--- title: "KidKare Food Program Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about KidKare Food Program Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Daycare products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/166858/Kid-Kare/" page_type: "product" language: "en" publication_date: "2026-09-30" --- # KidKare Food Program Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on September 30, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) KidKare Food Program ## What is KidKare Food Program? KidKare is the most powerful CACFP management software built for sponsoring organizations, independent centers, childcare providers and centers — designed to simplify compliance, maximize reimbursements, and scale program operations. Trusted by organizations across all 50 states, KidKare supports the full CACFP ecosystem—from family childcare homes and independent centers to multi-site center chains and large sponsoring organizations. KidKare goes beyond basic tracking by automating and strengthening every part of the Food Program: Enrollment & Income Eligibility Forms – fully digital, state-specific, and audit-ready; Meal counts, attendance, and menus – accurate, CACFP-compliant, and easy to manage; 250+ automated edit checks – prevent errors before claims are submitted; Real-time visibility for sponsors – monitor sites, identify risks, and provide targeted support; Claim management – homes and centers ensure claim accuracy and maximize reimbursement; ## What is KidKare Food Program used for? [Daycare](https://www.capterra.com/child-care-software/)[Accounting](https://www.capterra.com/accounting-software/)[Compliance](https://www.capterra.com/compliance-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 389 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 96% Neutral 2% Negative 2% Contact vendor for pricing Free trial not available Free version not included Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for KidKare Food Program?[Manage this product listing](https://www.g2.com/products/kidkare-food-program/claim_requests/new?auto=true) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### KidKare Food Program 4.7 (389) VS. [4.6 (2,809)](https://www.capterra.com/p/23486/Procare-Child-Care-Management/reviews/) Starting Price Contact vendor Starting Price Contact vendor Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.7 (389) Ease Of Use 4.4 (2,808) Value For Money 4.6 (295) Value For Money 4.5 (2,391) Customer Service 4.6 (313) Customer Service 4.6 (2,630) ## KidKare Food Program alternatives Highest Rated [4.7 (264)](https://www.capterra.com/p/155536/Famly/reviews/) Starting price $49.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 95% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.4 (123)](https://www.capterra.com/p/184185/WinTeam/reviews/) Starting price $0.01 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 88% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.4 (3,341)](https://www.capterra.com/p/120109/Xero/reviews/) Starting price $25.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 88% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.2 (2,086)](https://www.capterra.com/p/135757/NetSuite/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 85% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/166858/Kid-Kare/alternatives/) ## FAQs about KidKare Food Program Overview ### What problems does KidKare Food Program solve? KidKare Food Program solves paper-based meal claim, attendance, and menu-planning work by recording meals served, child check-ins, and food-program documentation in one place. Daycare owners, home-based providers, and center staff benefit from reusable menus, meal-component prompts, reports, and mobile entry that support accurate claims, healthier meal planning, and monthly submissions. Answer based on 220 reviews Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from KidKare Food Program? KidKare Food Program is most used by daycare owners, directors, and owner-operators who oversee food-program compliance, reimbursement claims, and enrollment records. Childcare and daycare providers rely on it to plan menus, record meals, and track attendance, while teachers support daily meal documentation for children in care. Answer based on 389 reviews Overview ### What company size and industries is KidKare Food Program built for? KidKare Food Program is designed for small childcare organizations, with 95% of reviewers from small businesses and Education Management leading at 41%. It also serves childcare centers, state agencies, and CACFP sponsors in Individual & Family Services (16%) and Consumer Services (7%), primarily for daycare operations (69%). Answer based on 389 reviews Features and Usability ### What are the key features of KidKare Food Program? KidKare Food Program includes core meal and menu planning tools for recording meals, validating required food components, saving and copying menus, and tracking meal claims. It also provides attendance tracking with check-in/check-out, child enrollment records, mobile access, daily reports, and compliance reporting for CACFP documentation. Answer based on 179 reviews Integrations ### Which third-party tools and platforms does KidKare Food Program integrate with? KidKare Food Program integrates with 4 third-party platforms: Procare Solutions, brightwheel, Quickbase, and Parachute. These connections cover childcare management and low-code workflow tools, giving