Food Program

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 The Child Care Food Program began over thirty years ago as part of the School Lunch Program. It is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture. The Food Program is made available to child-care homes through non-profit organizations called Sponsors. Love Little Children, Inc. is a Food Program Sponsor that serves the greater Sacramento area, California and the greater San Francisco Bay Area, California.

Choose your preferred language from the Programs drop down menu to learn more!

1. Have a current child-care license.
2. Call or e-mail us to sign up.
3. Serve nutritious meals that follow USDA guidelines.
4. Keep daily records of meal counts and menus.

Joining the Food Program will provide the following benefits:

1. You will be reimbursed for the majority of your cost of feeding children healthy meals, and
2. You will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are making a difference in children’s lives. Research has shown that most of our lifelong eating habits are developed by age six, and eating patterns affect a child’s cognitive learning ability. Since children are our future, we would like to help all children become the best that they can be, and by being a part of the Food Program, you will be a key factor in making that happen.

At Love Little Children, Inc., we highly value the services being provided by you to the children of our community, and we feel that you should be treated with trust and respect. In return, we expect no less than completely honest records from our providers. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to love the little children by affecting their health, their well-being and their future. Let us help you make the most of this opportunity.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal and, where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)

Love Little Children, Inc. is committed to making participation in the Food Program as easy as possible. In doing so, we provide trainings and materials in the English, Russian and Spanish languages. Also, we try to make the record keeping easy, so that it only requires a few minutes of your time each day.  At the end of every month, you send your daily records to us.  On the 10th of the month, we send a claim to the State, and the State processes the claims.  Then, the State sends the funds to Love Little Children, Inc., and we quickly distribute the funds to you and the other providers in our program.  Below you will find Love Little Children’s reimbursement rates for Day Care Homes:

New Meal Reimbursement Rates

Meal Reimbursement Rates - Effective 7/1/24 – 6/30/25

                 TIER I RATES: TIER II RATES:

Breakfast                $1.77                 $0.71

Lunch                      $3.26                $2.01

Dinner                     $3.15                 $1.90

Snacks                    $0.93                $0.26

Paperwork must be turned in by 5 p.m. on the 5th of the month to get a regular reimbursement, or by the 15th of the month for a late reimbursement.

For example:

• January paperwork will be reimbursed March 15
• February paperwork will be reimbursed April 15
• March paperwork will be reimbursed May 15

 Delays in Payment Dates are the result of the untimely receipt of federal and state funding.

 Love Little Children will be closed on the holidays listed below:

• American New Year
• Martin Luther King’s Birthday
• President’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Day After Thanksgiving
• Business Day Before Christmas Day
• Christmas Day

If a holiday falls on a Saturday, the holiday will be observed on the preceding Friday.  If a holiday falls on a Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the following Monday.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)

If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov.

Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339; or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish).

“This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.”