On June 25,2022 President Biden signed the Keep Kids Fed Act into law. The act is actually an amendment to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act specific to USDA Child Nutrition programs. The Act has 5 sections:
SECTION 1: SHORT TITLE
The name of the act can be “Keep Kids Fed Act of 2022”.
SECTION 2: SUPPORT FOR CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS
- The reimbursement rate for school lunches is increased by 40 cents and school breakfast by 14 cents beginning July 2022. This increase is in addition to the normal increases for inflation.
- Waivers for the Summer Food Service Program regarding site eligibility and meal pattern waivers are extended through September 20, 2022.
SECTION 3: CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM
- The reimbursement rate for all meals and snacks is increased by 10 cents beginning July 2022. This increase is in addition to the normal increases for inflation. Reimbursement rates are adjusted each July according to the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Reimbursement for family day care homes is based on the Consumer Price Index for “all items” which increased 8.6% from May 2021 to May 2022. Reimbursement rates for centers is based on the Consumer Price Index for “food away from home” which increased 7.4% from May 2021 to May 2022. This is the largest 12-month increase since the period ending December 1981!
- Allows all family day care homes to claim at tier I rates through June 30, 2023.
SECTION 4: RECESSIONS AND SUNSET
The additional reimbursement and waivers are in effect from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
SECTION 5: OPERATIONALLY READY
State agencies are to provide support and technical assistance in the implementation of the Act.
The USDA recently published the final reimbursement rates for FY2023, as shown below:
Child Care Centers
BREAKFAST
Contiguous States
Paid Rate: $0.45
Reduced Price Rate $1.91
Free Rate: $2.21
Alaska
Paid Rate: $0.64
Reduced Price Rate : $3.18
Free Rate: $3.48
Hawaii
Paid Rate: $0.50
Reduced Price Rate: $2.26
Free Rate: $2.56
LUNCH OR SUPPER
Contiguous States
Paid Rate: $0.47
Reduced Price Rate $3.63
Free Rate: $4.03
Alaska
Paid Rate: $0.71
Reduced Price Rate : $6.07
Free Rate: $6.47
Hawaii
Paid Rate: $0.54
Reduced Price Rate: $4.30
Free Rate: $4.70
SNACK
Contiguous States
Paid Rate: $0.19
Reduced Price Rate $0.64
Free Rate: $1.18
Alaska
Paid Rate: $0.26
Reduced Price Rate : $0.97
Free Rate: $1.85
Hawaii
Paid Rate: $0.21
Reduced Price Rate: $0.73
Free Rate: $1.36
Family Child Care Homes
BREAKFAST
Contiguous States
Tier 1: $1.66
Tier 2: $1.66
Alaska
Tier 1: $2.59
Tier 2: $2.59
Hawaii
Tier 1: $1.91
Tier 2: $1.91
LUNCH OR SUPPER
Contiguous States
Tier 1: $3.04
Tier 2: $3.04
Alaska
Tier 1: $4.87
Tier 2: $4.87
Hawaii
Tier 1: $3.55
Tier 2: $3.55
SNACK
Contiguous States
Tier 1: $0.97
Tier 2: $0.97
Alaska
Tier 1: $1.52
Tier 2: $1.52
Hawaii
Tier 1: $1.12
Tier 2: $1.12
If you are a My Food Program customer, there is no additional action that you need to take to account for these changes. Once the final rates are published, we will enter them into our database to give you an accurate claim estimate.
In addition, if you are a sponsor of family day care homes you do NOT need to set all providers to Tier I. Instead, we will simply set the Tier II reimbursement rate to be equal to the Tier I reimbursement rates. Then when rates are reset again in July 2023 we will apply the appropriate rates again.