How healthy is your preschool's food?

[otterpop]

I was just wondering how carefully parents consider food choice when selecting a preschool for their children. My son attends a preschool that serves everything from scratch (even salsa, alfredo sauce, and pizza dough), is organic, has no red meat and uses beans, salmon, and boca as alternative protein sources rather than serving meat every day. Nothing comes from a can. It's all prepared by a chef each day and my son loves it!

What do your kids eat when not at home and is Raintree Learning Community the only preschool doing this?

I think every place needs to rethink how they feed our children. Kids shouln't only eat well at home and then ruin their healthy habits as soon as they go to school!

[Alyantavid]

Not every area has the option of a chef at preschool. I know my daycare's menu and we're very happy with the daycare and preschool, food and all.

[otterpop]

True. Although his daycare is not expensive. I think they just made a decision to make sure they included food as part of their planning. I just remember being so upset when I looked at other places and saw spaghetti o's slopped out of a can.

I guess I'm just venting. But there has been so much attention on getting junk food out of public schools, but no one has talked about chaning preschool food standards. That's when they're forming eating habits.

[phathui5]

I was at a childcare provider training on Tuesday about menu planning. There were people there from home daycares, childcare centers and preschools. The childcare centers and preschools had the worse nutrition (though most of the home daycares weren't good). I was the only one serving any kind of fresh food.

When we talked about PM snacks, they said "Goldfish and milk," "Graham crackers and milk." The lunches were meatballs and gravy, tuna with mayo. No fruit other than the occasional applesauce or banana. No veggies to speak of. Nothing organic.

[Alyantavid]

Although his daycare is not expensive.

Expensive or not, its not an option in this area. No daycare or preschool has a chef.

[aprons_and_acorns]

The child care center and preschool I used to work at had awful food from a nutritional standpoint. When I became the kitchen manager I started adding in some healthier foods, but there wasn't a lot of support for that from the director. She was a super neat lady but kind of a "junk food junkie" and thought that having "fun" foods was something that could make the children happy about coming to school and that it would help them have a good day. So I didn't get very far with my efforts.

They spent a TON of money on food too. I showed her how it would be cheaper to have fresh, homemade foods instead of pre-packaged processed foods (like Hot Pockets and Sara Lee individual coffee cakes) but she wasn't interested.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

Our school (which is a co-op preschool) kids bring their own lunches and are not allowed to bring "sugary snacks" and lunches are not allowed to be shared

snack is provided by the teachers and purchased mostly at the natural foods co-op across the street, things like organic yogurt, granola and rasins might be a snack, or organic rice cakes with organic peanut butter etc

[staceychev]

A food-provided daycare/preschool was one of my dealbreakers when first looking for a place for Lu. I live in an area like Allyson... no preschool has a chef. They're three types: crappy school lunches, parents provide (coop style), or parents provide (on an individual basis). Lucy attends the third type, and I'm happy to be able to still control what she eats every day.

(So, quick story, just for chuckles. When I was looking for daycares, I interviewed a place that provided food. I expressed concern, citing the type of diet I feed my daughter. The director replied "Oh, but we serve very healthy food. Students always get a vegetable. Corn, tater tots...")

[FullMetalMom]

My dd's preschool doesn't provide meals, but does provide snacks twice a day. They do all organic foods, including fruits, cheeses, breads, things like that. I kind of wish they did make meals because when I go in to pick up my dd, I see that most of the parents have dropped off microwavable pot pies and the like. I always send her with a homemade, organic lunch. They are also a pick-up spot for my local organic co-op.

[inkslinger]

My daughters' preschool is okay...there is a lot of processed foods that I'm not ecstatic about but they do provide fresh fruits and veggies also. I supplement by making sure their food at home is extra healthy!

[mysticmomma]

private schools in our area count KETCHUP as a vegetable.

[mommy2two babes]

Not a preschool but I run a home daycare.
I serve healthymeals and snacks virtually no processed foods.
The overwealming response I got during interviwes was.......

"Blank will never eat that"

I am not talking about different food either. Things like ham, meatloaf, chicken with thing like mashed potato, rice, salad ect

They were looking for someone to serve kraft dinner, grilled cheese, chicken nugets and fries hot dogs ect.

