New Jersey Department of Agriculture Secretary Ed Wengryn has announced the continuation of a partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The program provides reimbursement for nutritious meals served to individuals in various care settings, including adult and child day care centers, family day care homes, after-school programs, emergency shelters, and head start programs. The funding comes from the USDA and is distributed through agreements with the NJDA based on monthly claims.
Some locations that have successfully used CACFP include Wishing Well Adult Day Health Care Center and Rainbow Children’s Medical Day Care in Mercer County; Programs for Parents in Essex County; Circle of Friends in Union County; Acelero Learning Monmouth/Middlesex Inc.; and Ocean Inc. Child Development Center in Ocean County.
The CACFP is available to public, private nonprofit, and certain for-profit organizations providing licensed or registered non-residential day care services. Eligible organizations can include adult care, childcare facilities, FDCH Sponsors, afterschool programs, schools, foodbanks, city government organizations, and those providing services for children with disabilities or special health needs. For-profit centers may qualify if they receive compensation under Title XX/XIX of the Social Security Act for at least 25% of participants receiving non-residential care or if 25% qualify for free or reduced-price meal benefits.
To apply for CACFP approval involves several steps: completing an outreach survey to determine eligibility; ensuring business requirements are met during pre-registration; completing online training sessions; gaining an agreement number for application access; submitting required records via an online application; undergoing a pre-approval visit to observe operations; and obtaining final approval upon completion of all previous steps.
For more information on applying, interested parties can contact NJDA CACFP at NJCACFPCommunication@ag.nj.gov or call (609)-984-1250. Initial steps include using the NJDA CACFP Outreach and Eligibility Tool.
Reimbursement rates are set from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. According to federal civil rights law and USDA regulations and policies, discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability age or retaliation for prior civil rights activity is prohibited.
