CACFP Participation in Vermont

Scroll down to learn more about Vermont's Child Care Programs' Participation in CACFP in 2022

Introduction

Children in child care settings can benefit significantly from receiving nutritious meals which support their growing bodies and support healthy development. The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal nutrition program that reimburses eligible child care programs for serving healthy meals and snacks to children in their care based on the type of meal served and the income of the child’s family. CACFP may be especially beneficial as child care providers and families continue to experience the impact of COVID-19. 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 Vermont 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 Vermonters but by providing them with nourishing food as well.

The Vermont Department of Health, Child Development Division, and Agency of Education want to support child care programs that participate in CACFP and encourage more eligible programs to participate. In this map, we examine CACFP participation and the potential for expanded participation in the context of food access and poverty.

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CACFP Participation

The map shows child care programs not participating in CACFP (in red) as the largest clusters throughout the state. Vermont has 1,111 child care programs, and 234 (21%) participate in CACFP. The majority of CACFP participating programs (65%) are licensed and registered family child care (FCC) providers, 32 percent are center-based programs (CCC) and 3 percent are afterschool child care programs.

CACFP Participation at the County Level

This map shows the overall rate of CACFP participation of Vermont child care programs at the county level. The lighter gradient colors indicate relatively fewer child care programs participating in CACFP. The average CACFP participation by county in Vermont is 23 percent, and nine counties sport CACFP participation rates below that level. Throughout this story map, we will highlight a few of these counties and why they may be in strategic positions to benefit for CACFP participation expansion. Click on the county to learn more about CACFP participation.

Food Deserts

Lack of access to healthy food options leads to a greater chance of diabetes and obesity. The USDA defines food deserts as low access to supermarkets or grocery stores. There are 39 census tracts, or neighborhoods, designated as food deserts in Vermont, meaning there is low access to healthy and nutritious food within 1 mile for urban areas and 10 miles for rural areas by census tract.

Child Care Programs in Food Deserts

There are 308 child care programs in Vermont operating in food deserts, 249 (80%) of which do not participate in CACFP. 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 reimbursements further encourage providers to serve nutritious meals to children who may otherwise be unable to access daily nutrient needs.

Spotlight: Chittenden County

Chittenden county is home to Burlington, Vermont's largest city, and Essex, the second largest populated incorporated area in Vermont. Most of the food deserts (census tracts highlighted in brown) lie within parts of Burlington, South Burlington, and Essex. The map shows more child care programs not participating in CACFP (148 programs, or 87%) within or at most two miles away from the food desert tracts. Expanding CACFP participation in this area can benefit children in these food desert tracts access nutrient dense meals.

Areas of Potential CACFP Eligibility

CACFP plays an important role in making meals more affordable for low-income families and increasing the overall quality of a child care program. Eligible child care programs who participate in CACFP are reimbursed for snacks and meals depending on each child’s family household income and the type of meal served. Programs receive higher reimbursement rates for families who are at or below 185% of the federal poverty level (FPL) (see here and here ).

This map shows the number of families with children under the age of five who have household incomes at or below 185% FPL. This view can help illustrate the potential need to provide access to meals for low-income families with young children. Even if families live near sources of healthy food (i.e., outside of food deserts), they may not have the financial means to regularly access it. This map shows that the average number of families with children under five who are eligible for snacks/meals reimbursable at the free or reduced-price rate in Vermont is 17 families per census tract.

Providers Near CACFP-Qualifying Families

By overlaying the poverty data with child care providers, you can see hot spots of providers working in areas where higher-need families are eligible for assistance.

Red indicates programs that are not participating in CACFP. Move the arrows to either side to swipe between the two map views and see more detail.

Spotlight: Barre Town and Barre City

Both Barre Town (census tracts 9553 and 9554) and Barre City (census tracts 9551 and 9552) are in Washington County but are considered separate municipalities. The town and city are also made up of contrasting poverty levels. Together, the town and the city have 22 child care programs, 15 (68%) of which are not participating in CACFP and operating in census tracts with areas of high concentration of lower-income families. The neighboring census tracts have an additional 17 child care programs two miles away, and 13 of those providers are also not yet participating in CACFP. The majority of non-participating programs could therefore be potential targets for CACFP expansion to better serve and feed the children in this area.

