Similar to school meals, but targeted at our youngest learners, the Child and Adult Care Food Program offers financial support to help child care providers feed the children in their care. The food program brings child care meals to over 600,000 California children, but only 46% of licensed family child care homes participate and just 20% of licensed child care centers.

The low reach of the food program means less for California—less nutrition assistance for low-income children and less financial assistance to support California’s child care infrastructure. As policymakers start to take on Child Nutrition Reauthorization, a top priority must be to strengthen access to child care meals.

The Access to Healthy Foods for Young Children Act would improve the reach of the food program in California by:

• Allowing another meal or snack for children in full day of care;
• Increasing reimbursement rates for underpaid providers;
• Improving area eligibility so that more children qualify for free child care meals;
• Reducing unnecessary and duplicative paperwork.