A Planning guide for food service in child care centers

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Food and
Nutrition
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FNS-64
January 1 981
A Planning Guide For
Food Service in Child
Care Centers
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A Planning Guide
for Food Service in
Child Care Centers
United States Department of Agriculture
Food and Nutrition Service
FNS-64
Foreword
This publication has been prepared to help
you who are personnel in child care centers
and outside-school-hours care centers in
the Child Care Food Program plan food ser­vice
operations. Originally a 3-year pilot
project, the program was made permanent
by Public Law 95-627 in November 1978.
The Child Care Food Program reimburses
child care institutions that serve nutritious
food to preschool and school-aged children
who are enrolled in organized child care
centers. People over 18 years of age who
meet the State's definition of mentally or
physically handicapped can also par­ticipate
in the program if they are enrolled
in an institution or child care facility where
the majority of those served are 18 years of
age or younger.
The program is open to any public or
private nonprofit institution that is licensed
or approved to provide child care services
and where children do not stay on a perma­nent
basis. Sponsoring organizations that
accept administrative and financial respon­sibility
for program operations in centers or
homes need not have child care licensing
or approval. Day care centers, settlement
houses, neighborhood centers, Head Start
centers, and organizations providing day
care services for handicapped children are
some of the institutions that can par­ticipate.
2
Several Food and Nutrition Service
publications are mentioned in the text.
Information on where you can get
them is on page 27.
Participating centers serving meals that
meet program requirements are eligible for
cash reimbursement and donated foods or
an additio-nal cash payment of equivalent
value. Centers also may obtain funds for
equipment to initiate, improve, or expand
food service programs. These funds may be
used for the purchase or rental of equip­ment
for storing, preparing, transporting,
and serving food. Any institution that
receives funds for equipment must also
participate in the food assistance portion
of the program.
Participating centers also get technical
assistance to plan or implement a food ser­vice
operation from the State administrative
agency or Food and Nutrition Service
Regional Office (FNSRO) that administers
the program.
USDA policy forbids discrimination because of
race, color, or national origin. Any person who
believes he or she has been discriminated
against in any USDA-related activity should write
immediately to the Secretary of Agriculture,
Washington, D.C. 20250.
Revised
January 1 981
Contents
2 Foreword
4 Planning food for a day
4 Meal patterns
12 Planning menus
15 Suggested menus for young children
20 Tips on food purchasing
21 Food preparation
22 Sanitation
23 Make mealtime a happy time
24 Nutrition education
26 Planning foods for infants
27 Information materials
28 Menu planning worksheets
34 Menu evaluation checklist
3
Planning food for a day
When planning food service for a child care
center, you should consider the total daily
food needs of children . The combination of
meals and snacks (supplements) you serve
will vary according to the ages of the
children, when they arrive at the center,
and how long they stay. Children who come
to centers early (before 8 a.m.) and have
eaten little food at home need a breakfast
or snack soon after they arrive. Young
children who stay at the center for 4 to 6
hours should have at least one meal, or a
meal and one or more snacks. (However,
.you cannot serve more than two snacks,
one breakfast, one lunch, and one supper
on any day to the same group of children.)
Children who spend more than 6 hours at
the center should receive additional meals.
If the center is open until late in the day,
you can also serve supper. Child care
centers may serve breakfast, lunch, supper,
and both midmorning and midafternoon
snacks, or any combination of these. Each
center should serve the meal combination
that best suits the needs of the enrolled
children. Program regulations limit the
meal types that outside-school-hours care
centers can serve. (See Section 226.20(b}(.lf}
of program regulations, which you can ob­tain
from your administering agency.)
Remember:
Young children need nutritious foods at fre­quent
intervals. Serving food frequently
keeps children from becoming overtired
and irritable. However, it is important to
schedule the food service to allow suffi­cient
time between meals and snacks. For
example, if you serve breakfast, schedule
the midmorning snack so that it does not
dull the children 's appetites for lunch. If
you serve a late breakfast, a midmorning
snack may not be necessary. Program
regulations establish minimum intervals
between meal services in outside-school­hours
care centers. (See Section 226.20(b)(7)
of program regulations.)
4
Meal patterns
Important Notes
• Children 12 years and older may need
larger quantities of required foods.
• Milk always includes whole milk, lowfat
milk, skim milk, cultured buttermilk, or
flavored milk made from these types of
fluid milk that meet State and local stan­dards.
• Bread can always be replaced with an
equivalent serving of enriched or whole
grain rice or pasta or an acceptable bread
product made of enriched or whole grain
meal or flour. See page 10.
• At lunch or supper:
You can serve an equivalent quantity of
any combination of the foods that are
listed under Meat and Meat Alternates.
You must offer at least two servings of
different kinds of Fruits and Vegetables.
Pattern
Breakfast
Milk, fluid
Juice or fruit or vegetable
Bread and/or cereal,
enriched or whole grain
Bread or
Cereal: Cold dry or
Hot cooked
Midmorning or midafternoon
snack (supplement)
(Select 2 of these 4 components)
Milk, fluid
Meat or meat alternate
Juice or fruit or vegetable
Bread and/or cereal,
enriched or whole grain
Bread or
Cereal: Cold dry or
Hot cooked
Lunch or supper
Milk, fluid
Meat or meat alternate
Meat, poultry, or fish, cooked
(lean meat without bone)
Cheese
Egg
Cooked dry beans and peas
Peanut butter
Vegetable and/or fruit (two or more)
Bread or bread alternate,
enriched or whole grain
1 1/4 cup (volume) or 1/3 ounce (weight), whichever is less.
2 1/3 cup (volume) or 1/2 ounce (weight), whichever is less.
3 3/4 cup (volume) or 1 ounce (weight), whichever is less.
Children
1 up to 3 years
1/2 cup
1/4 cup
1/2 slice
1/4 cup1
1/4 cup
1/2 cup
1/2 ounce
1/2 cup.
1/2 slice
1/4 cup1
114 cup
112 cup
1 ounce
1 ounce
1
1/4 cup
2 tablespoons
1/4 cup
1/2 slice
Children Children
3 up to 6 years 6 up to 12 years
3/4 cup 1 cup
1/2 cup 1/2 cup
1/2 slice 1 slice
1/3 cup2 3/4 cup3
1/4 cup 1/2 cup
1/2 cup 1 cup
1/2 ounce 1 ounce
1/2 cup 3/4 cup
112 slice 1 slice
1/3 cup1 3/4 cup3
1/4 cup 1/2 cup
3/4 cup 1 cup
1/2 ounces 2 ounces
1/2 ounces 2 ounces
1
3/8 cup 1/2 cup
3 tablespoons 4 tablespoons
1/2 cup 3/4 cup
1/2 slice 1 slice
5
Young children master many skills during
their first 6 years, and learning to eat a
variety of foods is one of the most impor­tant
ones. Thus, personnel who are respon­sible
for food service in child care centers
should provide children the opportunity to
learn to eat and enjoy a variety of nutritious
foods.
