Sponsor Spotlight: Lisa Lyons of The Planning Council
Sponsor of Family Child Care Homes and Child Care Centers
March 16, 2026
Lisa Lyons is the CACFP Director for The Planning Council, a human services organization that provides various services for children and families. Some of their programs include assistance at homeless shelters, respite for families with a special needs child and sponsorship of the CACFP. CACFP Sponsorship is the largest program within the planning council, as they sponsor 15 family child care homes in Washington DC, 50 child care centers and 60 homes in Virginia, and 9 centers and 990 homes in Maryland. Collectively, these programs serve nutritious meals and snacks to over 12,000 children each month.
Lisa began her career as a legal assistant, but after getting pregnant with her first child she decided to open her own family child care home in 1995. Not long after opening her family home, Lisa joined the CACFP as a provider under the sponsorship of The Planning Council. After 10 years of operating her family home, Lisa’s CACFP field monitor encouraged her to apply for a job opening at The Planning Council. Lisa then joined the team as a field monitor for Howard County, Maryland. The Planning Council had expanded to this area after an existing sponsor in Howard County decided to stop sponsoring the CACFP and The Planning Council picked up the over 200 providers in the county. A few years later, Lisa was promoted to a Program Coordinator and now works as the Director overseeing 11 staff and the operations of the CACFP in Maryland, Virginia and DC.
Throughout her journey, Lisa has “had every seat on the bus,” giving her great insight into the needs and challenges of her staff and the providers they oversee. Lisa recently celebrated her 20th year with The Planning Council and many of her staff have also been working with The Planning Council or as monitors of the CACFP for over 30 years. Not only does this longtime experience bring great knowledge and expertise to their sponsorship, but it also shows the dedication of their team to the CACFP. This dedication is one of the reasons Lisa thinks they are so successful as a sponsor. Lisa also believes that her team is great at balancing their relationships with their providers between being friendly, while also enforcing program integrity.
“Within the program, we understand that there is that double edge sword of being friendly, making yourself approachable, making sure people want to allow you in their home, but then understanding the regulations and understanding our responsibility as the sponsor to the States.”
As a result, The Planning Council has been able to build a reputation of trust and integrity. Their administering State agencies also value The Planning Council as a strong sponsor of the CACFP – even referring other sponsors to Lisa for mentorship. They are also known to take quick action whenever there has been a loss of other sponsoring organizations in the States that they serve. The Planning Council does what they can to pick up providers in those areas to ensure there is no disruption to program access.
The passion of Lisa and her team is clear in their commitment to maintaining and expanding access to the CACFP. They recognize that the benefits of the CACFP are multi-faceted – from the financial reimbursement that providers receive to the nutrition education of the providers and the children they serve.
“If I’m a day care provider, the reimbursement is why I choose to join the CACFP at first, because I hear that I’m going to get reimbursement that’s going to help me feed kids. But then, the next step is learning how to feed kids under the USDA guidelines of nutritious meals. Then, I’m offering the kids in my day care meals that are better for them. Even if I’m just offering peas and apple slices or green beans and carrots the next day, I’m giving the kids in my care an education in nutrition that they will never forget.”
The Planning Council helps new providers get started on the program, even if they have no food preparation experience. They provide training and resources, such as a kid-friendly menu that can be an easy way for providers to get started. The education the providers receive then goes into the nutrition education of children in their care as they are introduced to new foods, explore foods that they may have been hesitant of before, and learn how to be active in the kitchen and their own food choices.
Lisa, also thinks it’s important to understand that all of the dollars that flow through the CACFP, go directly into local economies.
“All of those federal dollars that flow through the CACFP, go directly back into local grocery stores, big box stores and convenience stores. All of that money is going back into the economy, because those providers are spending those dollars to purchase food.”
For the many reasons that CACFP is beneficial to providers, children, families and communities, The Planning Council is excited to expand their outreach efforts and increases access to the program. Through their strategic plan, they are dedicated to building partnerships with licensing agencies and to reaching 100% of the eligible, licensed providers who are not currently on the program to encourage them to begin participation.
"Learning is natural. It allows children to feel accomplished and be full of pride when it comes from their own desires."
As they watch each other taste new foods, the children are more inclined to do the same. They help with meal times and in food preparation as they are developmentally ready. Even nutrition education can come organically. Like in Linda's home, it does not have to be a formal process.
In Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC, Lisa has worked for The Planning Council since 2005.