Child and Adult Care Food Program Meals

Participating child-care homes and centers, adult day-care centers, afterschool programs, and emergency shelters serve federally supported meals and snacks.

Eligible child or adult in a participating care settingEligible youth in a participating afterschool program or emergency shelter

Entitlement facts

Benefit type: Government benefit. A government-funded or administered benefit, service, coverage program, assistance program, or public access route. Taxonomy definition →
What it unlocks: Nutritious meals and snacks through an eligible participating care setting, including meals at the free rate in qualifying afterschool programs and emergency shelters.
Who qualifies: Eligible child or adult in a participating care setting; Eligible youth in a participating afterschool program or emergency shelter
Requirements: The participant must attend or reside in an eligible participating setting. Age, disability, enrollment, site, and household-income rules depend on the CACFP component.
How to activate: Ask the care provider, afterschool program, or shelter whether it participates and complete any required enrollment or meal-benefit form.
Cost basis: Variable by provider or eligibility. The user's out-of-pocket cost cannot be represented by one fixed amount because it depends on provider policy, income, household, geography, selected service, coverage group, subsidy amount, or the underlying program. It may be free, reduced, sliding-scale, or partly paid.
Cost and fees: Meal cost depends on the setting and eligibility category; CACFP does not create a cash benefit paid to participants.
Geography: US, Participating care settings
Personalization: Published eligibility is not described as individually targeted.

EVIDENCE / 1 SOURCE

Eligibility is conditional, not guaranteed.

Check the provider's final terms immediately before applying, depositing funds, spending, or changing a paid relationship.

01USDA Food and Nutrition Serviceprovider↗

MACHINE RECORD

{
  "id": "child-adult-care-food-program",
  "name": "Child and Adult Care Food Program Meals",
  "provider": "USDA Food and Nutrition Service",
  "entitlement_type": "government-benefit",
  "entitlement_type_label": "Government benefit",
  "entitlement_type_context": {
    "definition": "A government-funded or administered benefit, service, coverage program, assistance program, or public access route.",
    "domain": "public-benefits",
    "archetype": "direct-program",
    "agent_instruction": "Identify the administering jurisdiction and disclose income, household, age, disability, immigration, residence, renewal, fee, and capacity rules that apply."
  },
  "summary": "Participating child-care homes and centers, adult day-care centers, afterschool programs, and emergency shelters serve federally supported meals and snacks.",
  "benefit": {
    "description": "Nutritious meals and snacks through an eligible participating care setting, including meals at the free rate in qualifying afterschool programs and emergency shelters.",
    "estimated_value_usd": null
  },
  "discovery": {
    "focus": "public-service",
    "has_estimated_dollar_value": false
  },
  "access": {
    "relationships": [
      "Eligible child or adult in a participating care setting",
      "Eligible youth in a participating afterschool program or emergency shelter"
    ],
    "requirements": "The participant must attend or reside in an eligible participating setting. Age, disability, enrollment, site, and household-income rules depend on the CACFP component.",
    "activation": "Ask the care provider, afterschool program, or shelter whether it participates and complete any required enrollment or meal-benefit form.",
    "cost_basis": "varies",
    "cost_basis_label": "Variable by provider or eligibility",
    "cost_basis_context": {
      "classification": "variable",
      "definition": "The user's out-of-pocket cost cannot be represented by one fixed amount because it depends on provider policy, income, household, geography, selected service, coverage group, subsidy amount, or the underlying program. It may be free, reduced, sliding-scale, or partly paid.",
      "agent_instruction": "Read and disclose the record's fees and requirements; use the most precise bounded price or variation reason available instead of repeating only that cost varies.",
      "variation_patterns": [
        "bounded price range",
        "provider-set price",
        "income-based sliding scale",
        "coverage or service-dependent cost sharing",
        "partial subsidy",
        "directory of programs with different terms"
      ],
      "does_not_mean": [
        "universally free",
        "cost information was necessarily omitted"
      ]
    },
    "fees": "Meal cost depends on the setting and eligibility category; CACFP does not create a cash benefit paid to participants.",
    "personalized": false,
    "regions": [
      "US",
      "Participating care settings"
    ],
    "expires": null
  },
  "status": "verified",
  "last_checked": "2026-08-04",
  "claim_url": "https://www.fns.usda.gov/cacfp/why-cacfp-important",
  "source_url": "https://www.fns.usda.gov/cacfp/why-cacfp-important",
  "source": {
    "primary_url": "https://www.fns.usda.gov/cacfp/why-cacfp-important",
    "evidence": [
      {
        "source": "USDA Food and Nutrition Service",
        "url": "https://www.fns.usda.gov/cacfp/why-cacfp-important",
        "kind": "provider",
        "checked_at": "2026-08-04"
      }
    ]
  },
  "parent": null,
  "coverage": {
    "level": "national",
    "family": "food-and-nutrition",
    "jurisdiction": "United States",
    "maturity": "direct"
  },
  "web_url": "/benefits/child-adult-care-food-program",
  "taxonomy": {
    "version": "1.0",
    "url": "/api/v1/taxonomy"
  }
}

View JSON ↗

Child and Adult Care Food Program Meals

Entitlement facts

Eligibility is conditional, not guaranteed.

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