Since no one food contains all the
nutrients in amounts children need for
good health, it is important to select a
variety of foods to supply all the nutrients
children need each day. Meal pattern re­quirements
provide a framework for plan­ning
menus that contribute to the nutri­tional
well-being of young children.
As specified in the regulations for the
Child Care Food Program, the meals or
snacks must contain, as a minimum, the
following food components in the amounts
that the meal pattern chart indicates.
MILK supplies most of the calcium in
meals. It also supplies riboflavin, protein,
vitamin A, and other nutrients. '
At breakfast, you must provide a serving
of milk. It may be used as a beverage, on
cereal, or as a beverage and on cereal. At
lunch and supper you must serve milk as a
beverage, except in certain cases where the
administering agency has granted waivers.
You may offer children a choice of different
types of milk, including whole milk, lowfat
milk, skim milk, cultured buttermilk, or
flavored milk. They all must meet State and
local .standards. If you serve lowfat or skim
milk, it should be fortified with vitamins A
and D. Milk is also a good beverage to use for
midmorning or midatternoon snacks. If you
serve only snacks, or a meal and two
snacks, it is a good idea, but not man­datory,
to include milk in at least one
snack. You may use additional milk (fluid,
evaporated, or nonfat dry) to prepare soups,
puddings, baked products, and other
dishes. Additional milk in these items helps
improve the nutritional quality of any meal.
However, you cannot credit this milk to
meet the milk requirement.
6
MEAT AND MEAT ALTERNATES provide
protein, iron, B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin,
niacin), and other nutrients. You must serve
a meat, a meat alternate, or a meat and
meat alternate combination at lunch or sup­per
in the amounts the patterns on page 5
specify. You can use a serving of lean meat
(beef, pork, lamb, veal), poultry, fish, a serv­ing
of cheese, an egg, a serving of cooked
dry beans or peas, or the specified quantity
of peanut butter to meet this requirement.
You can use a combination of any of these
foods to meet this requirement. For exam­ple,
you may serve a peanut butter sand­wich
and a "deviled" egg as the meat alter­nate
in a meal. Ground meat and cheese
(meat and meat alternate) that are com-
bined in a casserole also meet this require­ment.
These foods are usually served as
the main dish at lunch or supper.
Enriched Macaroni Products with For­tified
Protein may be used as one-half of
the meat alternate as follows: one part dry
macaroni or spaghetti to one part cooked
meat, poultry, fish, or cheese. For example,
·a main dish made with 314-ounce dry
enriched macaroni product with fortified
protein (about 114 to 318 cup, cooked)
and 314-ounce cooked meat, poultry, fish,
or cheese meets the meat or meat alternate
requirement for a child age 3 to 6 years.
You may also use an enriched macaroni
product with fortified protein as a bread
alternate, but you cannot use it as both a
meat alternate and bread alternate in the
same meal.
Textured Vegetable Protein Products are
allowed as a meat alternate when you mix
no more than 30 percent of the hydrated
protein products with 70 percent uncooked
meat, poultry, or fish.
Cheese Alternate Products may be used
in combination with at least an equal
amount of natural or processed cheese in a
heated or cooked menu item.
To improve children 's overall food intake,
you should include meat or meat alternates
at breakfast as often as possible. You may
serve eggs, cheese, and peanut butter as
they are, or you may use them to prepare
breads, like cheese biscuits or peanut but­ter
rolls.
Young children enjoy cheese cubes or
sticks, peanut butter on bread or crackers,
meat cubes, and other protein-rich foods at
snack time. Snacks provide excellent op­portunities
for introducing unfamiliar meats
or meat alternates to young children. You
may also use a serving of meat or meat
alternate as one of the components of a
snack.
VEGETABLES AND FRUITS provide most
of the vitamin C and a large share of
vitamin A. They also supply iron, other
vitamins and minerals, and fiber.
At breakfast, a serving of fruit or
vegetable, or full-strength fruit or vegetable
juice is required. Breakfast is an excellent
time to serve vitamin C foods. These in­clude
citrus fruits and juices, like oranges
or grapefruits. (See page 12 for a list of full­strength
fruit and vegetable juices.) Other
good choices are tomato juice, strawber­ries,
or cantaloupe when they are in
season. You can also serve dried fruit.
Dried apricots, raisins, and prunes provide
variety in menus and are valuable sources
of iron. (See the list on page 9 for food
sources of vitamins A and C and iron .)
To meet program requirements for lunch
and supper you must serve two or more
v~getables or fruits at each meal. Include
vegetables and fruits that are good sources
of vitamins A and C and iron in at least one
meal.
Fruits and vegetables that are easy to
prepare and eat are practical to serve. Offer
a variety of these foods. Use fresh fruits
and vegetables frequently. When you use
canned fruits, select ones that are packed
in fruit juice, water, or a light sirup, when
possible. If you serve fruit or vegetable
juice for the midmorning or midafternoon
snack, use full-strength juice. (However,
you cannot serve fruit juice if you serve
milk as the only other component for the
snack.) Juice drinks with at least 50 per­cent
full-strength juice are allowed, but dis­couraged,
because double the volume is
needed to meet program requirements.
Most juice drinks contain less than 50 per­cent
full-strength juice. Beverages made
from fruit-flavored powders and sirups do
not meet program requirements.
Snack time is a good time to introduce
new vegetables and fruits to children.
For variety, you might want to serve
some fruit or vegetable (118 cup) with juice
and toast for snacks.
7
ENRICHED OR WHOLE GRAIN BREAD
AND CEREALS provide some of the 8
vitamins, minerals (especially iron), some
protein, and calories. Whole grain products
supply additional vitamins and minerals, as
well as dietary fiber and variety of taste
and texture.
At breakfast, you must offer a serving of
enriched or whole grain bread, a serving of
an acceptable bread product made of
enriched or whole grain meal or flour, or a
serving of enriched or whole grain cereal.
(See list of acceptable breads and bread
alternates on page 10.) To meet the require­ment
for 3- to 6-year-old children, you can
use a combination of bread and cereal,
such as 1/4 slice of bread and about 2 level
tablespoons (1/8 cup) of cooked rolled oats.
Remember that the meal patterns specify a
different serving size for hot cooked cereals
than for cold dry cereals.
At lunch and supper, you must offer a
serving of enriched or whole grain bread.
You can meet this requirement with whole
grain or enriched bread, or with a serving of
an acceptable bread product made with
whole grain or enriched meal or flour. A
serving of enriched or whole grain products
such as enriched macaroni, rice, noodles,
spaghetti, corn grits, or bulgur also meet
this requirement.
