Sponsor Spotlight: Metropolitan Development Council
Sponsor of Family Child Care Homes and Child Care Centers
July 20, 2026
The Metropolitan Development Council (MDC) is a community action agency based in Tacoma, Washington. In addition to their many community programs, including weatherization, behavioral health, and housing support, MDC also operates as a sponsoring organization for the CACFP. MDC’s CACFP team is led by Cindy Day, Program Manager, who has been with the organization for almost 34 years. Also on the CACFP team are Ramona Kizziar and Angela Rexroad, who are CACFP Monitors.
All three team members were previously family child care home providers. During their time as family child home providers, Cindy and Ramona were both active participants in the CACFP under the sponsorship of MDC. Angela directly experienced the challenge of Tier II reimbursement and chose not to participate, however she recognized the benefits of the program and was eager to join the MDC team.
MDC has been a family home sponsor since 1977 and currently sponsors over 210 family homes that ensure nutritious meals to over 1,900 children. Last year, Cindy also decided to take on center sponsorship as well. After a year of learning for the MDC team and technical assistance from their State agency, MDC now sponsors three child care centers that serve meals to 250 children.
MDC prides themselves on their comprehensive provider support and believe their dedication to the program is what makes them so successful as a sponsoring organization.
“Our focus has always been on supporting our providers and being available to them for whatever they need. It’s always been a priority to respond to them quickly for any technical assistance, whether it’s texting, emailing or a phone call. We try to stay organized and give our providers all the latest information to be as successful as they can in their participation in this program.” -Cindy Day
Ongoing training is also a critical pillar of their organization, whether for their own staff or for their providers. As a team, MDC is constantly seeking new information to make sure they are up to date with recent program updates and are able to answer any questions from their providers.
With backgrounds as CACFP operators, Cindy, Ramona, and Angela are all well-equipped to help providers navigate the CACFP. In fact, many of the benefits they observe among their sponsored providers participating in the CACFP are benefits they have also experienced firsthand.
According to MDC, the CACFP provides significant benefits through financial reimbursement, nutrition education for providers and the children they serve, and access to nutritious meals that help improve food security for children in food-insecure households.
Angela enjoys seeing how the nutrition education from the CACFP is absorbed by providers and impacts their personal lifestyles.
“Having been a provider and knowing the challenges that go along with it, I love knowing that I can support providers and educate them about nutrition. I enjoy hearing my providers say that they’ve started eating the way that the program is presented and they’ve become healthier by following it.” – Angela Rexroad
Cindy has also seen the nutrition education from the CACFP have a significant impact on children’s eating habits. Hearing the children talk about healthy eating habits during MDC’s site visits gives Cindy confidence that the habits they are learning in child care are also being translated into their own households.
“I enjoy seeing the children’s knowledge of nutrition grow. The kids know exactly what’s supposed to be on their plate. They will say ‘where’s my protein’ or ‘where’s my vegetable.’ So, you know they must do that at home too, not just at day care.” -Cindy Day
Ramona served many children from food insecure households. As a monitor, MDC also oversees many providers that serve homeless children who are relying on CACFP for their meals each day.
"My motivation is knowing that the program really works, because I’ve walked on both sides. Knowing that we’re going to be able to feed the children better with this program is what really matters.” – Ramona Rexroad
The long-lasting effects of the CACFP are clear to the team at MDC and are why they all continue to work in support of the program.
“There’s so much information out there that proves that proper nutrition at each stage of development helps emotionally, physically and even academically for a lifetime. If those needs are met early on, kids are more successful overall." – Cindy Day
As MDC’s dedication to the CACFP continues, the team hopes to grow it’s sponsorship and expand to more child care centers in their area. They are excited to see more children benefit from access to this critical nutrition program.
In Tacoma, Washington, the Metropolitan Development Council has been a Sponsor of the CACFP since 1977.