If you have questions regarding the Child and Adult Care Food Program, please contact a member of the Child Nutrition staff.
About the Program
The CACFP is a federally funded program that is administered by the states to ensure that eligible children have access to healthy, nutritious food. CACFP serves At-Risk After-School Programs, Adult Day Centers, Child Care Centers, Family Child Care Providers, and Emergency Shelters. The Child and Adult Care Food Program has served 4.2 million children and 130,000 adults nationwide.
CACFP provides aid to child and adult care institutions and family day care homes for the provision of nutritious foods that contribute to the wellness, healthy growth, and development of young children, and the health and wellness of older adults and those 18 years and older who are chronically impaired and/or disabled.
Center programs that want to join CACFP must complete all applicable modules of the CACFP Basic Training before applying to participate. Please email child.nutrition@maine.gov to request access to EnGiNE in order to complete the CACFP Basic Training.
Family Child Care Providers interested in participating in CACFP operate the program under a sponsoring organization. Use this link to access contact information for Family Child Care Provider CACFP Sponsoring Organizations by County.
Please note: New applications are accepted annually between July 1st and April 30th. Trainings must be taken within six months of applying to operate CACFP.
Programs That Can Use CACFP
Provides funding for public and private nonprofit child care centers, Head Start programs, and outside-school-hours care centers. For-profit centers must prove that 25% of those in their care are from low-income families. Up to 2 meals and 1 snack per child per day are reimbursable.
CACFP provides nutritious meals and snacks to infants and children as a regular part of their daycare, reimbursing centers at free, reduced-price, or paid rates to target benefits to those children most in need.
For home child care providers. Up to 2 meals and 1 snack per child per day are reimbursable. CACFP provides reimbursement for meals and snacks for small groups of children receiving nonresidential day care in private homes that are licensed, registered, or approved to provide family child care.
Reimbursements help home providers supplement the cost of providing more nutritious food. Health and safety standards, training, and monitoring make CACFP an important component of quality child care.
See a list of Sponsoring Organizations by County.
Provides funding to after-school programs that serve healthy meals and snacks to children and teens in low-income areas. Up to 1 meal and 1 snack per child per day are reimbursable.
Follow this link for more information about At-Risk After-School Programs.
CACFP supports institutions that want to initiate or improve food service in adult daycare centers. Centers receive payments for serving nutritious meals to adults 60 and older, or adults over 18 who are physically or mentally impaired to the extent that it limits their independence and ability to carry out activities of daily living. Up to 2 meals and 1 snack per adult per day are reimbursable.
Emergency shelters receive the highest payment rates for serving meals to eligible children who meet federal nutritional guidelines. Residents 18 and younger who receive their meals at an emergency shelter are automatically eligible for free meals — there are no application forms for families to fill out. All reimbursable meals are served in group settings at no cost to the child or to the child's family.
The Emergency Shelter FAQs cover which shelters can participate, who is eligible for CACFP meals, and how shelters are reimbursed.
Resources, Forms & Claims Information
- Claims & Rates
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Follow this link for the most recent claims rates.
In order to receive reimbursement, institutions must have an approved agreement with the Maine Department of Education (MDOE). Reimbursement is calculated using the number of reimbursable meals by type (breakfast, lunch, supper, and snack) multiplied by the applicable income eligibility-based rate per meal. Congress sets the reimbursement rates, which are updated yearly.
- Family Child Care Providers are reimbursed for both meals served and a portion of administrative costs.
- Center programs are reimbursed for meals served based on their percentages of free, reduced-price, and paid eligible participants.
- For-profit Centers can only claim reimbursement for months when at least 25% of their enrolled participants (or 25% of their licensed capacity, whichever is less) are eligible for free and reduced-price meal benefits.
Accurate and complete claims for reimbursement are submitted to MDOE Child Nutrition monthly on the proper reimbursement forms, as early as possible following the last day of the month. Claim forms must be received or postmarked no later than 60 calendar days after the last day of the claim month. There is an exception to this rule that can occur once every three years; to receive it, institutions must receive prior approval from MDOE and work with CACFP staff to create and implement a corrective action plan to prevent future occurrences. If adjustments need to be made to a claim after it has been received by MDOE, revisions must be received within the 60-day deadline.
Claims for reimbursement will be paid within 45 days from when they were received. If a claim is incomplete or must be revised, MDOE will advise on how the claim can be corrected. Claims for reimbursement and supporting documentation (menus, portion menus, receipts and invoices for food supplies, Income Eligibility forms, attendance records, and POS meal count records) must be kept on file for three years plus the current year.
Information regarding Basic Training documentation, Annual Training, Civil Rights, Wellness, Nutrition, and useful links from the USDA can be found on the Applicant & Annual Training Resources page.