organizations a small but focused set of supported integrations for connecting related operational systems. Answer based on 1 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What training and onboarding options does KidKare Food Program offer? KidKare Food Program provides live online sessions, webinars, documentation, and videos to help teams get started. Live online sessions and webinars support guided instruction, while documentation and videos give users written and visual reference materials for self-paced learning and feature review. Answer based on 2 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does KidKare Food Program offer, and how do users rate the experience? KidKare Food Program offers email/help desk support, a knowledge base, and chat. Users often describe support staff as courteous, helpful, and responsive, with quick solutions for questions and technical issues. However, some users report slow or absent responses, unresolved errors, and delays that can last days or weeks. Answer based on 39 reviews Meal planning ### How well does KidKare Food Program support meal planning? KidKare Food Program makes meal planning easier for child care providers by supporting advance menus, menu copying, meal records, and required food-component checks. Providers value mobile access and printable plans, which reduce paperwork and help with shopping. However, creating or reusing custom monthly menus can feel complicated, and some navigation requires extra steps. Answer based on 132 reviews ## Features AI summary Based on 3,334 Daycare reviews Capterra reviewers point to these as the daycare features they value most when comparing options: - **Parent Portal** (**50%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Data Security** (**54%**) - **Communications Management** (**46%**) KidKare Food Program supports all three of the top features buyers look for: **Parent Portal**, **Data Security**, and **Communications Management**. Together, these capabilities help daycare providers keep families informed, protect sensitive child and program data, and manage day-to-day communication more efficiently, allowing teams to stay organized and build stronger parent relationships. Communications Management 5.0 (1) 100.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Record and track all relevant internal and external communications Payment Processing 4.3 (6) 83.33% of 6 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Accept, record, and reconcile financial transactions Billing & Invoicing 4.2 (11) 72.73% of 11 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Create, manage, and send invoices or bills to customers Attendance Tracking 4.3 (10) 70.00% of 10 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track the attendance of specific individuals or groups Expense Tracking 4.0 (7) 57.14% of 7 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Monitor and record expenses such as purchases or charges incurred Meal/Nutrition Management 4.8 (6) 50.00% of 6 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Meal and snack planning, scheduling and distribution KidKare Food Program 45 features ### All Features - Access Controls/Permissions: Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems - Accounts Payable: Track money owed to a company's creditors/suppliers - Accounts Receivable: Track outstanding invoices and the money owed from clients - Activity Dashboard: Dashboard to view the status of ongoing processes, identify current incidents and track past activities - Activity Tracking: Track and document all activities across devices, networks, and other systems - Alerts/Notifications: Alerts or notifications of various types such as pop-up messages, sounds, banners, or badges - API: Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases - Attendance Tracking: Track the attendance of specific individuals or groups - Audit Management: Plan, schedule, and execute organization's accounts and assets to ensure compliance with policies and laws - Audit Trail: A record of all activities within the system, including user access, changes made, etc. - Billing & Invoicing: Create, manage, and send invoices or bills to customers - Calendar Management: Track and manage schedules and meetings via an integrated calendar - Cash Flow Management: Monitoring, analysis, and projection of the movement of cash into and out of a business over a specific period - Check-in/Check-out: Track the status of assets and whether they're checked in or out - Class Scheduling: Schedule in-person or online classes - Communications Management: Record and track all relevant internal and external communications - Compliance Management: Track and manage adherence to policies for any service, product, process, or supplier - Compliance Tracking: Track and report regulatory data to either internal management or external stakeholders - Customer Accounts: Record customer information, purchase history, and other notes - Daily Reports: A document that lists daily activities or maintains a record of all events that happened in a day - Data Security: Protect sensitive data for digital privacy - Electronic Signature: Digitally sign online documents - Employee Management: Track employee schedules, availability, and performance across projects and tasks - Enrollments/Onboarding: Manage the enrollment and onboarding of all new members and accepted applications - Expense Tracking: Monitor and record expenses such as