Government Shutdown and CACFP

Update memo directly from Food Nutrition Services regarding shut down and what to expect.

"The Child Nutrition Programs, including School Lunch, School Breakfast,Child and Adult
Care Feeding, Summer Food Service, and Special Milk will continue operations into
October. Meal providers are paid on a reimbursement basis 30 days after the end of the service month. Limited carryover funding will be available during a lapse to support FY 2014 meal service. Once an appropriation is enacted, we expect additional resources will be available to reimburse October performance."

State Admin: "State agencies may utilize the funds that they already have available to them to cover State administrative costs during a shutdown."

• The Child Nutrition (CN) Programs, including School Lunch, School Breakfast, Child and Adult
Care Feeding, Summer Food Service and Special Milk will continue operations into October.
Meal providers are paid on a reimbursement basis 30 days after the end of the service month.
Limited carryover funding will be available during a lapse to support FY 2014 meal service.
Once an appropriation is enacted, we expect additional resources will be available to reimburse
October performance. In addition, most State agencies will continue to have fiscal year 2013
funds available for State Administrative Expenses (SAE). SAE funds are awarded to States for a
two year grant period and they are permitted to carryover up to 20 percent of their allocation
into the second year of the grant period.

While a government shut down will harm all Coloradans, it would hit low-income children and families the hardest. That's because many services that help support poor children and families are funded in large part by the federal government.

It seems likely that the Government will shut down tomorrow due to the gridlock over the federal budget - some of us remember all too well when this happened back in the 1990's! USDA's Food and Nutition Service's website has a contingency plan posted - SNAP benefits will be available but WIC funding is doubtful.

Yesterday we cited a report that predicted federal food aid funneled through the states would dry up quickly if Congress fails to pass a bill authorizing some funding beyond Oct. 1. Well, the Department of Agriculture now says that that's true for some programs, but not for all.

A shut down of the federal government looms large if Congress doesn't come to an agreement on funding today. How will a potential shutdown affect children's health? According to an article in the Huffington Post, some very real negative impact may be on the way. A report published by the U.S.

TO: Food and Nutrition DirectorsFROM: Carol Thomas, Director, Safety, Health and NutritionDATE: September 27, 2013SUBJECT: Food and Nutrition Service federal payments will continue if a federal shutdown occurs This information is provided as a update of the memo dated September 18, 2013, by the Minnesota Department of Education relating to reimbursements for food and nutrition program expenses if a federal shutdown occurs on October 1, 2013.

The federal government shutdown began today and many family child care providers are worried about whether they will continue to receive payments from the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The Food, Nutrition and Consumer Service (FNCS) office has issued a contingency plan that says that payments will continue...

As you know, the CACFP has been affected by the recent government shutdown. The immediate effects are the unavailability of Food and Nutrition Service and Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion websites for news, resources and information. This month we shared USDA's memo on USDA contingency plans for the Program. Here are some of the highlights of those plans:

October 11, 2013 Existing Flexibilities in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, CACFP-15-2013 This memo addresses important areas of paperwork reduction concerns; enrollment, payments for sponsored centers, renewal requirements and production records, just to name a few.