Food Insecurity and Poverty: An Intersection

We want to examine food deserts alongside family poverty to highlight specific areas where CACFP could especially meet an urgent need and provide healthy food to economically underprivileged children in food-scarce areas. We define family poverty here as census tracts where the number of families with children under five living below 185% FPL is at or above the state average (Vermont’s average = 17 families per tract). So, if a census tract is both a food desert and greater than or equal to the state’s average for 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.

In Vermont, there are 157 providers operating within a highlighted tract. 128 (82%) of those providers are not yet participating in CACFP. By enrolling in CACFP, these providers could have an outsized impact in helping low-income children access healthy, nutritious meals in their neighborhoods. As we know that parents seek care outside of their own neighborhoods, providers close to these tracts should also be considered for expansion. An additional 187 providers within 2 miles of highlighted tracts, are not participating in CACFP. When added to the providers just identified, there are a total of 315 providers that can be prioritized for expansion advocacy and efforts statewide.

Spotlight: Rutland Town

Rutland County is the second-most populous county in Vermont. It has a CACFP participation rate of only 9.6 percent, with several census tracts highlighted as food deserts and a high concentration of low-income families. These census tracts are in the town of Rutland, which has a total of 32 child care programs, over half (81%) of which do not participate in CACFP. While the town of Rutland is highlighted as a place of interest to target resources for CACFP expansion, the town surrounds the city of Rutland, a separate municipality. Counting the town and city's child care programs together, 6 participate in CACFP while 31 (84%) do not. Children in child care programs both in and near these high-need tracts could benefit significantly from CACFP expansion and outreach.

The Child Opportunity Index

When considering CACFP capacity building, it is wise to take into account other factors besides those that directly relate to the program itself (i.e., family income and food availability). In an attempt to bring a lens of equity to the conversation of CACFP distribution, we consider the Child Opportunity Index (COI), a spatial dataset rigorously created by Diversity Data Kids . The revised, “2.0” index built upon the same census tracts used for our analyses above was created with the idea that children’s location is one of the “most powerful influences on [their] access to opportunit[ies].” Neighborhoods influence where its children receive their education, have (un)safe spaces for play and creative learning, are supplied by their parent or guardians’ incomes, and, of course, have access to healthy foodstuffs. Through statistical and map-based methodologies, the COI 2.0 tells stories about neighborhoods across the country, their existing embedded inequities, and the effects of those spatial realities on the children who live there. The COI is a statistically significant predictor of child outcomes in adulthood and thus provides important context to the discussion of CACFP expansion in Vermont. The COI, shown on the map here, is represented at a state level by statistically dividing census tracts into five categories of increasing opportunity for children. The darkest green represents those areas of highest opportunity for children, while less green areas identify neighborhoods with fewer resources to promote optimal development and are considered areas of lower opportunity. The darker the gradients, the higher the predicted opportunity for child success. Tracts with no population are excluded.

There are some stark patterns in inequities across Vermont’s cities:

Burlington City

Rutland City and Town:

Montpelier:

But areas of low opportunity (that could perhaps be considered “child opportunity deserts” exist for less urban and rural areas too such as:

Essex County:

Orleans County:

Spotlight: Child Opportunity and CACFP Participation around St. Johnsbury

Despite serving lower populations, programs in rural areas should not be overlooked when expanding CACFP participation statewide as they can be valuable advocates for healthy, nutritious food for children. St. Johnsbury is the largest shire town located in the largely rural Caledonia County. While the COI estimates St. Johnsbury’s census tracts as both having the lowest child opportunity levels (“very low”), this rural town is surrounded by a mix of higher COI areas which signals the potential benefit in targeted outreach and connections from other local villages and incorporated areas. Within St. Johnsbury, there are 16 child care programs, 7 of which do not participate in CACFP. 2 miles away are three additional child care programs that could also serve children from St. Johnsbury. These three programs operate in census tracts the COI calculates as low and moderate opportunity areas, slightly higher than St. Johnsbury which is a “very low” opportunity area. And five miles from St. Johnsbury are an additional 16 child care programs, nearly all of which operate in areas of better child opportunity. This highlights two things: (1) supporting child care programs in surrounding areas of St. Johnsbury could potentially benefit children living in the St. Johnsbury area. And (2) there are potential peer-building connections with the total 15 CACFP participating child care providers operating in or within a 5-mile radius of the St. Johnsbury area to support the 17 programs not yet participating in CACFP. The potential to foster trusting, local connections could expand CACFP benefits to the children cared for at the remaining non-participating programs in the area.

