CACFP Participation in Colorado

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 Education (CDE) - School Nutrition Unit and P-3 Office
  • Grand Beginnings Early Childhood Council
  • Tri-County Health Department (TCHD)
  • Quality nutrition advocates

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  • 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.

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

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

●       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

●       Quality nutrition advocates

Food Desert Data Source:

Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Food Access Research Atlas, https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/

Families with children under 5 living below 185% FPL Data Source:

U.S. Census Bureau, 2015-2019 American Community Survey 5-Year-Estimates, B17022: Ratio of income to poverty level in the past 12 months of families by family type by presence of related children under 18 years by age of related children