For midmorning and midafternoon
snacks, if you choose to serve bread you
must offer a serving of enriched or whole
grain bread or cereal, or an acceptable
bread product made of enriched or whole
grain meal or flour. Hot breads such as
rolls, biscuits, cornbread, muffins, or raisin
bread can add variety and appeal, as well
as nutrients, to snacks. (For other accep­table
breads and bread alternates, see the
list on page 1 0.) Enriched soda and graham
crackers also are appropriate to serve to
young children as snacks. Although most
crackers are made with enriched flour,
USDA does not recommend that you use
"party" crackers, i.e., snack crackers, onion
8
crackers, and the like, because it is difficult
to determine portion sizes that are
equivalent to 1/2 slice of bread. Enriched
cookies do not count as bread equivalents
at breakfast, lunch, or supper. However,
these items are acceptable as snacks.
Choose a type of cookie that you may offer
in reasonable numbers to meet the
minimum requirements for the age group
you are serving. USDA recommends that
you serve cookies as a part of a snack no
more than twice a week.
Formulated Grain-Fruit Products meet
the bread or cereal and fruit or juice re­quirements
for breakfasts and snacks.
These products must meet nutritional
specifications as established by USDA.
They are intended for use where kitchen
facilities are not available for preparing and
serving regular breakfast or snack menus.
You may serve OTHER FOODS that are
not a part of the meal pattern requirements
at all meals. These can help improve ac­ceptability,
satisfy children's appetites, and
if wisely chosen, can increase the nutri­tional
quality of meals.
A serving of butter or fortified margarine
is not required. You may use butter or forti­fied
margarine as a spread or in food prep­aration
to provide additional calories and
vitamin A. Go easy on added fat.
Desserts served at lunch and supper help
meet children's need for energy (calories).
Desserts may also help meet other nutri­tional
needs. For example, baked products
made from whole grain or enriched flour
supply iron and 8 vitamins. Desserts made
from milk furnish calcium along with other
nutrients.
You can serve jams, jellies, honey, and
sirup occasionally at breakfast to add varie­ty.
They mainly furnish calories.
Some foods for vitamin A, vitamin C, and iron
.. Vitamin A
Vegetables Fruits
Asparagus Spinach Apricots
Broccoli Squash-winter Cantaloupe
Carrots Sweetpotatoes Cherries, red sour
Chili peppers (red) Tomatoes Peaches(notcanned)
Kale Tomato juice, Plums, purple (canned)
Mixed vegetables paste or puree Prunes
Peas and carrots Turnip greens
Pumpkin Vegetable juices
Vitamin C
Vegetables Fruits
Asparagus Peppers, sweet Cantaloupe
Broccoli Potatoes, white Grapefruit
Brussels sprouts Spinach Grapefruit juice
Cabbage Sweetpotatoes Oranges
Cauliflower Tomatoes Orange juice
Chili peppers Tomato juice, Raspberries
Collards paste or puree Strawberries
Kale Turnip greens Tangerines
Okra Turnips
Iron
Vegetables Fruits
Asparagus (canned) Parsnips Apricots (canned)
Beans-green, wax, Peas, green Cherries (canned)
lima (canned) Potatoes (canned) Dried fruits-apples,
Bean sprouts Sauerkraut (canned) apricots, dates, figs,
Beets (canned) Squash (winter) peaches, prunes,
Broccoli Sweet potatoes raisins
·Brussels sprouts Tomato juice, paste, Grapes (canned)
Dark green leafy-beet puree, sauce
greens, chard, Tomatoes (canned)
collards, kale, Vegetable juice
mustard greens, (canned)
parsley, spinach,
turnip greens
Meat and Meat Alternates Bread and Bread Alternates
Dried beans and peas All enriched or whole
Eggs grain bread and bread
Meat in general, especially liver and other organ meats alternates
Peanut butter
Shellfish
Turkey
g
Acceptable bread and bread alternates
Important Notes:
• All products must be made of whole
grain or enriched flour or meal.
• Serving sizes listed below are specified
for children under 6 years of age.
• A "full" serving (defined below) is re­quired
for children 6 years of age and older.
• USDA recommends that cookies be
served in a snack no more than twice a
Group I
When you obtain these items commercially,
a full serving should have a minimum
weight of 25 grams (0.9 ounces). The serv­ing
sizes specified below should have a
minimum weight of 13 grams (0.5 ounces).
Item Serving Size
Bagels 1/2 bagel
Biscuits 1 biscuit
Boston brown bread 1/2 serving
Buns (all types) 1/2 bun
Cornbread 1 serving
Doughnuts (all types) 1/2 doughnut
English muffins 1/2 muffin
French or Vienna bread 1/2 serving
"Fry" bread 1/2 piece
Italian bread 1/2 serving
Muffins 1/2 muffin
Pretzels, Dutch (soft) 1 pretzel
twisted
Pumpernickel
Raisin bread
Rolls (all types)
Rye bread
Salt sticks
Stuffing (bread)
Sweet rolls
Syrian bread (flat)
White bread
Whole wheat bread
10
1/2 slice
1/2 slice
1 roll
1/2 slice
1/2 stick
1/2 serving
1/2 roll
1/2 section
1/2 slice
1/2 slice
week. They may be used for a snack only
when:
• whole grain or enriched meal or flour
is the predominant ingredient as
specified on the label or according to the
recipe; and
• the total weight of a serving for
children under 6 years of age is a
minimum of 18 grams (0.6 oz.) and for
Group II
When you obtain these items commercially,
a full serving should have a minimum
weight of 20 grams (0.7 ounces). The
serving sizes specified below should have a
minimum weight of 10 grams (0.4 ounces).
Item Serving Size
Bread sticks (dry) 2 sticks
Graham crackers 2 crackers
Melba toast 3 pieces
"Pilot" bread 1 piece
Rye wafers (whole-grain) 2 wafers
Saltine crackers 4 crackers
Soda crackers 2 crackers
Taco shells 1 shell
Zwieback 2 pieces
0
-
children over 6 years, a minimum of 35
grams (1.2 oz.).
• To determine serving sizes for products
in Group I that are made at child care
centers, refer to "Cereal products" in
FNS-86, "Quantity Recipes for Child Care
Centers.''
• Doughnuts and sweet rolls are allowed
as a bread item in breakfasts and snacks
only.
Group Ill
When you obtain these items commercially,
a full serving should have a minimum
weight of 30 grams (1.1 ounces). The serv­ing
sizes specified below should have a
minimum weight of 15 grams (0.6 ounces).
Item
Dumplings
Hush puppies
Meat or meat alternate
pie crust
Meat or meat alternate
turnover crust
Pancakes
Pizza crust
Popovers
Sopapillas
Spoon bread
Tortillas
Waffles
Serving Size
1/2 dumpling
1/2 serving
1/2 serving
1/2 serving
1/2 pancake
1/2 serving
1/2 popover
1/2 serving
1/2 serving
1 tortilla
1/2 serving
• French, Vienna, Italian, and Syrian
breads are commercially prepared products
that often are made with unenriched flour.
Check the label or manufacturer to be sure
the product is made with enriched flour.
• The amount of bread in a serving of stuf­fing
should weigh at least 13 grams (0.5
ounces).
