical component of high-quality child care. For this reason, we encourage eligible providers to participate in CACFP. We also work to support policies at the federal and state levels that promote healthy food in child care through funding for nutrition programs, state licensing and quality measurement standards.
Further, CCAoA has curated best practices from various states to tackle barriers to participation and expand access to CACFP in our report, The Child and Adult Food Program: Strategies for Change. Research indicates that child care programs participating in CACFP are more likely to screen children for food insecurity, underscoring the program's importance in addressing this critical issue. As we move forward, we remain dedicated to advocating for policies that ensure equitable access to nutritious meals for all children enrolled in child care programs.
Learn More about CACFP and Nutrition
- Visit the National CACFP Week website to learn more about CACFP and how you can participate.
- Check out our CACFP story maps, which visualize CACFP participation in select states and consider opportunities for expanding participation. You can visit our recent blog to learn more about how the maps were developed and how they may be used.
- Access our report, The Child and Adult Food Program: Strategies for Change to learn more about state strategies to increase participation in CACFP.
- Visit the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program webpage.
- Watch USDA’s recent webinar: Proposed Rule on Serious Deficiency Process Proposed Rule in CACFP and SFSP.
- Visit our nutrition page to learn more about ways to promote access to healthy foods.
