Children in Daycare May Qualify for Free or Reduced-Cost Meals

Children enrolled in daycare facilities in New Jersey may be eligible for free meals through the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the state Department of Agriculture recently announced.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program is a federally funded program that reimburses sponsoring agencies that provide healthy meals and snacks at no charge to children and adults enrolled in licensed or approved day-care facilities or family day-care homes.

Meals are available at no separate charge to all enrolled participants in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and are served without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.

Eligibility depends on income. A family of four, for example, may qualify for free meals if they earn less than $30,615 a year or may qualify for reduced cost meals if the family earns less than $43,568 annually.