The Child and Adult Care Food Program ("CACFP" or "Program") is a federal nutrition assistance program that provides reimbursements for food served to young children in child care centers, family day care homes, after-school programs, and emergency shelters, as well as adults in long-term care facilities. Although CACFP encompasses a wide range of nutrition assistance programs, this report focuses specifically on CACFP's requirements for nutrition, eligibility, and reimbursement in the child care setting (impacting children ages 0-5). CACFP helps to close a significant gap in the provision of nutritious food to more than 50 percent of pre-school aged children attending child care centers in the nation at a crucial stage of their development. Nutritional deficiencies at this early age have been associated with impairment of neuropsychological function, retardation of growth and development, and reduced immunity to disease. In Massachusetts, CACFP helps to meet the nutritional needs of about 50,000 children from low-income families in child care each day. (author abstract)