Group IV
When you serve these items, a full serving
• should have a minimum of 1/2 cup cooked
product. The serving sizes specified below
are the minimum half servings of cooked
product.
Item
Bulgur
Corn grits
Macaroni or spaghetti
Noodles
Rice (white or brown)
Serving Size
1/4 cup
1/4 cup
1/4 cup
1/4 cup
1/4 cup
Suggested finger foods
Apple wedges
Banana slices
Berries
Cabbage wedges
Carrot sticks
Cau I iflowerets
Celery sticks*
Cheese cubes
Dried peaches
Dried pears
Fresh peach wedges
Fresh pear wedges
Fresh pineapple sticks
Grapefruit sections (seeded)
Green pepper sticks
Meat cubes
Melon cubes
Orange sections
Pitted plums
Pitted prunes
Raisins
Tangerine sections
Tomato wedges
Turnip sticks
Zucchini sticks
• May be stuffed with cheese or peanut butter
Full-Strength fruit and vegetable
juices:
Apple
Grape
Grapefruit
Grapefruit-orange
Orange
Pineapple
Prune
Tangerine
Tomato
Any blend or combination of the above
juices is acceptable.
12
Planning menus
Creative menu planning calls for originality,
imagination, and a spirit of adventure. Plan
menus that are appealing, economical, and
suited to available facilities and personnel,
and plan the menus for the children that
you serve. Investigate the ethnic and
cultural background of program par­ticipants
and try to include foods that will
be acceptable to the groups you are serv­ing.
Plan menus 2 weeks to a month ahead of
the time that you will serve them. You need
to plan them this far in advance to ac­curately
purchase food, control costs, and
schedule food preparation.
Cycle menus lasting 2 or 3 weeks are one
way to provide variety and avoid repetition
in food service. The cycle does not always
have to begin on the first day of the week.
Beginning the menu cycle on Wednesday,
Thursday, or any other day is just as accep­table
and helps avoid having the same
menu on the same day of each week.
APPETITE APPEAL
Variety is the key to appetizing meals for
children and adults alike. The food you
serve should have variety: in form (cooked
and raw), size and shape (round, sticks,
cubed, etc.), color, texture (crisp and soft),
and flavor (strong or mild, sweet or sour).
Also, plan for a variety of components for
the snacks. See menus on page 16 for
ideas.
Serve foods in forms young children can
manage easily, such as bite-sized pieces.
Serve "finger foods"-vegetable sticks or
wedges of fresh fruit-often. Foods they
can pick up with their fingers are easy to
handle.
Try to include foods with contrasting col­ors.
The natural red, green, and orange col­ors
of fruits and vegetables add eye appeal.
Colorful foods should be used in combina­tion
with those of little color. Mashed
potatoes, green beans, carrot sticks, and
tomato wedges make an appealing color
combination.
In a hot meal, try to include at least one
cold food. In a cold meal, try to include at
least one hot food.
Use crisp, firm foods in combination with
soft, creamy ones.
Use a combination of mild flavors with
strong ones.
Strong-flavored vegetables, such as broc­coli,
cabbage, and kale, may not be popular
with young children. Serve these vegetables
only occasionally and in small amounts.
Include food combinations that are most
acceptable to children.
Plan special menus for national holidays,
children's birthdays, and other special days
at the center.
Plan to use foods in season. Most fresh
fruits and vegetables are plentiful during
summer months. This is a good time to
serve these foods.
Consider regional, cultural, and personal
food preferences of children when planning
menus.
Try to have the menus reflect children's
food preferences, not just the personal
preferences of the menu planner.
Avoid:
• Serving the same food on consecutive
days; for example, ground beef in meatloaf
on Monday and in "Sloppy Joes" on Tues­day.
• Serving the same food on the same day
of the week. Every Monday should not be
"soup and sandwich day" and every Friday
should not be "fish day."
• Preparing two foods in the same way in­the
same meal; for example, chicken a Ia
king and creamed corn.
• Preparing foods in the same way each
time they are served.
13
FOOD COST
Most centers have a limited amount of
money they can spend for food in a given
period-a month, for example. The food
service manager has the responsibility of
staying within this limit while planning ap­petizing
and nutritious meals. Here are
some tips on controlling food costs.
Recipes
Use recipes that yield a given amount of a
good quality product. A file of such recipes
(standardized recipes) that are adjusted to
provide the number of servings required in
the center is basic to cost control. The file
should include the quantities of fresh and
processed foods-vegetables and fruits for
example-that provide the required serv­ings.
A source of recipes is FNS-86, " Quan­tity
Recipes for Child Care Centers."
Cost comparisons
Calculate how much it costs to serve the
foods in the file of recipes. Estimates that
you base on the cost of the main ingre­dients,
not counting the cost of season-ings,
are accurate enough for planning pur- ,
poses. Recalculate the cost of recipes only
when there is a big change in the price of a
major ingredient. You can then compare
the cost of foods in different recipes. For
example, you can compare the cost of
spaghetti and meatballs with the cost of
turkey and dressing, and a half orange with
a glass of orange juice. Also, you can
estimate the cost of the total menu. If this
cost is too high for the food budget, you
can replace some of the foods in the menu
witl:l less expensive ones.
Finding bargains
Make maximum use of USDA-donated
foods. Find out from your State agency if
donated foods are available in your State. If
they are, the State agency may refer you to
the State distributing agency. In most
States, the distributing agency will tell you
which donated foods are available.
14
Once you receive supplies, include these
foods daily or weekly on menus (depending
on quantities). Use foods that are in plen­tiful
supply on the local market to help
keep your food costs low. Check food
prices frequently with local vendors to
determine the cost of foods. Plan to use
those foods on the menu that are a bargain
locally.
FACILITIES
Plan meals that you can prepare and serve
with the facilities and equipment that are
available.
Consider the oven, surface-cooking,
refrigeration, and freezer space. Consider
the numbers and kinds of serving tools and
dishes that you have available to serve
each meal.
For help in planning kitchen facilities,
see "Food Service Equipment Guide for
Child Care Institutions."
PERSONNEL
Plan meals that your employees can
prepare in the allowed time.
Consider the amount of hand preparation
you need for each menu.
Schedule employees' time so that you
can use their particular skills to best advan­tage.
Balance the workload from day to day
and week to week.
MENU PLANNING-THE TOTAL JOB
Good menu planning goes beyond the
listing of specific foods that you include in
daily meals. A menu planning worksheet
can help simplify the total job.
Keep daily records of the menus served.
Design a worksheet to record the menus
that you have planned. (See sample
worksheets, pages 30-33.)
Select the specific recipes you use to
prepare the different menu items.
Determine the serving size you need.
Evaluate the menus from the standpoint
of meeting meal requirements, as well as
requirements for quality and quantity.
Estimate the number of meals you will
prepare.
Adjust the recipes you select to provide
the necessary number of servings.
