House panel urges state support to preserve CACFP sponsorship, cites ~$182,000 shortfall

Unidentified Speaker 1, a committee member, told the House Education committee the Agency of Education (AOE) remains the sponsoring agency for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) but that the governor’s budget does not include state funds to support that sponsorship.

Committee members said the sponsorship dollars are necessary to unlock federal CACFP funds that provide meals for home‑based child‑care programs. Unidentified Speaker 3 told the committee the program was funded through legislative appropriations last year but is absent from this year’s governor request. “So just so it’s it’s roughly 182,000,” Unidentified Speaker 1 said when discussing the state share.

Members asked staff to confirm the precise amount for inclusion in the committee’s budget letter and noted an earlier exchange in the meeting where one speaker briefly misstated the figure as “$182.05”; the committee agreed to verify and use the correct dollar figure in any formal request. Unidentified Speaker 3 summarized the program’s role: funding supports state sponsorship that in turn leverages federal funds to provide meals to home child‑care providers.

Why it matters: Without the state match or sponsorship, committee members said, Vermont could lose the ability to access federal CACFP reimbursements for certain providers, reducing meals for children served by home‑based care.

Next steps: Committee members asked staff to confirm the exact state funding figure and said they would aim to include the verified number in their budget letter and, if appropriate, press for restoring the appropriation during the legislative process.