The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federally funded program that provides meal reimbursement to child care centers, adult day care centers,emergency shelters and child care homes for serving nutritious meals. The objectives of CACFP are to:

• Improve the diets of children by providing nutritious meals.
• Help children develop good eating habits that will last through the years.
• Help adults maintain good diets by providing nutritious meals.

This Program serves:

• Children age 0 through 12 years in child care centers.
• Children through age 18 in at risk afterschool programs and emergency shelters.
• Children of migrant workers, through age 15.
• Physically and mentally handicapped persons receiving care in a center or home where most children are 18 years old and younger.
• Elderly or impaired adults in non-residential day care settings.

The funds provided for this Program are from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Program is operated in Iowa through the Bureau of Nutrition Programs and School Transportation in the Department of Education.