Calculate the amounts of food you need
for the total number of meals you will serve
with the help of this publication and
FNS-108, "Food Buying Guide for Child
Care Centers."
Calculate the cost of the meals.
Prepare purchase orders relative to food
inventories.
Schedule production time and develop
work schedules.
Remember:
A key to good management is to carefully
and systematically plan menus well in ad­vance.
Suggested menus for
young children
Important Notes
• These menus are based on meal re­quirements
for children from 3 to 6 years of
age. For amounts of food to serve other
children, see page 5.
• For recipes to prepare these menus that
meet program requirements, see FNS-86,
"Quantity Recipes for Child Care Centers."
• Make cocoa with fluid milk: whole, skim,
or lowfat.
·• Rolls, breads, muffins, cookies, and
crackers must be made with enriched flour.
• You may meet the meat or meat alter­nate
requirement by serving an equivalent
quantity of any combination of foods that
are listed under Meat and Meat Alternates.
• Where amounts of a food are not
specified, you may use any amount. Try
serving a small amount for learning pur­poses.
15
Suggested menus for young children
Pattern
BREAKFAST
Juice or fruit or
vegetable
Cereal or bread or
bread alternate
Milk
Other foods
A.M. SNACK
(Select two of these
four components)
Milk
Meat or meat alternate
Fruit or vegetable or
juice
Bread or bread alter·
nate (including cereal)
LUNCH OR SUPPER
Meat or meat alternate
Vegetables and fruits
(two or more)
Bread or bread alternate
Milk
Other foods
P.M. SNACK
(Select two of these
four components)
Milk
Meat or meat alternate
Fruit or vegetable or
juice
Bread or bread alter·
nate (including cereal)
16
1st Day
Orange juice-1/2 cup
Toast-1/2 slice
Milk-3/4 cup
Baked scrambled egg-
2 tbsp.
Milk-1/2 cup
Cinnamon toast-
1/2 slice
~
Meat loaf-1 slice
(1·1/2 oz. meat)
Green beans-1/4 cup
Pineapple cubes-
1/4 cup
Bread-
1/2 slice
Milk-3/4 cup
Mixed fruit juice-
1/2 cup
Peanut butter sand·
wich-1/4
2nd Day
~ Sliced banana-1/2 cup '
Cornflakes-1/3 cup
.,M_i_lk_-3_/4_ c_up_ ____,.
Tomato juice-1/2 cup
Cheese stick-1/2 oz.
Baked chicken-(1·1/2
oz. meat)
Mashed potatoes-1/4
cup
Peas-1/4 cup
Carrot stick
Roll-small
Milk-3/4 cup
Milk-1/2 cup
Oatmeal cookie-1
..,___________,
3rd Day
Apricot halves-1/2 cup
Whole wheat toast -1/2
slice
Cocoa-3/4 cup
<1 Milk-1/2 cup
Dry cereal-1/3 cup
'----------"
Chicken vegetable
soup-1/2 cup
(1 oz. meat, 1/4 cup
vegetable)
Peanut butter and jelly
sandwich-1/4
(1 tbsp. peanut butter)
Green pepper stick
Sliced peaches-
1/4 cup
Milk-3/4 cup
Apple juice-1/2 cup
Cheese toast-1/2 slice
4th Day
Fruit cup-1/2 cup
Hard cooked egg-half
Toast-1/2 slice
Milk-3/4 cup
Pineapple juice-
1/2 cup
Toasted raisin bread-
1/2 slice
Lean beef patty-
1-1/2 oz.
Carrots-3/8 cup
Apple wedge-1/8 cup
Whole wheat bread-
1/2 slice
Milk-3/4 cup
Chocolate pudding-
2 tbsp.
8 Milk-1/2 cup
Peanut butter cookie
Turnip stick
~
5th Day
Grape juice-1/2 cup
Enriched soda
crackers-2
Peanut butter
Fish sticks-3 (1-1/2 oz.
fish)
Spinach-1/4 cup
Fresh pear half-1/4 cup
Corn bread-1 square
Milk-3/4 cup
Milk-1/2 cup
Rolled wheat muffin-
1/2
Cauliflowerets
17
Suggested menus for young children
Pattern
BREAKFAST
Juice or fruit
or vegetable
Cereal or bread or
bread alternate
Milk
Other foods
A.M. SNACK
(Select two of these
four components)
Milk
Meat or meat
alternate
Fruit or vegetable or
juice
Bread or bread alter·
nate (including cereal)
LUNCH OR SUPPER
Meat or meat alternate
Vegetables and fruits
(two or more)
Bread or bread alternate
Milk
Other foods
P.M. SNACK
(Select two of these
four components)
Milk
Meat or meat
alternate
Fruit or vegetable or
juice
Bread or bread alter·
nate (including cereal)
18
6th Day
jj Apple juice-1/2 cup
Cheese toast-1/2 slice
Milk-3/4 cup
~ Pineapple juice-
3/8 cup
Carrot sticks-3
Whole grain rye
wafers-2
Swiss steak cubes-
1/4 cup (1·1/2 oz. II meat)
Mixed vegetables-
1/4 cup
Orange sections-
1/4 cup
Rice-1/4 cup
Milk-3/4 cup
<] Milk-1/2 cup
Raisin bread-1/2 slice
'------------"
7th Day
~r Orange juice-1/2 cup"
Enriched English
muffin-1/2
Milk-3/4 cup J
~ Dry cereal-1/3 cup
w/banana slices
Milk-1/2 cup
J
Macaroni, cheese and
ham casserole-
~ 1/3 cup (1-1/2 oz.
meat and cheese)
Cabbage-1/4 cup
Fresh fruit cup-
1/4 cup
Bread-1/2 slice
Milk-3/4 cup
~ Tomato juice-1/2 cup
Whole wheat muffin-
1/2 muffin
~
8th Day
Sliced peaches-
1/2 cup
Corn grits-1/4 cup
Milk-3/4 cup
~ Apple juice-
1/2 cup
Toast-1/2 slice
~
Baked liver-1-1/2 oz.
Green beans-
1/4 cup
Tomato wedge-1/4 cup
Bread-1/2 slice
Milk-3/4 cup
Milk-1/2 cup
Vanilla cookie-1
9th Day
Applesauce-1/2 cup
Scrambled egg-2 tbsp.
Whole wheat toast-
1/2 slice
Cocoa-3/4 cup
Orange juice-1/4 cup
Muffin-1/2 muffin
Raisins-1/4 cup
Spaghetti and meat
sauce-1/2 cup
(1-1/2 oz. meat)
Peas-1/4 cup
Green salad-
1/4 cup
French bread-
1/2 slice
Milk-3/4 cup
~ Milk-1/2 cup
Cinnamon toast-
1/2 slice
______..
10th Day
Tomato juice-1/2 cup
Farina-1/4 cup
Milk-3/4 cup
Milk-1/2 cup
Enriched soda
crackers-2
Peanut butter
Salmon loaf-1 piece
(1-1/2 oz. fish)
Boiled potatoes-
1/4 cup
Broccoli-1/4 cup
Roll
Milk-3/4 cup
Fresh fruit cup-
1/2 cup
Cornmeal cookie-1
.)
