If any of the following occur, please contact the Child Care Food Program office or submit a waiver as soon as possible.
- Operating but unable to meet Child Care Food Program meal pattern requirements
- Temporarily moving children to a different location
- Unable to file claims by the claiming deadlines
- Unable to maintain normal paperwork or computer systems (menus, meal counts, monitoring, etc.)
- Destruction of any Child Care Food Program records โ and/or previous three years
- Caring for children residing in or evacuating from a designated disaster area
- Caring for children residing in households receiving Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) benefits
- Operating as an emergency shelter providing temporary housing
- Providing meals to displaced children who, due to a disaster, are being temporarily housed in locations that may not be able to provide meals
Disaster Waivers
The Child Care Food Program is requesting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approve waiver(s) to provide non-congregate meal service in the CCFP when congregate meal service operations are limited due to natural disasters, unscheduled major building repairs, court orders relating to school safety or other issues, labor management disputes, or when approved by the state agency for a similar cause:
| Waiver Type | Flexibility Request | Status | Expiration Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Congregate (Group) Meal Requirements | Allows meals to be provided as grab โn go. | Approved | 6/30/2026 |
| Educational or Enrichment Activity Requirements for Afterschool Meals Programs | Allows children to receive afterschool meals and snacks without having to participate in an education or enrichment activity onsite. | Approved | 6/30/2026 |
| Meal Service Time Requirements | Allows program operators the ๏ฌexibility to adjust the times meals and snacks are provided in order to streamline operations. | Approved | 6/30/2026 |
| Parent/Guardian Meal Pick-up | Allows sites that are approved for non-congregate meal service to distribute meals to a parent or guardian to take home to their eligible child(ren). | Approved | 6/30/2026 |
Waivers remain in effect through the expiration date. The Child Care Food Program will only approve the use of a waiver due to the unanticipated causes listed above.
Before a Storm
What can you do prior to event occurring?
- Child Care Food Program contractors must have a written emergency preparedness plan that demonstrates how the organization will operate during an emergency and minimize the disruption of services to children in care. Maintain this plan at your organization.
- Ensure that contact information in MIPS is correct.
- Become familiar with the situations in the waivers section.
- Because communication systems may be down after a storm, take time now to print off several blank waiver forms and keep them in different locations for possible use later.
- Plan menus using shelf-stable foods and purchase those items for use in case of an emergency.
SPonsoring Organization
- Ensure that you have current contact information for all sites participating in your sponsorship.
- Disruptions to monitoring schedule that will cause the organization to be out of compliance must be reported via waiver.