CACFP reference · July 2026 cycle

CACFP reimbursement rates, 2026–2027

The federal payment rates for the Child and Adult Care Food Program, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, as published in the Federal Register (91 FR 46895 (July 27, 2026), FR Doc. 2026-15071). Rates are set each July; the prior year’s tables are at the bottom for claims that straddle the changeover.

Three schedules apply: the 48 contiguous states and DC; Alaska; and Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Your facility’s state decides the schedule — there is nothing to elect.

Running Summer Food (SFSP) as well? Its rates are on this page too. They are a separate notice on a separate clock — calendar years, published each winter — so a site that does both is reading two schedules at once.

Child & adult care centers

Center rates

Per meal served, by the participant's eligibility category. Supper reimburses at the lunch rate, and every snack slot pays the snack rate.

USDA Foods

Cash in lieu of donated foods: $0.3200

Sites that elect cash instead of commodity foods receive $0.3200 per reimbursable lunch and supper — a single national value with no regional variation, published separately (FR Doc. 2026-14123 (July 14, 2026)). Breakfasts and snacks earn no donated-food value. Last year’s value was $0.3050.

Family day care homes

Day care home rates

Homes are paid by tier, not by each child's eligibility. Tier I homes — in low-income areas, or where the provider's own household income qualifies — earn the higher rate for every meal. Tier II homes earn the lower rate, with individual children eligible for Tier I rates by income determination.

Sponsoring organizations

Administrative rates

Sponsors of day care homes receive a monthly administrative payment per home, on a declining band: one rate for the first 50 homes, another for the next 150, the next 800, and each home beyond 1,000. The bands are cumulative — a 250-home sponsor is paid at three different rates.

Archive

Prior year: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026

For claims and amendments dated before July 1, 2026 (FR Doc. 2025-13892 (July 24, 2025)). A claim is always costed at the rates in force for its claim month — a June 2026 claim uses these, not the current cycle.

Good to know

When do CACFP rates change?

USDA publishes new rates in the Federal Register each July, effective July 1 through June 30. The annual adjustment follows the food-away-from-home series of the Consumer Price Index. This page is updated when each new cycle publishes.