NCA 2024 Advocacy Round-Up

Endorsed and Advocated for Vital CACFP Bills 

This past year, NCA endorsed 4 bills: the Child Care Nutrition Enhancement Act and the Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act and their senate partner bills. Both bills make important improvements to the CACFP that would benefit operators and expand access to the program. In order to garner more congressional support for the bills, NCA launched two campaigns that made it quick and easy for our community to send a letter to their congressional officials. As a result, over 20,000 letters were sent by advocates from every state and Puerto Rico. 

Supported Our Community in Commenting on USDA’s Proposed Rule  

In February of this year, USDA released a proposed rule on the Serious Deficiency Process in the CACFP and SFSP. NCA conducted meeting with NCA members, conversations with partner organizations, and extensive research, to understand the needs of our community. NCA developed model comments that our community used to help shape their comments and provide their personalized feedback to USDA. NCA also submitted an organizational response to the proposed rule – providing greater detail and explanation.  

Produced State of the CACFP Report 

At the start of 2024, NCA set out to understand the experiences of sponsoring organizations and operators of the CACFP. To do so, NCA sent out a survey to our members to obtain feedback about their circumstances, successes, and challenges with the program. Our team collected and analyzed the survey to produce the State of the Child and Adult Care Food Program report. The report was shared with our community, congressional offices, USDA, and various other stakeholders to help inform CACFP policy moving forward. 

CACFP Recognition in Seventeen States and Congress 

National CACFP Week in 2024, had more recognition than ever before. NCA engaged congressional offices in the House and the Senate to introduce resolutions for National CACFP Week. With NCA support, a bi-partisan resolution was introduced in both chambers of commerce and passing in the Senate by unanimous consent. In addition, advocates in seventeen states worked with their governors to proclaim the third week of March as CACFP Week in their state. 

Highlighted the Power of the Food Program 

To encourage higher participation in the CACFP and simultaneously highlight the great work going on in the CACFP community, NCA revamped our member showcases to show the Power of the Food Program. Over the course of the year, NCA has spotlighted thirteen outstanding sponsors of the CACFP. These stories are shared with CACFP stakeholders and potential participants to show the positive impact of the program and the commitment of those who operate the CACFP. 

Looking Forward to FY2025 

• NCA is committed to building an engaged community of advocates! Want to be a part of it? Make the pledge to be a CACFP Advocate. 
• NCA is increasing our outreach efforts to teach more providers about the CACFP. 
• Keep a look out for NCA’s Policy Agenda for FY25 and stay in the know about new and upcoming policies with our quarterly policy updates. 
• Expect the Serious Deficiency Final Rule to be released in the new year. An NCA summary and informational webinar will follow.