Tell Your Senators to Improve the Child and Adult Care Food Program

by Helen Blank, Director, Leadership and Public Policy
National Women's Law Center

Last week, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced legislation that would improve young children’s access to nutritious meals in child care centers, family child care homes, and Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

With your help, we can gain support for the Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act of 2009 (S. 2749).

Please urge your Senators to improve the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

The bill, which would strengthen the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), calls for:

·Increasing reimbursement rates for child care centers and family child care homes.

·Adding a third meal or snack option for children in child care, helping to cover the costs of food for children who are in care for longer hours.

·Expanding CACFP family child care home area eligibility, to make more family child care providers eligible for higher levels of reimbursement.

·Increasing the administrative reimbursement rate for CACFP-sponsoring organizations.

·Streamlining and simplifying program and paperwork requirements for states, sponsoring organizations, child care providers, and parents.

We need your help to gain support for this bill so that we can reach even more children.