Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

The CACFP is a program across the country run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). It gives approved child care centers and home-based providers money to help them provide healthy meals and snacks for the children who qualify.

Your business and the families you serve can both benefit from this program. The extra money will pay for part of your food costs. The children in your care will have healthy meals. Parents will save time and money because they will not have to buy, make, or pack these meals at home.

More information can be found on the TDA website.

Child Care Centers 

Public or private nonprofit child care centers, after-school programs, Head Start programs, and other places that are licensed or approved to provide child care in Texas may be able to join the CACFP. Center-based providers can join the CACFP by making an agreement directly with TDA or with help from a sponsor. A sponsor helps manage the program for several child care locations. To be eligible, at least 25% of the children in your program must meet the USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines for free or reduced-price meals in the National School Lunch Program in Texas. This means their families must earn less than 185% of the federal poverty guidelines. These rates change on July 1 each year. Usually, center-based providers can get money back for children age 12 and under in their care.

Family Day Care Homes 

Family Day Care homes that are licensed or approved to provide child care services in Texas can join the program through a sponsor. The sponsor takes responsibility for managing the program and handling the money for all the programs they sponsor. The sponsor keeps program records, sends in monthly meal claims, gets monthly payments from TDA, and then gives the payments to the home-based providers who are participating. Usually, eligible providers can get money back for meals served to children aged 12 and under.

Afterschool At-Risk Programs 

Eligible At-Risk programs must mainly provide regular care for children after school or on weekends, holidays, or school breaks during the school year. They must be located in an area where at least 50% of the children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals at school. These programs get money back for meals served to children up to age 18. Sometimes, these programs are open to all children in the area. For more information on At-Risk locations across Texas, visit the TX Site Map.

If you want to add the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to your operations, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) has information to help you learn more and submit an application. 

New applicants should be prepared to complete an application as well as take required training.

Regional Education Service Centers (ESCs) partner with TDA to provide training and support for new applicants across Texas. Technical assistance and training from ESCs are offered at no cost. 

Some child care business owners worry about the effects participating in the CACFP might have on their taxes. However, participating in the program is always more financially beneficial than not participating.  

Some important things to note: 

• CACFP payments are considered income, so your business will make more profit. This also means you will have to pay more in taxes. However, the money you get back from the program after paying taxes will always be more than the amount you have to pay in taxes.
• You can still deduct food expenses even when participating in the CACFP. You can deduct the cost of meals and snacks that the program pays for, just like you deduct the cost of meals and snacks that the program does not pay for.
• If the extra money you get from CACFP payments causes your business to move into a higher tax bracket, you will only pay the higher tax rate on the payments you receive from the program.

Some business owners worry that managing the CACFP will create more work for them and their staff. However, the records you need for the program are usually the same as the records you already keep for taxes.

Another option is to join the CACFP through a sponsoring organization. The sponsor can handle all the paperwork for you. You will still need to keep track of the meals you serve and give that information to your sponsor to get paid back. However, the sponsor will be responsible for all other tasks, such as filing claims.

Some important things to note… 

• Information required for CACFP reimbursement includes attendance, meal type, and meal count each day, details which are likely already being recorded by your staff.
• Because CACFP reimbursement requests must be submitted monthly, some business owners welcome the opportunity to maintain regular, accurate records rather than relying on memory when it is time to file taxes.
• You do not need to save or submit food receipts with your reimbursement requests.
• Many Child Care Management Software (CCMS) systems are already configured for you to easily enter your required data for CACFP.
• The time you spend maintaining your records can count toward your Time/Space Calculation, if you’re a home-based provider. 

It is free to join the CACFP for all providers who serve healthy foods to the children who qualify. Once you are approved, your business can get paid back for up to two meals and one snack, or one meal and two snacks, served to each child each day. The payments are sent to your business each month to help pay for your food costs.

Also, when you participate in the CACFP, you can get free nutrition training for your employees, activities for the children, and other resources to help your business support each child's healthy lifestyle, both at your center and at home.

Joining the CACFP is a good business decision and also an investment in the health of the children you care for. Providing healthy meals and nutrition education in the early years can help children develop healthy habits that will last a lifetime.

Many local organizations act as CACFP sponsors and can support your business by managing the administration of the program for you. You can learn more about available sponsors at the Texas CACFP Sponsors Association website at txcacfp.org. 

To learn more about the CACFP, visit the Texas Department of Agriculture’s website at squaremeals.org. 

Disclaimer

The information contained here is for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal, tax, or financial advice.