Tennessee Daycare CACFP Food Program: How to Enroll and Get Meal Reimbursements

What CACFP Covers for Home Daycares

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) reimburses licensed home daycare providers for meals and snacks served to enrolled children. You don't apply directly to the USDA — enrollment works through an approved sponsoring organization that handles the paperwork, training, and reimbursement claims on your behalf.

CACFP is optional. You can run a licensed home daycare without it. But for providers serving five to twelve children daily, the reimbursements meaningfully offset food costs — especially if you qualify for Tier I rates.

Tier I vs. Tier II Rates

CACFP reimburses at two tiers based on the provider's location or the income of enrolled families. For the July 2025 through June 2026 federal fiscal year, the rates for Tennessee home daycare providers are:

Tier I (low-income area or provider):

• Breakfast: $1.70 per child
• Lunch or supper: $3.19 per child
• Snack: $0.95 per child

Tier II (all other providers):

• Breakfast: $0.62 per child
• Lunch or supper: $1.92 per child
• Snack: $0.26 per child

You qualify for Tier I if your home is located in a low-income area (based on school free/reduced-price meal data) or if your household income falls at or below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines. Otherwise, Tier II rates apply — though individual children from low-income families can still be claimed at Tier I rates if their family qualifies.

How to Enroll

1. Get your TDHS license first. CACFP enrollment requires a valid child care license. You cannot participate while operating under the licensing-exempt threshold.

2. Find a sponsoring organization. Contact the Tennessee Department of Human Services or search the USDA's sponsor listing for approved CACFP sponsors serving Tennessee home providers. The sponsor handles your claims, provides nutrition training, and conducts monitoring visits.

3. Complete the sponsor's enrollment forms. These typically include an application, a household income statement (for Tier I qualification), and a home review checklist covering food preparation areas and storage.

4. Attend CACFP training. Your sponsor will require initial training on meal patterns, record-keeping, and claiming procedures before you can submit reimbursement claims.

What You Must Document

CACFP adds real administrative work to your daily routine. You'll need to maintain:

• Daily meal participation records showing each child's name and which meals they received
• Menus showing that served meals meet USDA meal pattern requirements (grains, meat/alternates, vegetables, fruits, milk)
• Attendance records matching your TDHS attendance logs
• Receipts for food purchases (your sponsor may require these during monitoring visits)

Your sponsor will conduct at least three monitoring visits per year, including at least one unannounced visit during a meal service. They verify that the meals you serve match your menus and that your records are accurate.

Is CACFP Worth the Paperwork?

Run the numbers for your situation. A Tier I provider serving seven children two meals and one snack daily could receive roughly $41 per day — about $900 per month over 22 weekdays. Tier II rates are lower but still meaningful: roughly $20 per day for the same meal pattern.

The trade-off is the documentation burden. Every meal needs records. Your menus need to meet USDA patterns. And you'll face sponsor monitoring visits on top of your regular TDHS licensing inspections.

For most licensed home providers, the financial benefit outweighs the extra paperwork — especially since you're already maintaining daily attendance records for TDHS compliance.

The Tennessee Home Daycare Licensing Guide includes a section on CACFP enrollment alongside the subsidy programs, with a record-keeping template that covers both TDHS and CACFP documentation requirements in one daily log.

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