National Child and Adult Care Food Program Week: March 13-19, 2022

Join the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Community as they celebrate a week-long national education and information campaign. The primary goal of CACFP is to serve nutritious meals to children attending child care homes and centers. This program provides over 
2 billion meals and snacks to over 4.9 million children and adults daily.

Secondary goals are:
1. The establishment of positive eating habits at the earliest stages of development.

2. Reduction of future health care and education costs due to lack of proper early development.
3. Training and support of local child care personnel.

Research also indicates that the CACFP is one important factor in providing quality child care. The CACFP operates in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia (DC), Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

During National CACFP Week, Catalyst Community, a California-based nonprofit sponsor of the CACFP joins with South Lake Tahoe (and all of El Dorado County) family child care providers, center staff, and afterschool programs, in acknowledging the many ways our community benefits from the CACFP.

Children that are cared for by providers participating in the CACFP benefit by being fed nutritious USDA-regulated meals that ensure their proper development. These children gain from early nutrition education that helps them establish positive eating habits that will enrich the quality of their diet throughout their life.

Parents of children in child care are assured that their child(ren) receives high-quality meals. With proper nutrition, the child is less likely to experience illness and fatigue and will develop at a normal physical and intellectual pace. Good nutrition is the recipe for an all-around happier child.

Providers receive nutrition education and support services from their CACFP sponsor that helps them serve nutritious meals and create a positive eating environment for children. The quality of child care provided in our community is improved due to educational and financial resources available to caregivers through the CACFP.

This program provides over 2 billion meals and snacks to over 4.9 million children daily in child care centers, family care homes, and after-school programs; over 115,000 elderly persons in Adult Day Care; over 62,000 child care centers; 115,000 family child care providers working with 800 sponsors use CACFP to provide children with high-quality nutrition and learning experiences.

Please join Catalyst Community in honoring all CACFP providers for their invaluable work done on behalf of local children.