Published March 19, 2026
This Week is CACFP Week, a national education and information campaign to raise awareness of how the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program works to combat hunger. Learn more here.
Despite its many benefits, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) remains underutilized. A 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed that only 61 percent of eligible child care centers and 67 percent of eligible family child care homes participated in CACFP in 2019. While participation by centers has held steady, there has been a continuous downward trend in participation by child care home providers.
Understanding the barriers to participating in CACFP is important to identify solutions and strategies to address them. Commonly cited barriers that prevent sponsors and providers from participating include:
- inadequate reimbursement rates;
- burdensome and outdated reporting and administrative requirements;
- challenges meeting the meal pattern;
- limited staff and resources to run the program; and
- lack of awareness about the program.
Additionally, recent ongoing federal budget cuts to the child care system is further destabilizing the ability of providers to join and continue operating CACFP.
Fortunately, many of the identified barriers to participation could be addressed through federal legislation.
On the federal level, the following bills, if passed, would improve the reach and effectiveness of CACFP. Reach out to your Members of Congress and ask them to cosponsor these bills to support CACFP and child food security:
S.1420/H.R.2859 — The Child Care Nutrition Enhancement Act
What it does:
- Increases the reimbursement for snacks and meals served by 10 cents.
- Eliminates the two-tier system for qualifying family child care homes.
Sens. Blumenthal (D-CT) and Smith (D-MN) introduced the bill in the Senate, and Reps. Bonamici (D-OR) and Landsman (D-OH) introduced it in the House on April 10, 2025. View the list of current cosponsors: in the Senate here and House here.
S.1447/H.R. 2818 — The Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act
What it does:
- Adds a third meal service to CACFP.
- Changes the payment system for family child care programs to align with centers.
- Simplifies eligibility reporting for for-profit child care centers by allowing annual eligibility.
Sens. Blumenthal (D-CT) and Smith (D-MN) introduced the bill in the Senate, and Reps. Bonamici (D-OR), Mackenzie (R-PA), and Landsman (D-OH) introduced it in the House on April 10, 2025. View the list of current cosponsors: in the Senate here and House here.