Home-Packed Meals

Even if your program provides some or all of the food for the children in your care, there are occasions when an individual family wishes to send food from home for their child. The child may have diet restrictions due to medical conditions or allergies, follow cultural or religious restrictions, or simply be an extremely picky eater.

Many programs do not allow any outside foods. If your early care and education setting does not allow food from home, written documentation of this policy should be provided to families. Working with families to meet the nutritional needs of children who cannot easily participate in your food program will help the children receive adequate nutrition.

Childcare settings that do allow outside foods also should have written protocols and guidelines for families. For programs in which outside foods are the exception rather than the rule, it is important to develop written policies before they are needed.

Written Agreements

It is recommended that written agreements be signed between parents or guardians and the childcare program if a family provides food from home. This written agreement, intended to protect both the provider and the family, should include the following:

• A statement regarding the parent’s provision of the food.
• Instructions on labeling food containers with the child’s name, the date, the type of food, and storage requirements (i.e., refrigeration).
• A space for the parent to print their name and the child’s name.
• A space for the parent’s signature and date.
• A statement for the parent to initial if they do not want the program to give the child any food other than what is provided from home.

Nutritional Guidelines

The best guidelines to provide parents are the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) standards from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These standards address the different types of foods needed, the minimum amounts for specified ages, and appropriate portion sizes for all children as part of their childcare.

Childcare providers can offer parents who are interested in bringing food from home copies of the CACFP Meal Plan chart, the Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children, and web page resources to help them make good decisions about their children’s nutritional needs while still adhering to any medical or religious restrictions.

Childcare staff should inform parents if the child seems to want more or less food, which foods the child does not eat, and if the child makes special requests for specific foods. Such communication will allow parents and providers to meet the child’s needs and wants.

Ideas for What to Pack

If parents seem unsure of what to pack, here are some suggestions to share with parents:

Vary the bread component: In addition to regular sliced bread, try tortillas, pita pockets, mini-bagels, bread sticks, rice cakes, crackers, and hot dog buns (these make great miniature subs).

Make the meal more fun by cutting sandwiches into shapes. Another variation on bread is to buy small whole wheat wraps, fill them with a protein component, then roll them up tight. These can be made the night before to save time. Try the new whole wheat breads that taste and feel like white bread; same texture, with increased nutrients and fiber.

Vary the protein component: Try different types, flavors, colors, and textures of cheeses. Use chicken instead of tuna filling for a sandwich. Vary the colors by including sandwich halves of different sliced deli meats, such as roast, turkey breast, or ham.

Other protein variations are to roll deli meat slices around cheese or bread sticks, spread hummus on pita bread, include bean dip with tortillas, or mix yogurt with chopped nuts and fruit. For children over the age of three years, consider almond and other nut butters instead of peanut butter. Remember, peanut butter can present a choking hazard to younger children.

Try new fruits: Pack more exotic fruits such as fresh kiwi, star fruit, pineapple spears, mangoes, and papayas. Miniature bananas are fun and provide just the right size serving. Mix colors such as blueberries with strawberries, or cantaloupe with honeydew melon. Fresh slices of fruit can be dipped into orange juice before packing to prevent browning.

Vary the vegetables: Small pieces of vegetables like broccoli, jicama, radishes, cucumbers, and baby carrots are good choices. Veggies should be cut to shapes appropriately to prevent choking, such as thin strips of carrots rather than rounds. Send various dips or dressings for extra flavor; individual packets from restaurants are convenient.
Vary the crunchy foods: Instead of salty and fatty chips, try pretzels, rice cakes, crackers, and bread sticks. Select different sizes, colors, and flavors. Dry foods can cause choking, so remind children to chew slowly and sip their beverages with the foods.

Include children’s favorite foods: Small cookies, graham crackers, angel food cake squares, and mini-muffins are fun. Naturally-sweetened fruits are packaged in convenient single-serve cups, or can be mixed with yogurt for a tasty treat. Puddings, gelatins, and fruit cups also bring smiles.

Condiments can be fun to use with many foods. Sealed packets of ketchup, mustard, dressing, or salsa from restaurants are perfect for bagged lunches.

Help parents identify and be aware of foods that can cause potential choking or allergic reactions. It also is important to notify parents if you have an enrolled children with a severe allergy, such as a peanut allergy, and require that they follow your program guidelines. A “peanut-free” childcare includes foods brought by other children.

Nutrition Requirements

If families wish to send packed meals from home and your program policy allows this, then the food sent should meet the child’s nutrition requirements. Guidance from Caring for Our Children suggests that childcare facilities “have food available for the child if the food brought from home is deficient in meeting the child’s nutrient requirement.”

Caring for Our Children states that “If the food the parent provides consistently does not meet the nutritional or food safety requirements, the facility shall provide food and refer the parent for consultation with a nutritionist, the child’s primary health care provider or to community resources such as WIC, extension services, and health departments.”

Working with parents can help them prepare and pack foods for children that are safe and nutritious.

Madeleine Sigman-Grant, PhD, RD
Professor and Area Extension Specialist

INTERNET RESOURCES

Healthy School Lunches, www.bergenhealth.org/dept/resources/Healthy%20School%20lunches.pdf

Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children, www.cnpp.usda.gov/FGP4ChildrenPrintMaterials.htm

My Pyramid for Kids. Tips for Families, www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Resources/mpk_tips.pdf

USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Child and Adult Care Food Program Guidelines, www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Care

RESOURCES

Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care, National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education, UCD-SON Campus Mail Stop F541, Education 2 North, 13120 E. 19th Ave., Aurora, CO 80045;800-598-KIDS; nrc.uchsc.edu