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• Menus
- All meals and snacks and their preparation, service, and
storage should meet the following governmental requirements even if the
program does
not participate in a food (reimbursement) program:
- Menus should help children develop healthy eating habits:
- Foods that are high in nutrients and low in additives
should be served frequently.
- Menus should include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Menus should be varied.
- Menus should be posted and followed.
- Menus should incorporate healthy foods that are culturally familiar to
the children.
- The introduction of new foods to infants and toddlers should be discussed
with parents (to monitor possible allergies).
Note: Some foods may cause choking hazards - please see Food
Preparation and Injury Prevention Sections
for more information.
• How
many meals and snacks should be provided?
- Children in care for 8 hours or less should be offered
at least one meal and two snacks; or two meals and one snack.
- Children in care more than 8 hours should be offered at least two meals
and two snacks; or three snacks and one meal.
- A nutritious snack should be offered to all children mid-morning and
mid-afternoon.
- Children should be offered food at least 2 hours apart and not more than
3 hours apart unless the child is asleep. Some infants may need to be fed more
often than every 2 hours to meet their nutritional needs.
• Milk and Human Milk (Breastmilk)
- Breastfeeding should be encouraged and supported.
- Infants 0 - 6 months should be served only human milk, if possible. Infants,
who are exclusively breastfed, should not be given other food unless otherwise
directed by a health care professional.
- When mother's milk is not available, infants should be fed iron fortified
infant formula.
- Bottles are not allowed in the crib; infants should be held during feeding
(to promote bonding and to prevent baby bottle tooth decay and choking (see
Dental Health Section).
- At age 6 months, the meals of breast milk/formula-fed babies should begin
to be supplemented with semi-solid foods. Children 12 - 24 months should be
served whole milk (unless documented otherwise by a health provider).
- Children over 2 years of age can be served skim, 1%, 2% or whole milk.
- Powdered milk should be used only for cooking.
Note: For children with lactose intolerance, nondairy food rich in calcium
may be substituted (Examples: Soy milk, rice milk). Dairy products
such as yogurt (in which the lactose is broken down) and 100% lactose free
milk can provide good sources of calcium. The child's health care
provider can provide recommendations if a child is lactose intolerant.
• Fruits
and Vegetables; Juice and Water
- Children should be offered 5 or more servings
of fruits and vegetables each day. Juice is a means of fulfilling part
of this requirement, but must
not be the only offering.
- Only full-strength (100%) fruit juice is allowed.
- The caregiver should offer juice at specific meals and snacks instead
of continuously throughout the day.
- Clean, sanitary drinking water should be readily available throughout
the day.
- All children should be encouraged to drink plenty of water between meals.
• Food
and treats brought in by families
- Whole fruits (apples, oranges, pears, etc.) should be
encouraged over sweets.
- Commercially prepared and packaged foods should be offered; homemade
treats should be discouraged - food allergies and home sanitation practices
are concerns.
- Lunches and snacks brought for one child should not be shared with other
children.
- Families should be encouraged to share nutritious, economical recipes
that reflect their cultural background.
Note: If a child's brown bag lunch doesn't meet nutrition or safety
requirements, the facility must supply food. If this happens on a regular
basis, the family
should be referred to appropriate resources such as WIC (Federal Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children), extensions services,
the health department or social services for supplemental income.