Strategies for Change

For Vermont

Vermont stakeholders with an interest in reducing nutrition insecurity will use the map to engage in conversations and generate actions relating to:

Increasing reimbursement to ECE programs through both federal and state avenues. CACFP is not wholly universal to all child care programs with low reimbursement rates identified as a barrier by the early childhood field.
Increasing the capacity and number of CACFP sponsor organizations in targeted regions across Vermont. Expanding capacity of existing sponsors and identifying new sponsor organizations can alleviate administrative barriers to CACFP participation, particularly in high-need areas where compounding factors of poverty, food deserts, and low child opportunity index scores disproportionately affect young children and their families.
Aligning CACFP-related standards and procedures with other early childhood systems. Early childhood providers’ report spending too much time on administrative duties. Aligning CACFP compliance processes with other early childhood administrative processes can reduce administrative burdens and help to make CACFP participation more financially viable.
Engaging in grassroots advocacy with state legislators and Congress. Increased awareness among policymakers about where nutrition insecurities exist for Vermont’s young children and families will help frame the issue for lawmakers and contribute to their understanding of needs for action.
Increasing equity by guiding implementation of new programs and/or expansion and alignment of existing programs to reach the early childhood sector (i.e., ensuring nutrition services are a component in Act 45 efforts related to financing the Vermont early childhood system; local purchasing incentive; universal school meals; farm-to-school and early childhood, etc.) Visual data in the map provides Vermont with valuable information about where to direct resources to support a more equitable early learning system and improve the evaluation processes related to awarding grants.
Convening stakeholders. Supporting efforts to convene various stakeholder groups who work broadly on anti-hunger initiatives.

Overall

Other strategies to improve and expand CACFP participation from other states funded under this project have included:

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.   
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 the CACFP. 
Recruit child care program 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 with supplemental state funding. Programs 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 (CCR&Rs), or other community partners to help child care programs enroll in the CACFP and build healthier nutrition practices.  
Recruit and fund new CACFP sponsor organizations, particularly in high-need areas.
Include CACFP participation in the state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System.
Promote nutritious food financing initiatives or other policy strategies to increase food access in areas with poor access to nutritious food (aka “food deserts”). Child care programs operating in those areas may not participate in the CACFP because they have limited access to healthy foods.  
Support proposals to expand CACFP and/or use this data in conversations with your Members of Congress about supporting the proposed expansion to CACFP at the national level.
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.
Educate policymakers about the impact of Farm to ECE for programs and children and highlight why additional state funding is needed to support this program.
Develop a system of support for child care providers that will include resources, best practices and details on how to fill out relevant paperwork and establish a mentorship program for interested programs to match with participating providers.
Ask your local stakeholder advisory committee to partake in any of the above recommendations (e.g., engage in listening sessions, review factsheets, become child care program ambassadors, help boost awareness, etc.) to ensure your efforts are driven by local representation.
Maintain regular, interoperable data sharing and analysis between ECE and CACFP data holders and curators (e.g., state departments of public health, departments of health and human services, offices of early childhood, CCR&Rs for ongoing monitoring of CACFP participation to inform outreach strategies and capacity building. (Adapted strategy from the Colorado PDG Quality Nutrition Workgroup, 2021 )
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.

Map Dashboard

Click on the map dashboard below to view and interact with all the data featured in the story map. This map dashboard includes the ability to toggle layers on and off and filter child care providers by participation in CACFP and county. For more information, click the "How to use this map" tab underneath the map. Click the export icon in the upper right corner to view the map dashboard in a new tab.

CACFP Participation in VT: 2022

Technical Notes

Census tracts [outlined in light gray] within counties [outlined in bold black]

As a note, a census tract is a statistical subdivision of a county, an area roughly equivalent to a neighborhood with a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people. When the Census Bureau reports data by various geographic areas, there is a hierarchy wherein census tracts make up counties or wards. The census tract geographic unit of analysis allows us to see the state's population in more uniform portions within counties. For this mapping project, we use both census tract-level and county-level data.