Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

Children 12 months of age and older are served meals and snacks according to the guidelines set forth by the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

 

Children are served the required minimum portion size of each menu item. If a child completes their entire meal they are allowed to ask for a second serving of one or all components of the meal so long as sufficient time remains in the meal period.

 

If a child refuses to eat we will offer the meal or snack again two more times. If they still refuse to eat they may be asked to remain seated at the table until meal service is complete (depending on the meal). Please understand, we will not force children to eat! We will however, indicate on your child’s daily report how much of each meal and snack your child ate.

 

Since, the DEL mandates that we follow individual sleep schedules for children under 30 months of age, occasionally a child will sleep through a meal. When it is possible to safely save a meal or snack until the child awakes we will. Otherwise, if the next scheduled meal time is more than 30-minutes away we will serve a nutritionally comparable substitute.

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Menus

Menus are on display in the front lobby. Copies are available upon request or can be downloaded below. Please keep in mind that we revise our menus annually and occasionally have to make substitutions due to market availability. A separate summer menu cycle runs mid-June through the end of August.

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"NUT FREE" Facility

As of March 1, 2014 our menu is considered to be “Nut Free”! We do not serve any products that contain peanuts or tree nuts and try our best to exclude the purchase and use of food that may be processed at a facility where the equipment may have been used to process nut products. We also ask that no outside food is brought into our Center without our Center Manager’s and/or cook’s prior approval to limit other accidental exposures

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Outside Food and Drink

Some children in our care have highly sensitive food allergies and even the mere contact with a surface that has touched a particular food item can cause an anaphylactic reaction. Any outside food or drink will be discarded immediately unless it has been prearranged with our Center Manager and/or cook .

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Food Allergies and Substitutions

If your child has been determined by a doctor to be disabled, and the disability would prevent your child from eating the regular meals at the Center, you must have your child’s doctor complete a CACFP Medical Disability Statement that describes the disability and prescribes the alternative foods needed, verifying that special meal components are needed due to a disability. We will then work with clients on a case-by-case basis to make sure their child is receiving nutritionally balanced meals while in our care.

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The only exception to this is milk. If your child cannot drink cow’s milk due to medical or other special dietary needs but does not have a diagnosed medical disability, you may complete a Request for Fluid Milk Substitution form. Our Center currently provides a USDA approved soy milk alternative that is nutritionally equivalent to cow’s milk. Parents may request to provide other USDA approved lactose-free options at their own expense.

 

All food allergies will be posted in locations where food is prepared and served.

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Milk

Children who are 12-24 months old will be served unflavored whole milk. Children two years of age and older will be served unflavored low-fat (1%) or fat-free milk.* Breastmilk is considered an allowable fluid milk of any age.

 

*Low-fat (1%) or fat-free flavored milk may occasionally be served to children six years of age and older during special events such as field trips. In compliance with new FSN regulations, effective October 1, 2017 only fat-free flavored milk will be served.