purchases or charges incurred - Financial Management: Plan, manage, and track the financial activities of an individual or organization - Financial Reporting: Generate reports to assess the financial performance of an organization - Immunization & Allergy Tracking: Manage updates to member's immunization records and track individual allergies - Meal/Nutrition Management: Meal and snack planning, scheduling and distribution - Milestone Tracking: Monitor task progress and planned accomplishments to better manage project status - Mobile Access: Access software remotely via mobile devices - Multi-Language: Manage and support multiple languages - Multi-Location: Manage and support multiple locations - Parent Portal: Portal for parents to see and update childrens' info, track progress & more - Payment Processing: Accept, record, and reconcile financial transactions - Receipt Management: Upload, track, and submit receipts in a central database - Records Management: Ability to record, store, update, and retrieve information - Recurring/Subscription Billing: Automated process of charging customers at regular intervals for repeated access or use of a product or service - Registration Management: Oversee and coordinate the registration of attendees, visitors, customers, events, activities, etc. - Reminders: Timed notification for any upcoming task, deadline, appointment, or activity - Reporting & Statistics: Collection, analysis, and representation of numerical data and generation of reports to understand various patterns - Role-Based Permissions: Set & manage permission levels based on user roles and restrict access to only authorized individuals - Student Information/Records: Create lists of student grades, transcripts, class lists, course schedules, etc. to be shared with instructors and administration - Tax Management: Implementation of various strategies to manage tax obligations via planning and maintaining compliance - Third-Party Integrations: Set up connections to third-party platforms to improve business processes --- Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 4.6 (389) 4.6 Based on 389 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.6 (295) Independent Centers Bulk Pricing Available. Sponsors of Homes \* Custom pricing available It includes: - Provider Tiering - Observer Mode - Provider Lookup - Provider Management - Messaging - Online Claim Submission - Online Claim Processing - Claim Payments - 250 Edit Checks - Complete Food Program Automation - Auto-disallow non-compliant meals - Warn providers of non-compliant meals - USDA-compliant food lists & meal rules - Menu templates & master menus - 200+ built-in reports - Unlimited users & seats - Onboarding and support included Sponsors of Centers Custom Pricing Available It includes: - eForms - Digital Enrollment - Digital Income Eligibility Forms (IEFs) - Child Management - Center Management - Auto FRP Calculation - Parent Portal - Observer Mode - Online Reviews - Unlimited Sponsor Seats - Unlimited Center Seats - Customizable User Permissions - Master Menus - Cycle Menus - Schedule & Distribute Menus - USDA-compliant food lists & meal rules - Infant & Non-Infant Menus - Digital Menu Production Records - Point-of-Service Attendance and Meal Counts that match - Estimate Attendance - Food & Milk Waste Management - Milk Audit - Open Enrollment Workflows - Closed Enrollment Workflows - Satellite Forms - Shared License Workflows - At-Risk Afterschool (ARAS) - Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) State Agencies - Statewide CACFP Management Request custom pricing. Value for money 4.6 (295) 4.6 Based on 295 reviews ## Integrations [ brightwheel](https://www.capterra.com/p/144060/brightwheel/)[ Procare Solutions](https://www.capterra.com/p/23486/Procare-Child-Care-Management/)[ Quickbase](https://www.capterra.com/p/157262/QuickBase/)[ Parachute](https://www.capterra.com/p/10039582/Parachute/) Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.6 (313) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.6 (313) 4.6 Based on 313 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.7 Based on 389 reviews Filter by rating Counts reflect reviews available in this feed. 5(298) 4(76) 3(8) 2(4) 1(3) Mentioned topic Recent reviews first, then most helpful OW Owner Owner Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Frustrated" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 1.0 1.0 Customer Service 1.0 1.0 Likelihood to Recommend 1/10 December 8, 2025 Unsatisfied, get a landline telephone. Improve your customer service. I feel taken advantage of, due to lack of trust and frustration of not being able to login for example due to more errors in the system daily. Its all getting very frustrating. Pros Its reports are by far the best for cacfp center programs. I get audited every 3 years and I do fantastic because of their reports features. So simple and smooth every single time. Cons I hate absolutely hate the customer service. All they have is a chat feature. If you call you have to google search deep to find a phone number, which takes you straight to a voicemail. Never ever get a call back ever. And it takes weeks for them to fix errors that occur. So frustrating. Currently waiting on error that is going on 3 weeks. Jamie L. Owner Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Highly Recommend KidKare Food Program!" