What is the CACFP?
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal program that provides reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks to eligible children and adults who are enrolled for care at participating child care centers, day care homes, and adult day care centers. CACFP also provides reimbursements for meals served to children and youth participating in after school care programs, children residing in emergency shelters, and adults over the age of 60 or living with a disability and enrolled in day care facilities. CACFP contributes to the wellness, healthy growth, and development of young children and adults in the United States. Click here for a direct link to the USDA’s CACFP website.
The CACFP in Minnesota is overseen by the MN Department of Education. Click here for a link visit their site.
CCNI is a sponsor of the CACFP in the state of Minnesota. Our main office is in Ivanhoe and we have staff who work from home throughout the entire state. We serve approximately 600 family child care providers participating on the CACFP.
Is the CACFP worth it? We say, absolutely YES! Check out this page for more information.
Why should you enroll with CCNI’s as your food program sponsor?
Per Minnesota state daycare licensing for meals and snacks, well-balanced meals and snacks must be offered daily. Food served during the day must include servings from each of the basic food groups as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Code of Federal Regulations, title 7, section 226.20. Do you want to receive monetary compensation for doing what you’re already required to do? Once enrolled in the CACFP, not only will you receive the monetary compensation for valid claims, you’ll also receive annual Minnesota Develop Approved training when attending one of our spring CCNI workshops, networking, support, and much more. During each visit I will continue to provide you with resources in the form of helpful tools, fun tips, and training! The home visits are a wonderful way of learning more about the CACFP and provide a time for one-on-one customer service.
Additional Resources Include:
- Easy to use paper forms (we don’t do dots at CCNI)
- Online claiming options: KidKare and a CCNI developed Excel program that mimics our paper forms
- Website for providers and parents with activities, resources, links and so much more!
- Annual Record Keeping Calendar
- Grant opportunity for newly licensed providers if eligible
- Monthly newsletters
- CCNI’s Kids Meal Plan booklet complete with 8 weeks of menu ideas, shopping lists, and more!
- Direct Deposit
- Friendly and experienced staff
Provider Reimbursement Rates for Day Care Homes
July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024
All providers participating on the CACFP are eligible to be reimbursed at the following rates per child (Tier II):
Breakfast – $0.59
Lunch/Supper – $1.88
Snacks – $0.25
Some providers are eligible for these increased rates if qualifying by income, area, or contact the office to inquire about other options (Tier I):
Breakfast – $1.65
Lunch/Supper – $3.12
Snacks – $0.93
How to check your Tier Area
The rates are based off many factors, including provider household income, census data, school district data, etc. For Minnesota family child care providers, if you’re interested in finding out if your home/licensed facility is in a Tier I area visit this link and follow the instructions below.
- In the top right corner, type your facility address
- On the right hand side under the house icon there is an icon called “expand”. Click that and you would click on that and select “Imagery Hybrid”
- Ensure that the red pin is right on top of your facility, if it is not you can move the map and/or the pin until you have the pin directly on top of the facility.
- Lastly, you’ll look to the left side of your screen and under Eligibility you’ll check the boxes for both school and census. If the map then shows shading over your facility either solid red, dotted red, or both; you are in a Tier 1 area. If there is no shading, you are in a Tier 2 area.
- Please note that the map changes and final official approval of the tier rates comes from Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) at the time of your CACFP application approval. We cannot guarantee tier area based off the map until approval from MDE.