CACFP Reimbursement Estimator
Estimate potential Child and Adult Care Food Program reimbursement for a child care center or family child care home using the current New Jersey / contiguous-state rates.
Rates effective July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027Center eligibility
Public and nonprofit centers do not have the 25% monthly test. For-profit centers do.
Average daily meal counts
Use the number of reimbursable meals you realistically expect to serve each day, not total enrollment. “Paid” includes children above 185% of the income guideline and children without a qualifying free/reduced determination.
| Meal service | Free current rate | Reduced current rate | Paid current rate |
|---|
Operating schedule
Your center estimate
Family child care home tier
Your sponsoring organization determines your home’s tier. Tier I homes receive the higher rate for meals served to enrolled children. Tier II homes have options.
How will your Tier II reimbursement be calculated?
Average daily meal counts
Enter realistic reimbursable meal counts. Family child care home rates already use the USDA day care home food-service payment rates. There is no separate center-style cash-in-lieu addition in this estimate.
Are any counts for your own child?
All three conditions must be true before you include a provider’s own child in reimbursable meal counts:
Operating schedule
Your family child care estimate
This is an estimate, not an official CACFP eligibility or claim determination. Actual reimbursement is based on approved participation, actual time-of-service meal counts, meal-pattern compliance, enrollment/attendance records, and the rules applied by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture and, for family child care homes, the sponsoring organization.
Center rates: Free $2.54 breakfast / $4.76 lunch-supper / $1.30 snack; Reduced $2.24 / $4.36 / $0.65; Paid $0.42 / $0.45 / $0.12. The estimator adds the 2026–27 $0.32 USDA Foods cash-in-lieu value to center lunches and suppers.
Family child care home rates: Tier I $1.74 breakfast / $3.31 lunch-supper / $0.98 snack; Tier II $0.62 / $1.99 / $0.27.
Sources: USDA/Federal Register 2026–27 reimbursement rates · 7 CFR Part 226 · New Jersey CACFP
Visual palette uses accessible approximations of the lavender, pink, gray, and white seen in Programs for Parents materials. Official brand hex values can be substituted without changing the calculator logic.