Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
Learn how to participate.
Locate data and resources.
...provides funding to serve nutritious meals to children enrolled in child development programs and before and after care programs. CACFP promotes school-readiness by providing nutritious meals - programs may serve up to two meals and one snack per day - that aid children’s cognitive and physical development. Studies show that CACFP meals are nutritionally superior to those served to children in child care settings that don’t participate in the program. The program can also supplement the budgets of low-income families and child development providers.
What’s happening with CACFP in D.C.?
CACFP Collaborative
D.C. Hunger Solutions and the Office of State Superintendent of Education – Nutrition Services (OSSE) are co-conveners of the CACFP Collaborative, a working group of community and government stakeholders that works to maximize access to and participation in CACFP. In 2007, one of the CACFP Collaborative’s key goals was to enroll more child care providers into CACFP. We conducted aggressive outreach in the early care and education community to promote the benefits of the program. As a result, the D.C. CACFP program is reaching an additional 500 children. Today, more than 200 child care providers and 90 child care family homes in the District participate in CACFP. These providers are serving healthy meals to nearly 7,000 children each day.
D.C. Hunger Solutions can help by:
- giving presentations to your networks about the benefits of and how to participate in CACFP;
- providing outreach materials to inform your network about CACFP;
- assisting you in completing the application to enroll in CACFP.
Help us spread the word:
- Distribute the flyer titled Child Development Centers - Three Steps for Saving Money on your Food Costs. (pdf)
- Read Ending Childhood Hunger in D.C. - Ensure all children enrolled in child development centers and homes have access to high-quality nutritious meals (pdf), which explains how CACFP benefits children, families, child care providers, and the community.
- Visit the Wellness & Nutrition Services Department at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education Web site to learn more about CACFP in D.C.
- Contact us if your organization would be interested in enrolling in CACFP or joining the CACFP Collaborative.
