Menus

March 2008 Menu (PDF)

April 2008 Menu (PDF)

The Children's Center serves a morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack to all children, except infants, who are in attendance at the time of service. Infant food and formula, as well as bottles for toddlers, are provided by parents. Meals are served at no additional charge.

All three meals meet the Department of Human Services Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) guidelines for nutritious, appropriate foods for young children. Our menus, kitchen facilities, and cooking procedures also follow their guidelines. Our kitchen is inspected regularly by the Brazos County Health Department.

We welcome your menu suggestions. Many of our meals have been suggested by parents or children. However, we are NOT able to prepare separate meals for children based on their preferences. All children will be served the same meal, with the following two exceptions:

• Children who are allergic or sensitive to a particular food. In this case, a physician's note is required, which must state which food(s) are to be avoided and list some acceptable substitutes.

• Children whose religious or cultural backgrounds makes some food(s) unacceptable. For example, some children do not eat pork for religious reasons. In this case, a parent's note is required, stating which food(s) are to be avoided, and listing some acceptable substitutes.

To maintain CACFP compliance, we must have the required notes to make substitutions. We will make every reasonable effort to provide alternative food for children in these two situations. Please notify the Assistant Director upon enrollment if these situations apply to you.

If your child will not be eating the Center's food, you may provide a meal from home. Please ensure that the meal is nutritious, and please do not include foods that will cause problems in the classroom, such as candy, gum, sweets or soda.

Be aware, we DO NOT ALLOW PEANUT BUTTER OR PEANUT PRODUCTS in the Center due to allergies.

Infants are served whenever they are hungry. All other children eat their meals together with their classmates, at the same time. Morning snack service starts about 8:00 a.m., lunch starts about 11:00 a.m., and snack is served about 3:00 p.m. We will not "hold" meals for your child. If your child is not at the Center when a meal is served, he or she will not receive that meal. Please make arrangements for your child to be fed prior to arrival if it is after meal service.

We serve meals "family style". Family style means that children serve themselves whenever possible. Family style encourages cooperation, patience and independence.

During meal times we also encourage children to try new and different types of foods. The "try bites" or "no thank you" bites are the spoonfuls the children place on their plates when they are not sure if they will like the item.   Once they taste the item, they may decide to ask for more or say, "no thank you."

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