CACFP Participation in Colorado

Scroll down to learn more about Colorado's Child Care Programs' Participation in CACFP in 2021

Children in child care settings can benefit significantly from receiving healthy meals and snacks which can support their growing bodies and support healthy development. Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal program that reimburses child care programs for serving nutritious meals and snacks to eligible children in their care. CACFP may be especially beneficial given the ongoing impact of COVID-19 for both families and providers. As families continue to experience a change in access to food during the pandemic, maintaining a healthy, balanced diet can become more difficult while remaining critically important . During the pandemic, access to child care in Colorado existed in a state of flux, and a lack of access to food proved to be a challenge for the providers who remained open. CACFP-sponsoring programs operating during COVID-19 provide a critical public good by not only educating the youngest Coloradans but by providing them with nourishing food as well.

The Preschool Development Grant (PDG) Quality Nutrition Workgroup engages in cross-program alignment and strategies to encourage more eligible programs to participate in CACFP. The goal of the PDG Quality Nutrition workgroup is to expand access to quality nutrition for underserved or vulnerable children in the early childhood care and education system ( Colorado Shines Brighter Strategy 2.2.1 ). The group includes representatives from:

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) - CACFP

Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) - Office of Early Childhood

Colorado Department of Education (CDE) - School Nutrition Unit and P-3 Office

Grand Beginnings Early Childhood Council

Tri-County Health Department (TCHD)

Quality nutrition advocates

In this map, we examine CACFP participation, and the potential for expanded participation, in the context of food access and poverty in Colorado.

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Child Care Programs At A Glance

At the time this data was collected in March 2021, Colorado had 3,421 child care programs serving children birth to five, and 1,308 (38%) participated in CACFP. Of the programs participating in CACFP, 44% were family child care home (FCCH) providers; 42% were child care centers (CCC); and 14% were preschools.

The CACFP participation rate among FCCH providers was 57% while CCCs and preschools were at 28% and 10%, respectively. However, it is important to note that in Colorado, all non-profit centers and family child care homes are eligible for CACFP, but not all child care centers and preschools are. Even if a center is not participating in CACFP, they may still participate in another child nutrition program like the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program. FCCHs are not eligible for these other programs. FCCH providers’ CACFP participation rates are therefore likely higher than CCCs and preschools because they are the only providers categorically eligible for CACFP with no other child nutrition program option.

CACFP Participation of Family Homes Aggregated to County Level

This map shows the overall rate of CACFP participation among family child care home providers at the county level. The lighter gradient colors indicate relatively fewer family child care homes participating in CACFP. Gray counties indicate no family child care homes. Click on the county to learn more about CACFP participation.

Food Deserts in Colorado

Lack of access to healthy food options leads to a greater risk of chronic disease and poor health outcomes including diabetes and obesity. The USDA defines food deserts as low access to supermarkets or grocery stores. There are 488 census tracts designated as food deserts in Colorado.

Food Deserts and Child Care Providers

There are many child care programs in Colorado operating in food deserts. In these communities, CACFP can support children enrolled in child care by ensuring providers are reimbursed adequately for serving nutritious meals in their programs. CACFP reimbursement further encourages providers to serve these healthy meals to children that may be otherwise unable to access such a nutritious meal.

Spotlight: Mesa County

Mesa County, home to the city of Grand Junction, had 95 child care programs. 61 of those programs operate in a designated food desert. Of those 61, 28 child care programs participate in CACFP: 21 FCCH, 7 centers, but no preschools. The remaining 33 programs are potential opportunities for CACFP expansion to better serve and feed the children in this area.

Child Care Providers Who May Qualify for CACFP

Many families may not have the resources to meet their basic needs and challenges which increase a family's risk of food insecurity. The CACFP is a program that can help families bridge the gap and receive healthy meals and snacks.

This map shows the density of families with children under five years old living below 185% of the FPL by census tract, which can help illustrate the “potential need” for support with accessing basic needs, like healthy foods. The average number of families with children under five eligible per census tract in Colorado is 20 families.

Non-profit centers and family child care homes operating in areas with a high density of families living below 185% FPL that are not participating in CACFP or another child nutrition program, should be a priority for recruitment. Another set of providers that should be prioritized for recruitment are for-profit centers with at least 25% of enrolled children or licensed capacity from families at 185% FPL or below, as this qualifies the for-profit provider for CACFP participation. Qualifying family income can be established through determination of eligibility for free or reduced meals, the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP), or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Providers Not Participating in CACFP Who May Qualify based on Poverty Data

By overlaying the poverty data with a heat map of child care programs not participating in CACFP, you can see “hot spots” of programs located in areas where families are eligible for programs like free and reduced meals, CCCAP, or SNAP.

