Did you know CACFP provides 1.9 billion meals and snacks for over 3.2 million children? CACFP Week is a national campaign designed to raise awareness. Help us!

AUSTIN, TX, USA, February 18, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Hunger is unacceptable to everyone. To combat the food insecurity that 1 in 4 Americans face, there are a number of government programs designed to provide access to healthy food. Most everyone knows about USDA’s School Lunch program and you may have even heard of the WIC program, but did you know that the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) provides 1.9 billion meals and snacks to over 3.2 million children in child care centers, family care homes, and after-school programs? In addition, CACFP provides that same access to over 115,000 elderly persons in Adult Day Care.
The primary goals of the CACFP is to serve nutritious meals to children and help establish positive eating habits at the earliest stages of development. Research indicates that the CACFP is an indicator of quality child care. 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.
Child care providers receive nutrition education and support services from their CACFP sponsors who help 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.
There are thousands of people who are making sure preschool children in America are getting access to healthy foods on a regular basis and many of our neighbors haven’t ever heard of it! That’s the mission of National CACFP Week – to raise awareness across the nation and encourage communities to come together to learn and acknowledge the many ways we all benefit from the hard work and dedication of CACFP professionals and the program itself.
NCA knows that when we all join forces and work together the message we provide is stronger and will receive more attention so the association has issued a challenge to the CACFP Community with "Operation Proclamation" – a program to recognize those who actively raise awareness about the program during National CACFP Week March 13-19, 2016. Free resources including a CACFP Week Toolkit are available at www.cacfp.org.
CACFP Week is a national education and information campaign sponsored annually by the National CACFP Sponsors Association (NCA). The campaign is designed to raise awareness of how the USDA's Child and Adult Care Food Program works to combat hunger and bring healthy foods to the table for adults in day care and children in child care homes, centers, and in afterschool and summer feeding programs across the country.
Since 1986 the National CACFP Sponsor Association (NCA) is the leading national organization for sponsors who administer the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). We provide education and support to the entire CACFP community and in particular to sponsors of all sizes from across the country. We strive to improve communication between families, care givers, sponsors, and their supervising government agencies.

Vicki Lipscomb
National CACFP Sponsors Association
512-850-8278
email us here

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