19
Tips on food purchasing
Getting the most for the food dollar takes
careful planning and buying experience.
Careful use of food buying power will not
only help control food cost but also reduce
waste and help upgrade the quality of
meals.
Success in food buying means getting
foods of good quality in the proper quan­tities
at the best possible prices.
Quantities to buy depend on the number
of children attending the center, the menus
and recipes you use, the amount and kind
of storage space you have available, the in­ventory
on hand, the perishability of the
food, and the length of time the order will
cover.
WHERE TO BUY
• Check the food companies (vendors) or
stores in the area.
Which offers foods that you use frequent­ly?
Which offers the service you need­prompt
and frequent delivery, credit, dis­counts?
Which offers quality food at a
reasonable price?
• Buy from suppliers that provide the best
quality food at the most reasonable prices.
• Follow a strict code of business ethics
when purchasing foods for the center.
Know what the food suppliers expect, and
let them know what you expect of them.
WHAT TO BUY
How you plan to use the food determines
the form and quality you should buy. Con­sider
products' style, type, size, count, con­tainer,
and packaging medium. Read labels.
Know what the product is and inspect it
before you buy it and upon delivery.
Whenever possible, buy foods that are
federally graded.
20
• Buy federally inspected meats and
poultry. Government inspection insures that
meat and poultry were produced from
animals or fowl that were free from disease
at the time of slaughter and were prepared
under strict sanitary conditions.
• Purchase only pasteurized, Grade A milk
and milk products.
• Purchase federally inspected se~foods
whenever possible. This assures top quality
products.
• Purchase bread and pastry that is proper­ly
wrapped or kept in paper-lined containers
with covers to keep bread and pastry fresh
and wholesome.
• Purchase frozen foods that have been
kept hard frozen. Do not accept delivery of
frozen foods that are, or have been, thawed
or partially thawed.
• Purchase perishable foods that have
been kept under refrigeration.
Develop standards for all food purchases.
Standards describe the food to be purchas­ed.
State or write clear standards for each
food item you order. Let the vendor know
the standards. Once you receive the order,
check to see that the food meets the stan­dards.
HOW MUCH TO BUY
• Calculate the quantities of food you
need to serve the children and adults
eating at the center.
• Consider the number of servings per
pound or per can for each item you will pur­chase.
Select those food items that best
suit your needs.
• Remember storage facilities. Buy only
quantities that you can store properly. Con­sider
food's "keeping" qualities in relation
to storage facilities you have available. Buy
those that best fit the situation. WHEN TO BUY
• Decide when to buy each type of food.
Purchase bread and milk daily. You should
buy perishable foods, such as meat, fish,
poultry, fresh and frozen produce, for daily
delivery. If you have enough storage space,
two deliveries a week may be adequate.
Purchase canned foods and staple
groceries monthly or twice monthly, de­pending
on storage space.
KEEP RECORDS OF FOOD PURCHASES
Record the date you ordered the food, the
date you received it, its condition on arrival,
when you used it, and how much you used.
Be sure to record the price you paid. These
records can be a help in planning future
purchases and menus.
Remember:
The food you serve can only be as good as
the quality of the foods you purchase.
Food preparation
Serving acceptable and nutritious foods
depends not only on good planning, selec­tion,
and storage of food, but also on how
you prepare and cook it.
The key to good food preparation is to
carefully follow standardized recipes. A
standardized recipe specifically describes
the amount of ingredients and the method
of preparation you need to consistently pro­duce
a high-quality product. You will need
to make sure that your recipes meet the
program meal requirements.
FOOD PREPARATION TIPS
• Trim fresh fruits and vegetables carefully
to conserve nutritive value. Remove dam­aged
leaves, bruised spots, skins, and in­edible
parts. You lose nutrients when
Nssues are bruised. To avoid bruising, use
a sharp blade when trimming, cutting, or
shredding.
• Cook vegetables only until they are
tender and in just enough water to prevent
scorching.
• Cook root and tuber vegetables in their
skins to help retain their nutritive value.
• Serve the liquid from cans, or use it in
gravies, soups, gelatin, and the like to get
full nutritive value from canned fruits and
vegetables.
• Cook meat, fish, and poultry according
·to the cut or type that you purchased. The
less expensive cuts and grades of lean
meat contain as much food value as higher
priced ones. The cheaper cuts require
greater skill in cooking and seasoning to be
acceptable.
• When you roast meat and poultry, skim
fat from drippings before making gravies.
When you stew meat, skim the fat from the
broth and use the broth in soups. This will
have some nutrients that you otherwise
would lose during cooking.
• Avoid cooking cereals in too much water.
You waste valuable nutrients when you
drain off the cooking water and rinse the
cereals.
21
Sanitation
Sanitation is one of the most important
aspects of good food service. One error or
one instance of carelessness can cause
the spread of a disease with drastic conse­quences.
Just as it is important to feed children
nutritious, body-building meals, it is equally
important that the meals be free from
substances that may cause illness. Nutri­tion
and sanitation must go hand-in-hand in
any good food service operation. Consider
sanitation when you select, store, and
serve food.
GOOD SANITATION REQUIRES:
Clean utensils and equipment.
• Be sure all eating and drinking utensils
are properly handled. Do not touch sur­faces
on which food is served or surfaces
which come in contact with the mouth.
• Do not use cracked or chipped utensils
and dishes.
• Keep all appliances and equipment cle'an
and in good working order.
• Use only dishwashing equipment that
meets local health agency regulations.
• Request that local health and fire depart­ments
inspect center facilities at least
once a year.
Clean and wholesome food.
• Purchase foods such as pasteurized
milk, inspected, stamped meat, and
government-approved shellfish to help in­sure
food safety.
• ~xamine food when it is delivered to
make sure it is not spoiled, dirty, or con­taminated
with insects.
Correct storage and cooking temperatures.
• Use food supplies on a " first in, first
out" basis. Store foods so you use older
supplies first. This helps prevent spoilage.
• Protect foods such as flours, cereals,
cornmeal , sugar, dry beans, and dry peas
from rodents and insects by storing these
foods in tightly covered containers.
22
• Keep cold foods cold (45°F or below) and
keep hot foods hot (cook and hold at 140° F
or above).
• Don't overload containers for heating
and cooling. Use shallow pans so food will
heat or cool quickly.
• Throw out portions of foods that are
served but not eaten.
Clean and healthy workers.
• Be sure that all food service workers
meet the health standards set by local and
State health authorities.
• Do not let people with infected cuts or
sores, colds, or other communicable
diseases prepare or serve food.
Safe food handling practices.
• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap
and water before handling foods or uten­sils.
Repeat after every visit to the
restroom.