A Closer Look: Denver County

Another area with high rates of child care programs not participating in CACFP is the City and County of Denver. The City and County of Denver has 141 child care programs located within census tracts with 20 or more families living below the 185% FPL threshold, as seen in the heat map. Of these child care programs, only 24 family homes, 28 centers, and 2 preschool programs participate in CACFP. Which means 87 programs, specifically the 15 family child care homes, could benefit from resources to expand CACFP participation. Child care centers in Denver present a particularly rich opportunity for expansion: of the city’s 261 centers, a majority (145) did not participate in CACFP yet are also in or within just a half mile of a high-poverty census tract. While we do not know the full picture of potentially eligible for-profit programs, this does demonstrate that there is a strong potential for outreach.

Food Insecurity and Poverty: An Intersection

Examining food deserts alongside family poverty highlights specific areas where the CACFP could meet an urgent need and provide healthy food to underserved children. Family poverty is defined here as census tracts where the number of families with children under five living below 185% FPL is at or above the state average (Colorado’s average = 20 families). So, if a census tract is both a food desert and greater than or equal to the average family poverty, then we highlight that census tract as a space that would particularly benefit from CACFP services. Next, we overlay child care programs to show which providers operate in these highlighted areas and whether they participate in CACFP.

Spotlight: Adams County

There are many highlighted census tract areas (both a food desert and greater than or equal to average family poverty) in Adams County which had a total of 272 child care programs, 123 (45%) of which participate in CACFP. As shown on the map, over half of the programs are not participating in CACFP. While only 31 of Adams County’s 127 family home providers are within a food desert, 58 of them operate within a mile of these census tracts, 22 of which are not CACFP participants. Children in child care programs in these high-need tracts could benefit significantly from CACFP expansion and outreach.

Community Needs Index: Another "Potential need" for CACFP Expansion

The Community Needs Index measures economic and demographic data to better understand community demand for healthcare services. The index score is an average of five different scores measuring barriers to various socio-economic capital for each community at the ZIP-Code level. The darker the gradient, the higher the need.

CNI Index & FCCH low Participation

Many ZIP-Codes in several counties such as Garfield, Logan, Freemont, Phillips, and Arapahoe are designated CNI score ranges between mild to highest need. These counties also have low CACFP participation rates for family homes. Move the slider over to see the clusters of child care programs within these zip codes. These counties could benefit from child nutrition programs to help provide healthy food to children.

Strategies for Change:

Maintain regular data sharing and analysis between Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) - CACFP and Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) - Office of Early Childhood for ongoing monitoring of CACFP participation to inform outreach strategies.
Understand the barriers to CACFP participation, particularly in areas of low food access and high concentration of poverty. Hold community listening sessions, conduct provider surveys or reach out directly to non-participating providers to learn about why they are not participating. Create toolkits in English and Spanish to address those provider pain points that can be resolved.
Consider how to review and align standards and monitoring procedures across licensing, child nutrition programs, and other programs to reduce the administrative burden of compliance for providers.
Boost awareness of CACFP among non-participating providers. Partner with CACFP sponsor organizations, Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, the state CACFP office and other groups that work directly with child care providers to get the word out about CACFP.
Work with partners to develop a user-friendly factsheet about CACFP, addressing common questions and translated into all languages spoken in the community. Consider targeted outreach to home-based child care programs who may need assistance with enrolling CACFP.
Recruit provider ambassadors who already participate to help spread the word about CACFP to other providers in their networks or communities. Compensate them with stipends, kitchen supplies, or access to free or discounted trainings.
Increase CACFP reimbursement rates by seeking additional federal funding. Providers who are not participating may feel that reimbursement rates are not high enough to justify participation.
Fund technical assistance and nutrition coaching through CACFP sponsors, Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, or other community partners to help child care providers enroll in CACFP and build healthier nutrition practices.
Promote healthy food financing initiatives or other policy strategies to increase food access in areas with poor access to nutritious food (aka “food deserts”.) Child care providers operating in those areas may not participate in CACFP because they have limited access to healthy foods. 
Support proposals to expand CACFP and/or talk to your Members of Congress about supporting the proposed expansion to CACFP.
Reach out to your state policymakers to share the needs of families within your community along with recommendations to leverage federal relief dollars to support the quality improvement of child nutrition.
Share this map widely and with ECE stakeholders in your state to bring awareness of CACFP as a critical program to ensure access to nutritious food for young children.

Interact with the Map

Click the map below which has all the data in the story map; includes the ability to toggle layers on and off, and filter child care providers by participation in CACFP and county.

CACFP Participation in Colorado 2021

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