The CACFP Sponsor and Provider Characteristics Study is focused on the child care component of the CACFP, which provides federal funds for meals and snacks served to children in public or private child care centers, Head Start programs, outside-school-hours care centers, afterschool care programs, emergency shelters, and day care homes. The study also covered centers that participate in the At-Risk Afterschool (At-Risk) component, which provides meals to children and youth through age 18.
This study—authorized by the 2010 Child Nutrition Act—tests innovative strategies to end childhood hunger.
The 2010 Child Nutrition reauthorization provided funding to test innovative strategies to end childhood hunger and food insecurity.
The Child and Adult Care Food Program subsidizes nutritious meals and snacks served to participants in child care nationwide, providing different levels or “tiers” of meal reimbursement based on the income level of participating children, providers, and nearby geographic areas. Policymakers have long been concerned that programs such as CACFP are not as accessible to eligible children in rural areas as in urban areas.
This study examines the cost of producing National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program meals during school year 2005-06. It measures both reported costs – costs charged directly to school food service accounts – and unreported costs – those costs paid by school districts in support of school food authority operations – to estimate the full cost of meal production.