• Wash your hands, utensils, and work sur­faces
thoroughly after contact with raw
eggs, fish , meats, and poultry:
• Thoroughly wash all fruits and
vegetables you serve raw, such as lettuce,
celery, carrots, apples, and peaches.
• Cook foods properly, following stan­dardized
procedures and recipe directions.
Make mealtime a happy time
Feeding young children can be fun if you
know:
• What foods children should have.
• How to bring children and foods together
happily.
Pleasant eating experiences are as impor­tant
as nutritious foods. They provide plea­sant
associations with food and eating.
Food habits and attitudes that form during
the preschool years remain with most peo­ple
throughout life.
• Try to understand each child's person­ality
and reaction to foods.
• Children need to do as much for
themselves as they are able to do. First ef­forts
may be awkward, but encourage them.
These efforts are a step toward growth.
• Children may be in no hurry to eat once
the first edge is taken off their hunger.
They do not have adults' sense of time.
Urging them to hurry may spoil their
pleasure in eating.
• Most 1-year-old children can handle bite­sized
pieces of food with their fingers.
Later they can handle a spoon by
themselves. Since they are growing slower
than infants, they may be less hungry. They
may be choosy and refuse certain foods.
Don't worry or force them to eat. Keep on
offering different foods.
• Sometimes children 3 to 6 years old go
on food "jags." They may want two or three
servings of one food at one meal. Given
time they will settle down and eat a normal
meal. The overall pattern from week to
week and month to month is more impor­tant.
INTRODUCING NEW FOODS
Introduce only one new food at a time. Of­fer
a very small amount at first, at the
beginning of the meal, so that children may
become used to new flavors and textures.
Allow plenty of time for children to look at
and examine the foods.
Do not try to introduce a new food when
children do not feel well or are cross and ir­ritable.
If you offer a new food and children
turn it down, don't make a fuss. Offer the
food again a few days later. If children do
accept a new food, let them try it again
soon so they can become familiar with it.
ENCOURAGING FAVORABLE FOOD
ATTITUDES AND GOOD EATING HABITS
• Use a bright, attractive, well-ventilated,
and comfortable room for serving meals.
• Have a physical setting-tables, chairs,
dishes, glasses, silverware, and serving
utensils-that suits young children.
• Provide a quiet time just before meals so
that the atmosphere can be friendly and
relaxed at mealtime.
• Encourage children to participate in the
food service by setting the table, by helping
to bring the food to the table, or by clean­ing
their own space after eating.
• Avoid delays in food service so the
children will not have to sit and wait.
• Set a good example. Young children
sense adult attitudes toward food.
• At the table, create an atmosphere of ac­ceptance
and respect for each child so that
the meal will be both nutritionally and emo­tionally
satisfying.
• Serve foods family style. An adult should
eat at the table with the children. Children
should be encouraged to take second help­ings,
if that is necessary to insure that they
get all the required quantities.
• Arrange foods on plates to make meals
nutritious, interesting, and attractive from
the standpoints of color, texture, flavor, and
temperature.
• Give small servings and allow second
servings if desired.
• Permit children to make some food.
23
choices, and recognize when their food
needs have been satisfied.
• Use new foods frequently, but introduce
them one at a time with familiar foods, and
have only "taste-size" portions until the
children accept the food. Snack time is a
good time to taste-test new foods.
• Temperature extremes are unpleasant to
most young children. Usually a child does
not object to lukewarm food. Beverages are
often more pleasing to a child when served
at room temperature, rather than ice cold or
piping hot.
• Deemphasize the "clean plate" idea.
Children may rebel if you force them to eat
unwanted food. Children may learn to
overeat if they are told too often to finish
their meals.
• Do not let children use food to gain at­tention-
for example, if they refuse to eat
or make special demands.
24
Nutrition education
Nutrition education should prepare children
to make the correct choices of food.
Children should start learning about nutri­tion
when they are young.
During this period, a young child can
develop positive attitudes toward food,
learn to accept a wide variety of foods, and
appreciate the pleasurable experiences
eating provides. You can accomplish all of
this by incorporating into the child care
food program educational activities that are
centered around foods. It's better to
establish good food habits early in life than
try to change eating habits later.
Mariy factors must work together to
make a nutrition education program suc­cessful.
A primary factor is the cooperative
effort of directors, teachers, food service
personnel, and parents in helping children
learn about food. Directors, teachers, and
food service personnel should serve
nutritious meals and snacks that provide an
opportunity for excellent learning activities.
Parents can emphasize these activities at
family meal times at home. Also, parents
can serve the program as volunteers, such
as helping supervise a meal. At the same
time they can learn a great deal to enhance
family eating practices at home. In the
center, you might encourage children to:
• Identify, talk about, and enjoy a wide
variety of new foods, new tastes, and new
dishes.
• Develop a wholesome attitude toward
nutritious food and good eating habits.
• Share and socialize in group eating
situations.
The teaching of nutrition is most valuable
to chil.dren when you integrate it with other
learning experiences. Learning is reinforced
when children have an opportunity to prac­tice
what you teach them. Foods-like a
golden orange, a rosy apple, or a bright­hued
pepper-can be an introduction to
bright new colors, different shapes, tex­tures,
and aromas.
Some nutrition education activities that
children may perform in the center are:
• Squeezing oranges and drinking the juice
for snacks. Roll the oranges on a hard sur­face,
such as a table, to soften them before
juicing.
• Peeling grapefruits, bananas, and
tangerines. Tear and break the fruits into
pieces and mix them together to make a
salad for lunch. Be sure to coordinate this
activity with the food service personnel.
• Growing a sweetpotato in water to show
how the plant grows from the stored food
in the potato.
• Celebrating a special occasion like
Halloween by baking pumpkin bread or
Washington's birthday by preparing a
cherry cobbler.
• Measuring dried beans or colored water
using real kitchen measuring cups and
spoons.
• Observing changes in texture, volume,
and consistency of juice as a liquid, and
after you freeze it. Freeze the juice in cups
to make popsicles.
• Role-playing in a supermarket setting.
This could include choosing food, caring
for fresh vegetables, classifying and shelv­ing
canned goods, and exchanging money
tokens.
• Listening to the sounds made as celery
or popcorn is eaten; identifying a variety of
foods by smell, with your eyes closed; us­ing
descriptive words to tell how certain
foods taste.
Children learn many things from excur­sions
or trips to discover how food is pro­duced,
marketed, and purchased. These
trips broaden their horizons and both
stimulate and satisfy their curiosity. After
the trip, have the children role-play to recall
what they learned. Children could begin
with a visit to the center's own kitchen, and
an introduction to the person who is
responsible for the food preparation.
On a trip to a farm, children might:
• Observe cows being milked and discuss
how the milk gets from the farm to the con­tainer
in the store.
• Discuss how eggs get from the farm to
the store.
• Observe vegetables and plants growing.
Discuss how plants grow and produce our
vegetables and fruits.
