New USDA meal rates for Alaska child care run through June 2027

Alaska child care providers are now being paid at new federal rates for the meals and snacks they serve under the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The rates took effect July 1 and run through June 30, 2027.

The notice from the USDA Food and Nutrition Administration covers child care centers, outside-school-hours care centers, at-risk afterschool programs, adult day care centers and day care homes. Alaska, along with Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, receives a separate higher schedule to reflect the higher cost of providing meals. The adjustments track the Consumer Price Index and are required each July.

The published notice text available does not include the updated rate tables for 2026-27. The specific new Alaska and contiguous-state amounts, and how much they changed from last year, are not yet spelled out.

For scale, under the schedule that ran through June 30, Alaska family day care homes were paid $5.22 for a Tier I lunch or supper. The contiguous-state rate was $3.22.

Administrative reimbursement for organizations that sponsor networks of day care homes was also adjusted.

The CACFP Roundtable, a California-based advocacy group for sponsors and providers whose analysis applies to all states, says the increases tied to the Consumer Price Index do not keep pace with food, labor and rent costs. That leaves providers to cover the difference.