Mapping CACFP Participation

Children in child care settings benefit significantly from receiving healthy meals and snacks, supporting their growing bodies, and bolstering healthy development. The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal program that reimburses child care programs for serving nutritious meals and snacks to eligible children in their care. Child Care Aware^® of America collaborates with Nemours Children’s Health to create GIS story maps for several Nemours state partners participating in Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Technical Assistance Program (HKHF TAP), and state recipients of State Physical Activity and Nutrition (SPAN) funding. We use geographic information system (GIS) technology to visualize CACFP participation and highlight communities that could be considered for CACFP expansion.

What is a story map?

A story map combines both maps and text to help users interpret what they see. Each story map tells a unique story about access to child care programs in the states we have worked with. Our story maps layer information about child care provider location, participation in CACFP, food access, family poverty, and more.

How can I use this?

That’s up to you to decide! We encourage you to look at the data, play with the maps and consider some of the strategies for change or policy recommendations included in the maps. You can find more information on the strategies for change collected since 2019 in this resource. If you would like additional information or are interested in mapping CACFP in your state, let us know!