DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – Getting children a well-rounded meal every weekday is one of the priorities at the Dubuque Community Y’s Early Learning Center and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is helping the childcare center accomplish the goal.
Administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the federal program reimburses qualifying daycare centers that serve nutritious meals and snacks at no additional cost to families.
“This program reimburses us per kid, but it also gives us the funding for kids who might come in with a dietary need or a religious belief, where they may not be able to eat our specific meal for the day,” said Early Childhood Learning Director Courtney Morgan. “We can accommodate for those kids to save on the parents having to pack food and send it here, we’re able to do it right here for them.”
The Y serves about 90 children breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon at the Early Learning Center every weekday. During the school year, the organization is reimbursed by CACFP about $2,000 every month.
Heather Verhagen, whose youngest daughter attends the center, told TV9 the service helps relieve weight from her shoulders.
“With the cost of living so high and groceries being so much, it is so nice to not worry about having to pack my kid’s a lunch or do I have something for them to eat,” explained Verhagen. “I can come here and I know that she’s going to be fed.”
CACFP also aids the Boys & Girls Club of the Corridor. In 2023, the organization was reimbursed $173,100 for the 42,133 meals served at its clubs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Marion.
According to John Tursi, the Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Corridor, 95% of children who participate in their programming come from families who are at or below the national poverty level.
“A hungry kid is not a happy kid,” said Tursi. “Making sure our kids that are potentially going home to no food at all, and knowing that we’re getting them a meal before their next meal, that may be breakfast at school the next day, is very important to us.”
By saving funds that would go towards food, both organizations say they’re able to create a more welcoming, engaging environment for children.
“It’s us being able to expand our program to more kids,” explained Tursi. “It’s us being able to provide our kids with STEM activities that maybe we couldn’t afford because they’re a little bit more expensive.”
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