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 November 27, 2025 I absolutely love using the KidKare Food Program to log all of my students meals and snacks. It keeps track of everything for me! Pros What I like most about KidKare Food Program is the ease of use! You can log daily menus are upload a whole month at a time! Cons I have nothing to complain about KidKare Food Program! It is so simple to use and free for me on the CACFP. Mandy T. Teacher Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "New Notetaking System" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 2.0 2.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 July 17, 2019 NA Pros The thing I like most about this system is as information is entered its saved immediately. I can take notes on students and it is saved within their virtual profile. Almost like a gradebook in some ways. Cons The thing I like least is that the website does not tell you when you either did not mark a student or marked something wrong. OW Owner Owner Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Kidkare review from Karlyn's Little Blessings" 4.0 January 4, 2019 Overall I love the website and everything it offers i just wish there were a few improvements to make it faster to log everything for the day and create menus. Pros i love how easy it is to use and navigate through the website for the most part. I use quick books for my payroll but it is extremely complicated to create invoices and log everyday expenses for my business and that is why I have chosen to continue to use kidkare. Cons I would say that there are a few things that are little complicated and not very user friendly, like creating a custom menu to use every month, it takes entirely way to long to create, and trying to figure out how to reuse a menu every month is a little complicated as well. it seems like every time i try to re use a menu for the next month it always skips days and i have to go in and fill in the blanks. I also wish that there was a way to automatically check every child in for a meal that way i am not having to click on each individual child and then if there is one child that was not there for that meal i could just unclick their name. When trying to send in a report for the month it can take all day to even send it in because the website seems to shut down. EC Early Childhood Director Early Childhood Director Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Not a 1 stop shop " 2.0 Overall Rating 2.0 2.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 2.0 2.0 Customer Service 1.0 1.0 Likelihood to Recommend 1/10 December 7, 2018 Only positive of Kidkare for me is I do not have to mail in my Food program paperwork it can all be done online. Otherwise Kidkare is not useful. Pros Aligning with the food program is a positive and convenient part of the software. Cons It's doesn't align with any other state standards: Paperwork, assessments, no uploading, loggin of daily activities, no parent/teacher communication, just billing/accounting & food program alignment. It needs to go much further to be comparable to others. IN Intern Intern Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Kid Care takes the stress out of meal planning" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 December 18, 2018 I have never had a issue with the KidKare software, it is always available when I need it Pros Kidkare software is so very easy to navigate, and it has so many informative places you can go to. Cons I do not have any issues with the KidKare software TC Tutor/Independent Consultant Tutor/Independent Consultant Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Meal tracking only" 4.0 January 4, 2019 Pros The system is easy to operate. I enjoy using the saved menu templates. Cons It can be slow at times. There have been times the site would not function, but it usually comes back up the same day. OW Owner Owner Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Kidkare" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 January 15, 2019 Tracking children and meals are super easy with this program. Pros This program is very easy to use. Tracking the children and meals have been super easy. Cons There is nothing that I don't like so far with this program, except maybe not being able to bring back a withdrawn child easily. DC Day Care Provider Day Care Provider Used the software for: 1-3 years ### "Feeding Future" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 January 7, 2019 Using this software we can accelerate our work,being organized and make monthly reports from the commodity of our home ,It's a big help in this field , we are always very busy taking care of our futures Pros \-The way in which we can create our own menus . -The software avoid us the hand writing. -It help us to be organized. Cons \-The system is always slow down. - The software have many pages to navigate. - The way we can use the copy option. - Printing. ST Student Student Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "Easy-to-use " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 November 25, 2021 Great way to stay up with state requirements while providing nutritional products and keeping track of them Pros That it combines several items need led to effectively run a business such as a daycare so easy Cons There was nothing about the software that I did not like [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/166858/Kid-Kare/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. 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