Celebrate CACFP: A Program Near You

Ramona Hursey of Champaign, Illinois, Connie Rodgers of New Bern, North Carolina, and Angela Dobbs of Cresca, Iowa, are only a few of the extraordinary child care providers who go above and beyond each day to provide nutritious meals and teach lifetime healthy habits as participants of the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

Each year, more than four-and-a-half million children are served two billion meals and snacks through CACFP in child care centers, family child care homes and afterschool programs. CACFP provides that same access to over 130,000 elderly persons in adult day care. These are staggering numbers. Even more staggering is the fact that without the CACFP, many of those children would not have access to healthy foods or any food at all.

The primary goals of the CACFP are to serve nutritious meals to children and help establish positive eating habits at the earliest stages of development. Research proves that good nutrition in young children not only contributes to their physical growth but to their intellectual and emotional development as well. Children that are cared for by providers participating in the CACFP benefit by being fed nutritious, USDA-regulated meals that ensure their proper development. These children gain from early nutrition education that helps them establish positive eating habits that will enrich the quality of their diet throughout their life. Child care providers receive nutrition education and support services from their CACFP sponsors who help them serve nutritious meals and create a positive eating environment for children. The quality of child care provided in our community is improved due to educational and financial resources available to caregivers through the CACFP.

There are thousands of people who are making sure preschool children in America are getting access to healthy foods on a regular basis and many of our neighbors haven’t even heard of it. That’s the mission of National CACFP Week, a national education and information campaign sponsored annually by the National CACFP Sponsors Association (NCA). The campaign is designed to raise awareness of how the USDA's Child and Adult Care Food Program works to combat hunger and bring healthy foods to the table for adults in day care and children in child care homes, centers and in afterschool and summer feeding programs across the country. Free resources including a CACFP Week Toolkit are available at www.cacfp.org.

Since 1986, the National CACFP Sponsor Association (NCA) is the leading national organization for sponsors who administer the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). We provide education and support to the entire CACFP community and in particular to sponsors of all sizes from across the country. We strive to improve communication between families, caregivers, sponsors and their supervising government agencies.

CONTACT:
Senta Hester, President, National CACFP Sponsors Association
512-850-8278