NCA Condemns Groups Charged with Conspiracy, Fraud Against Nutrition Programs
September 23, 2022
The National CACFP Sponsors Association (NCA) unequivocally condemns the fraud that Minnesota group Feeding Our Future, and affiliated entities, allegedly committed against federal child nutrition programs.
On September 20, 2022, a federal grand jury indicted forty-seven people on fraud-related charges committed against federal child nutrition programs. Across multiple indictments, this group stands accused of stealing $250 million. NCA denounces their theft and applauds efforts to hold them accountable under state and federal law.
These reprehensible acts do not diminish the public benefits of the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) nor the work of people nationwide who ensure that our most vulnerable populations have access to nutritious food.
While this fraud was taking place in Minnesota during the pandemic, thousands of community-based organizations fed millions of children while following federal guidelines with utmost integrity.
Feeding the Gulf Coast, in Alabama, used pandemic-era flexibilities to serve 400,000 meals in 2021. Houston Independent School District took advantage of pandemic-era programs to continue serving 200,000 students daily throughout the shutdown. In Washington state, Educational Opportunities for Children and Families served 650,000 meals during the pandemic alone.
These are not isolated stories of success. These are the stories of the CACFP – a program that aims to eliminate childhood hunger in the United States, reverse trends in childhood obesity, improve the health of American children and adults through better nutrition and increased physical activity and support working families by improving the quality of child and adult care.
Among the USDA’s child nutrition programs, the CACFP alone serves almost five million children and adults, making it integral to providing nutrition security in the United States.