The Roundtable is working hard to make sure that decision-makers in Washington DC and at the state level know about your concerns and on-the-ground challenges, in addition to understanding the importance of CACFP and the solutions we think will help.
What's Already Been Enacted?
On March 18, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed into law, marking the second major legislative initiative to address COVID-19 (the first was signed on March 6 and provided emergency funding relief for domestic and global efforts). For CACFP, this bill gave USDA the authority to implement a series of flexibilities in order to better address the nutritional needs of the nation.
On March 19, the Roundtable held a CACFP/COVID-19 Town Hall, where USDA and other policy leaders answered questions and listened to concerns from the field. In partnership with the National CACFP Forum, the Roundtable submitted additional recommendations, based on what we heard from you, to USDA that would allow CACFP to operate at its fullest capacity during this public health crisis.
Congress also passed the recent $2 trillion federal stimulus package, known as the CARES Act (signed into law on March 27), which, among many other investments, sends money directly to Americans and expands unemployment coverage. These resources are important investments in supporting families’ financial needs throughout the extent of the COVID-19 economic crisis.
The actions taken by Congress are good down-payments that will provide some immediate and short-term relief to the child care system (e.g., the lending program for organizations (which may or may not reach child care) and $3.5 billion in additional funding through the Child Care Development Block Grant). However, they are not enough to ensure that child care sites will be able to re-open their doors or that the child care system can weather the enduring COVID-19 economic crisis we face.
On March 31, the Roundtable, again in partnership with the National CACFP Forum, submitted recommendations to Congress about how the federal government can best support the infrastructure of child care with targeted investments in CACFP.
TAKE ACTION TODAY! Tell Congress that we need them to prioritize targeted CACFP investments to ensure that the nation’s child care system can survive through the COVID-19 crisis and sustain into the future.
Find the contact information for your Senator
Send an email and attach the Roundtable & Forum's letter, or use the contact form on the website and copy and paste.
Reach out to your Representative and Senator on social media
Tell us how you are doing. The Roundtable is here for you and we want to make sure we know what's happening in the community. If you are willing, please share how the coronavirus has impacted you, your business, and food access >>
Questions? elyse@ccfproundtable.org
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