Sufficient nutrition is a basic need that is necessary for all people irrespective of their income. More than 40 million of the poorest Americans are currently living on food stamps, and 1 million of them are likely to lose this benefit soon. To address the issue of hunger among the indigent population, the US Department of Agriculture has launched Child and Adult Care Food Program. The federal budget provides assistance to states in a form of subsidies on food services for children, the elderly, and adults with physical or mental conditions. The program is valid for all eligible individuals in child and adult care centers, family day care homes, emergency centers for homeless and in similar establishments. Currently, more than 3 million of children and more than 100,000 of adults receive nutritious meals and snacks according to the program.
The main goal of Child and Adult Care Food Program is to maintain surviving of individuals whose income is far below the poverty level. Subsidized nutrition is especially urgent for day care centers that provide services for children and adults. Here, little children need to grow and develop while elderly and disabled people need to be taken care of. Child and Adult Care Food Program comes along with various nutrition programs, particularly with the National School Lunch Program. Not only federal but also state financial backing empower this initiative. It is also administered by educational agencies and state departments of health, family, and social services. The same institutions determine the eligibility of individuals to enroll in their subsidized nutrition program.