Nourishing the Next Generation
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federally funded program that provides vital reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks to eligible children.
Through the CACFP Initiative, EIEI partners aggressively with local childcare providers to massively strengthen healthy eating, food security, and physical quality in early childhood settings. We cast a specific focus on group and family childcare programs operating within historically under-resourced communities.
"CACFP plays an indispensable role in ensuring that the children in our care receive the foundational nutrition they desperately need to grow, learn, and thrive properly."
— EIEI Nutrition SpecialistWho Can Participate?
- ✓ Licensed child-care centers & Head Start classrooms (55 Pa. Code §3270/3280)
- ✓ Emergency shelters that house children
- ✓ Outside-school-hours centers attached to private schools
- ✓ Licensed adult day service centers (adults ≥ 60 or with disabilities)
- ✓ At-risk afterschool programs in low-income areas
Baseline Requirements:
DHS or PDE certificate of compliance, current food-service inspection, non-profit tax status (or for-profit centers with ≥25% free-eligible enrollees), not on the USDA National Disqualified List, and an executed management agreement with EIEI.
Why Sponsor Instead of Going It Alone?
EIEI files the CN PEARS application, trains your staff, handles audits, and fronts all monitoring costs—removing the state-agency paperwork barrier so you can join in as little as 30 days.
Unmatched CACFP Benefits
Why partnering with EIEI for food security changes everything.
Financial Support
Receive immediate, direct monetary reimbursements for serving nutritious meals and snacks that continually meet rigorous federal nutrition standards.
Improved Nutrition
Gain unhindered access to expert resources, training, and scientifically balanced menus to serve age-appropriate meals confidently every single day.
Professional Development
Attain on-going professional training for your entire staff centering specifically on complex nutrition, food safety logistics, and healthy physical practices.
Enhanced Program Quality
Dramatically strengthen your childcare program's overall public quality rating, making it immensely appealing to meticulous families seeking healthy options.
Dietary Inclusivity
Drastically increase your capacity to effectively serve children diagnosed with special dietary needs, allergies, and uniquely diverse cultural food traditions.
Community Impact
Actively assist in abolishing neighborhood food insecurity block-by-block, promoting significantly healthier, deeply resilient communities across your region.
Initiative Protocol & Guidelines
Everything you need to know about reimbursements, training, and documentation.
Meal service limits
Up to 3 total services per participant each day in any combination of: breakfast, A.M. snack, lunch, P.M. snack, supper, or late-evening snack.
Key nutrient standards
- ≥ 1 whole-grain-rich item per day
- ≤ 6 g sugar per dry-ounce in cereals; ≤ 23 g sugar/6 oz yogurt
- Milk fat limits: unflavored 1% or non-fat for ages 2+, whole for 1-yr-olds, breast-milk/iron-fortified formula for infants.
- Deep-fat frying on site is prohibited.
Based on FY 2024–2025 Center Reimbursement Rates, payouts scale depending on participant eligibility (Free, Reduced, or Paid). The claim timeline proceeds as follows:
- Daily: Record point-of-service meal counts by participant name.
- Monthly: Submit the claim package to EIEI by the 5th business day.
- EIEI Review: We audit for errors and transmit to PDE’s CN PEARS by the 20th.
- State Processing: ACH hits your bank within 4–6 weeks of PDE acceptance.
To comply with PDE Field Services, records must be retained for 3 years plus the current fiscal year (or until all audit findings are cleared!). Keep the following on site daily:
- Daily signed attendance & meal count sheets (submit copies monthly).
- Menus & production records (food quantities, recipes, CN labels; submit monthly).
- Income eligibility & enrollment forms (submit updates only).
- Vendor invoices, delivery receipts, milk statements (submit totals monthly).
- Monitoring reports & CAPs are not required on-site, as EIEI retains originals.
Annual Training
- Meal-pattern & crediting updates: Live webinar + on-demand clips (Every July & January).
- Civil Rights & non-discrimination: Self-paced module with quiz via USDA FNS (Once per fiscal year).
- Recordkeeping & CN PEARS claim entry: Hands-on workshop (Within 30 days of start & annually).
- Food safety & allergen control: Video + checklist (Onboarding & refresher).
Sponsor Monitoring
We provide 3 reviews/year (2 unannounced), including a first-4-weeks visit for totally new sites. Corrective Action Plan (CAP) templates and direct coaching are always provided.
How Do We Enroll With EIEI?
Follow these step-by-step milestones to secure reimbursement sponsorship quickly.
Application Interest
Complete the 5-minute EIEI New-Site Interest Form, detailing your license number, operational capacity, and projected meal times.
Introductory Call
Within 48 hours we will call you to discuss our claiming software, your current staffing, and your kitchen setup viability.
Pre-Approval Site Visit (Week 1)
An on-site visit where we verify safe food service, meal pattern readiness, and the posting of the mandatory "And Justice for All" poster.
Document Assembly (Weeks 1-2)
You provide your DHS/PDE license, fire/health inspections, IRS 501(c)(3) letter (or for-profit income worksheet), W-9, EFT form for reimbursements, and an authoritative board resolution authorizing CACFP participation.
PEARS Application Push
EIEI automatically uploads the comprehensive CN PEARS application and the required sponsors' agreement for your simple electronic signature.
PDE State Approval
Approval typically takes 15 business days or less once completeness is assured. You may officially start claiming on the very first day of the month following the confirmed approval.
First Claim & Reimbursement
Your highly-anticipated first claim will be filed accurately with EIEI's robust assistance! Expect your initial reimbursement payout to land roughly 6–8 weeks after active meal services begin.
CACFP Resource Gallery
Explore our flyers and documentation for the CACFP Initiative.
The CACFP Initiative
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Nutritional Excellence
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Provider Benefits
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Community Impact
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Exploring our shared journey of growth, learning, and impact across the community.
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