by Crystal FitzSimons

Providing food can draw children into quality afterschool programs that keep them learning, safe and out of trouble while their parents work, and federal funding is now available to cover the costs.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) will reimburse cities for providing snacks to school children age 19 and under who participate in an afterschool program. The program must be located in a low-income area where 50 percent or more of the children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.

CACFP also will reimburse cities for providing supper to children under the age of 13.

A city can provide up to two meals and a snack each day, whether it is supper and snacks in afterschool programs or multiple meals at weekend programs. The children are individually qualified for free, reduced-price or paid meals, which determines the reimbursement the city receives.

Cities in Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania have the additional option of providing supper to school children age 19 and under at afterschool programs in low-income areas, and all of the suppers are reimbursed at the free rate. Cities can serve a supper and a snack if the afterschool program runs long enough.

The funding for the nutrition programs adds up. This school year, the 65 cent snack reimbursement means an additional $117 per child in federal funding. The $2.40 free supper reimbursement equals an additional $432 per child. But since CACFP is an entitlement program, the funding grows with each additional child served.

Suppers in Washington, D.C.
This year the Washington, D.C., Parks and Recreation Department will provide supper to children participating in parks and recreation or community-based afterschool programs. The city initially will feed 2,260 children at 64 programs, and it plans to serve 125 afterschool programs by the end of the school year.

By sponsoring CACFP for community-based programs, Washington, D.C., makes it possible for small afterschool programs with limited administrative capacity to receive federally funded meals.

The city began looking into the need for an afterschool supper program when children who participated in its summer food program began asking staff what they should do for food when the program ended. Then, the city discovered that many of its afterschool program staff filled the nutrition void by using their own money to purchase food for the children. 

Because the city is reimbursed based on the children?s eligibility for free or reduced-price school meals, Lincoln Jenkins, the coordinator of both CACFP and summer food, is working with the school district to qualify the children using their school meal applications, which makes administering the program much easier.

Snacks in Alexandria, Va.
The City of Alexandria?s Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Activities provides snacks through CACFP to the 1,300 children that participate in its 16 afterschool programs.

Participation in CACFP equates to approximately $10,000 per month for Alexandria. The funds cover the snack and administrative costs. Prior to participating in CACFP, the city was not able to offer snacks at all of its programs. Now the city contracts with the Alexandria School District to provide snacks.

Margaret Orlando, who runs the program for the city, does not find it challenging to administer, but stated that it is important to stay on top of the paperwork.

Details: More information on CACFP and a list of state CACFP contacts are available at the Food Research and Action Center?s Afterschool Resource Center website at www.frac.org.

For more information on NLC?s efforts to assist municipal officials in promoting child nutrition and supporting afterschool programs, visit www.nlc.org/iyef.

Crystal FitzSimons is Senior Policy Analyst at the Food Research and Action Center in Washington, D.C.