Nutrition Services

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federally assisted meal program that was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In California, this program provides nutritious meals and snacks to more than 500,000 children in day care homes and child care centers each day, as well as to more than 100,000 adults who receive care in nonresidential adult day care centers. The CACFP reaches even further to provide meals to children residing in homeless shelters, and snacks and suppers to youths participating in eligible after school care programs.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: CACFP Program Moved to California Department of Social Services(CDSS).
The Early Childhood Development Act of 2020 (Senate Bill (SB) 98, Chapter 24, Statutes of 2020) authorized the transfer of child care and development programs administered by the California Department of Education to the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) effective July 1, 2021. For more information visit the CDSS web page .

School Nutrition Program (SNP)

The School Nutrition Program (SNP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions throughout the United States. In California, nutritionally balanced low-cost or free meals are served to more than 4 million children each day through this program. The School Nutrition Program consists of the following program types, administered by the California Department of Education (CDE):  National School Lunch, School Breakfast, Special Milk, Meal Supplements, and Seamless Summer Option.

For specific details related to allowable operating and administrative costs, program income, and meals, please refer to this link: School Nutrition Programs: Revenue and Costs or contact the SNP Specialist for your sponsoring agency. If the claim preparer has questions related to claim completion or payments, they may contact the Nutrition Fiscal Services Unit, 1-800-952-5609.

Claim Submission Information

• School Nutrition Program Reimbursement Instruction Booklet (DOCX)
  Claim for reimbursement instructions for SNP sponsors.
• Claim Submission Deadlines
  Claim submission deadline dates for SNP.
• Late Claims
  SNP policies and procedures for submitting late claims.
  
• Address Changes
  Instructions for submitting SNP address changes.

Year-End Claim Submission Information

• Revenue and Costs
  Instructions for reporting revenue and costs on the Claim Cost Details report.
• Depreciation of Nonexpendable Food Service Equipment
  Instructions for reporting Depreciation of Nonexpendable Food Service Equipment.
• Allocating Food Service Costs for Residential Child Care Institutions
  Instructions for sponsors of Residential Child Care Institutions (RCCI) on allocating food service costs.

Worksheets

• SNP and SSO Reimbursement Calculation Worksheet: Available in CNIPS, Download Forms, Form ID SNP 77
  Monthly worksheet to calculate meal reimbursement for School Nutrition Program and/or Seamless Summer Option (SSO) sponsors.
  

Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a federally assisted meal program that was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is administered by the California Department of Education (CDE). The SFSP was developed in order to provide nutritious meals in lower-income areas during the summer months to children who would normally be eligible for free and reduced-price meals during the regular school year. CDE reimburses participating agencies (sponsors) meals times rates for the operational and administrative cost of providing meals.

For specific program details please refer to the Summer Food Service Program web page or contact the SFSP Specialist for your sponsoring agency. If the claim preparer has questions related to claim completion or payments, they may contact the Child Nutrition Fiscal Services Unit at 1-800-952-5609.

Claiming Submission Information

• Summer Food Service Program Reimbursement Instruction Booklet (DOCX)
  Claim for Reimbursement instructions for sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program.
• SFSP Claim Submission Deadlines
  Claim submission deadline dates for Summer Food Service Program.
• Late Claims
  Summer Food Service Program policies and procedures for submitting late claims.
  
• SFSP Address Changes
  Instructions for submitting SFSP Address Changes.

Worksheets

• SFSP Reimbursement Calculation Worksheet: Available in CNIPS, Download Forms, Form ID SFSP 57
  Monthly worksheet to calculate meal reimbursement for SFSP sponsors.

Analyst Directory

Directory of Nutrition Claims Analysts for SNP and SFSP claims-related questions. Please include your Vendor number and CNIPS ID on all email correspondence with your Claims Analyst.

Please direct all claim-related questions for CACFP to the CACFP Fiscal Unit at CACFPClaims@dss.ca.gov. Additional information can be found on the California Department of Education Nutrition web page.