Meals & Menu
Mealtime Schedule:
- Breakfast: 8:00 to 9:00 am
- Lunch: 11:30 a:m to 12:30 pm
- Snack: 3:00 pm
Infants sleep and eat on demand, therefore the infants may not necessarily adhere to the above meal schedule.
These meals will be served daily by Blessed Lil One's and are included in the childcare fees. Blessed Lil One's will post a weekly menu for parents to review.
Parents should inform Blessed Lil One's of their child's food allergens and diet restrictions. Blessed Lil One's will provide meals for children with special dietary needs. Blessed Lil One's may incorporate these foods into its menu but will not serve that food item to the child and post in every classroom and in the kitchen each child food restrictions and diet requirements.
Parents are not to send gum or candy.
All meals provided by Blessed Lil One's will comply with the United States Department of Agriculture's nutritional guidelines.
Infants will be fed either formula or breast milk, both of which are to be supplied by the parent. The parent is responsible for providing baby food for as long as that is necessary.
Nutrition Policy
Good nutrition is vital to children's overall development and well-being. In an effort to provide the best possible nutrition environment for the children in our facility, Blessed Lil One’s has developed the following childcare nutrition policies to encourage the development of good eating habits that will last a lifetime.
The Blessed Lil One’s follows the child care nutrition guidelines recommended by the USDA CACFP (Child and Adult Care Food Program) for all the foods we serve. To provide a healthy and balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and limits foods and beverages that are high in sugar, and/or fat, our nutrition policy includes the following:
Fruits and Vegetables
- We serve fruit at least 2 times a day.
- We offer a vegetable other than white potatoes at least once a day.
Grains
- We serve whole grain foods at least once a day.
Beverages
- We limit juice intake to once per day in a serving size specified for the child’s age group. When served, the juice is 100% fruit juice.
- We do not serve sugar sweetened beverages.
- We serve only skim or 1% milk to children age 2 years and older.
Fats and Sugars
- High fat meats, such as bologna, bacon, and sausage, are served no more than two times per week.
- Fried or pre-fried vegetables, including potatoes, are served no more than once per week.
- We limit sweet food items to no more than two times per week.
Role of Staff in Nutrition Education
- Staff provide opportunities for children to learn about nutrition 1 time per week or more.
- Staff act as role models for healthy eating in front of the children.
Meal and snack times are planned so that no child will go more than four hours without being offered food. We provide a variety of nutritionally balanced, high-quality foods each day so please do not send your child with outside food and drinks.
Weekly Menus
Our weekly menus are carefully planned to follow childcare nutrition guidelines at every meal. Each menu is designed to provide a wide variety of nutritious foods that are different in color, shape, size and texture. All of our childcare menus include foods that are culturally diverse and seasonally appropriate.
We also like to introduce new and different foods and include children’s favorite recipes in our menu planning. Menus are rotated on a weekly basis to provide the children with a balance of variety and familiarity. Menus are adapted to incorporate local and fresh in-season produce when available.
Nutrition and Punishment
Staff will never use food as a reward or as a punishment.
Celebrations
If you would like to recognize your child’s actual birthday, we request that please reach out to the director or owner to plan the date, time and allowed food items.
Professional Development
Annual nutrition training is required to ensure that all staff understand the important role nutrition plays in the overall well-being of children.
The Blessed Lil One’s does not conduct any fundraising with food items.