[otterpop]

i wish there was an alternative to having to provide your own food. I know when I was little that it was tricky for my mom to pack lunches without a fight. friends had junk food and i wanted it too.

one daycare i toured before I found the perfect preschool for my son served pudding and jello on a regular basis. I just think it's crazy. So many places consider fruit cocktail "fresh fruit". Or juice counts as a serving of fruit.

[wagamama]

My son goes to a private, alternative preschool in Japan. Their lunch is amazing: rice (usually brown, occasionally white), miso soup or other soup, a main cooked dish based on fish, seafood or small amounts of meat, and a small side salad. Occasionally they'll have a noodle dish like ramen or udon instead of the rice. Drinks are mugi-cha, which is a cold barley tea.

The afternoon snack is usually low-sugar: things like sweet potatoes, rice crackers, rice balls.

There is no morning snack. Following traditional Japanese thought, the school believes that kids won't have a good appetite for lunch if they have a snack in the morning. I started doing this at home when DS doesn't have preschool, and I definitely find that he eats much better -- and is less picky -- when he hasn't had a morning snack.

Actually, we only live part-time in Japan though. DH works in Nigeria and we live here for 8 months of the year. DS goes to a mainstream preschool with no lunch program (he comes home for lunch). But they do have a morning snack and it is terrible -- the other kids bring cookies, candies, chips, and share with my DS (who brings things like cashew nuts or homemade cookies). So I feel the pain of those who can't find a preschool with a decent lunch/food policy.

[treemom2]

My DS also attends a Japanese preschool (well, here they call it kindergarten). At his school the children can bring their lunch from home with "healthy foods" (meaning the teachers won't open pudding cups, candy, chips, etc. . .) or they can eat the school food. On Monday and Thursday the lunch has rice, fish, pickles, maybe curry and then something like a gyoza. On Tuesday and Wednesday the children have bread, fruit, a meat (like chicken), and some veggies (cooked, most Japanese don't eat raw veggies unless they are in salad). I think his lunches are very healthy compared to typical American lunches. On Friday the children take their lunches from home. . .we usually send him with rice triangles, fish (or some other small meat), edamame, a small salad, and a fresh fruit.

After lunch the children are given a cup of green tea. During lunch and during the school day the children all bring thermoses from home filled with either water or unsweetened teas (barley tea, oolong tea, green tea).

[Kinguk]

I've worked at over ten centres as a casual staff and am appalled at the food most centres serve. Goldfish crackers, microwave popcorn, Ritz... some of the more common items.

I had a debate with another worker because she wanted to serve, "worms in dirt" (chocolate pudding, gummy worms, oreo cookie crumbs) because the kids were interested in worms at the time. She thought it would be a fun way for kids to learn about worms... Of course I had to challenge her on that one. In the end, we got the director involved, I lost, and the pudding treat was served. I didn't want to be a part of it (as our nutritional policy specifically stated that we do not serve junk) and went off to do other stuff while she served this unhealthy snack on her own.

I felt so horrible when a mother -- who strictly does not want her children to have sugar -- walked in the door to see what we were serving the kids. She was pretty ticked off; I know I would be...and I was the one who had to do the explaining!

Now I provide childcare from my home and provide all meals and lunches. Most parents were horrified when they saw things like 'potato squash soup' on my menu -- but I cannot conciously feed children crap so I figure, my house my rules! The family I work with now LOVES the food their son is receiving

[NewMom0208]

My son's preschool has horrible menu, I send his three meals each day on a lunch box. And they have instructions not to give him anything that is not coming out of his lunch box. for possible exceptions they call me.
It helped that I have built a relationship of trust with his teacher.

[JudiAU]

Our (new) preschool has children bring their own lunches, no sharing, strict rules about everything being healthy, minimal trash, lots of talk about local and organic. Parents bring in snack and it is really generally quite healthy. Organic milk is served. No juice allowed.

[funkymamajoy]

Our preschool is only a few hours in the morning and the the volunteer for the day provides a snack. We're encouraged to bring fruit, veggies and whole grains but I'll admit to bringing oatmeal cookies (the oatmeal and raisins were healthy, right?)

[sunnygir1]

None of the day cares around here serve the kind of food you describe. Many things are convenience foods, some are from scratch. They generally all serve a vegetable and a fruit with lunch, though, and all that I've been in contact with are very good about substituting for dietary restrictions.

I wish the food were better, but I choose to let dd eat it rather than sending all her meals and snacks with her every day...that's just too much work and expense for me right now.