You can take other trips, which teach
children more about foods, to the farmer's
25
market, grocery store, dairy, and bakery.
In addition, foods may be a pleasant and
interesting part of other center activities. At
play, for example, you might encourage
children to:
• Plant seeds which germinate quickly,
such as radishes, mustard greens, and tur­nip
greens. Soak seeds overnight to hasten
~ germination.
• Make biscuit or yeast dough and wrap it
around different types of food before cook­ing.
Cook and eat the finished product.
• Play a matching game with foods and
food pictures, such as matching eggs and
chickens, green leafy vegetables and grow­ing
plants, and milk and cows.
The effectiveness of nutrition education
in the classroom can be greatly enhanced
if parents reinforce it at home. You should
invite parents into the center to:
• Join in group meetings at which feeding
the family is the subject of discussion.
• Assist with food preparation.
• Be guests or aides at mealtime.
• Share favorite family menus, recipes,
special foods, and traditions of their ethnic
heritage.
Doing this, parents can serve the center
and at the same time learn a great deal
about selecting economical foods and
developing sound nutritional practices.
26
Planning foods for infants
Because infants (birth to 1 year) are so
vulnerable nutritionally, you should gear
their feeding to the needs of each infant
and base it on sound medical advice. Child
care centers providing day care for infants
should seek guidance on feeding infants
from the appropriate medical authorities­the
infants' doctors or pediatric nurse prac­titioners
or the public health clinic.
Babies' first food is usually breastmilk or
prepared infant formula. Infants should be
fed breastmilk or formula for the first year
of life.
In addition to breastmilk or formula, you
should provide other foods during the first
year but not until the infant is at least 4 to
6 months old. These offer additional
nutrients for the larger infant. It is up to the
doctor or medical authority to decide when
and in what order you should offer these
foods.
When the infant is ready to begin solid
foods, offer one new food at a time and
continue for 3 to 4 days before you intro­duce
another food. Start with small serv­ings
of 1 to 2 teaspoonfuls and gradually
increase the serving size to 3 to 4 table­spoons
per feeding.
Introduce infant cereal first, then strained
fruits, strained vegetables, and finally,
strained meats. You should also introduce
juices (orange or apple) one at a time, pref­erably
from a cup.
Once babies show signs of teething, they
will welcome a piece of dried bread, toast,
or a teething biscuit to chew. When they
have enough teeth and can chew, infants
should progress to mashed or finely
chopped foods to acquaint them with dif­ferent
textures. Do not add sugar, fat, or
salt to infants' foods.
As babies become acquainted with their
environment, including their food, they will
want to explore it, handle it, and try to feed
themselves. Encourage this as much as
possible.
Information materials
Conserving the Nutritive Value in Foods.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),
Home and Garden Bulletin No. 90, Slightly
Revised 1977. Available from Superinten­dent
of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.
Discovering Vegetables. USDA, FNS-127,
1975. Available from your State Agency or
USDA/FNS Regional Office.
Food is More Than Just Something to Eat.
Prepared by the U.S. Departments of
Agriculture and Health, Education and
Welfare with the Grocery Manufacturers of
America and the Advertising Council, 1973.
Available from Nutrition, Pueblo, Colorado
81009.
Information on Using Protein Fortified,
Enriched Macaroni-Type Products in Child
Nutrition Programs. USDA, 1974. Available
from your State Agency or USDA/FNS
Regional Office.
Information on Using Textured Vegetable
Protein in Child Feeding Programs. USDA,
1971. Available from your State Agency or
USDA/FNS Regional Office.
The "Whats, Whys, and Hows" of Cheese
Alternate Products. USDA. Available from
your State Agency or USDA/FNS Regional
Office.
Growing Up With Breakfast. Kellogg Co.
Available from Kellogg Company, Depart­ment
of Home Economics Services, 235
Porter Street, Battle Creek, Michigan 49016.
Quantity Recipes for Child Care Centers.
USDA, FNS-86, Slightly Revised 1979.
Available from your State Agency or
USDA/FNS Regional Office.
Buying Food. Prepared by Science and
Education Administration, Revised July
1978. Available from Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Of­fice,
Washington, D.C. 20402.
Fun With Good Foods. USDA, PA-1204.
Available from Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Of­fice,
Washington, D.C. 20402.
A Menu Planning Guide for School Food
Service. USDA. PA-1260. Revised 1980.
Available from your State Agency or
USDA/FNS Regional Office.
Food Buying Guide for Child Care Centers.
USDA, FNS-108, Slightly Revised 1979.
Available from your State Agency or
USDA/FNS Regional Office.
Food Service Equipment Guide for Child
Care Institutions. PA-1264, Revised 1980.
Available from your State Agency or
USDA/FNS Regional Office.
27
For additional audio visual and print
materials related to food service and nutri­tion
education for children, contact the
Food and Nutrition Information and Educa­tional
Materials Center (FNIC).
You may phone, write, or request materials
in person. Allow ample time for delivery.
You can borrow most print materials for 1
month. You can borrow nonprint media
(films, slides, etc.) for 2 weeks only. The
center can loan no more than three copies
at any one time to one person. The center
keeps a mailing list for people who are in­terested
in obtaining FNIC's catalogs. Mail
address:
The Food and Nutrition Information
and Educational Materials Center
National Agricultural Library, Room 304
Beltsville, Maryland 20705
Telephone: (301) 344-3719
(24-hour telephone monitor)
Office Hours: 8:00-4:30 Monday-Friday
Street Address: 10301 Baltimore Boulevard
Beltsville, Maryland 20705
28
Menu planning
worksheets ·
STEPS FOR USING DAILY MENU
PLANNING WORKSHEET FOR
CHILD CARE FOOD PROGRAM
Column 1
Enter date of meal service. The meal pat­terns
are listed for Breakfast, A.M. Snack,
Lunch, P.M. Snack, and Supper. Note that
two of the four food components must be
used in the A.M. or P.M. Snack. You may
not serve juice when you serve milk as the
only other component.
Column 2
Menu....,..Pian menus for each meal that you
serve using the guide on page 5. Plan
menus in advance. USDA recommends
planning 2 weeks to a month ahead of the
time you serve the meals. First, plan a
week's menus on a Weekly Menu Planning
Worksheet. Then plan the details on a Daily
Planning Worksheet. If you need a recipe
for a menu item, record the name and/or
number of the recipe along with the menu
item (see sample).
Column 3
. Size of Serving-use the guide on page 5
to determine the size of serving for the ap­propriate
age group. The portions used in
the example are for children 3 to 6 years of
age.
Column 4
Number To Be Served-Determine the
number that you will serve based on
average daily attendance.
Column 5
Food Items Used-List each food item that
contributes to meal requirements as listed
in Column 1.
Column 6
Amounts Used-Indicate the amount of
each food item (listed in Column 5) that you
use to prepare each meal. Refer to FNS-108
"Food Buying Guide for Child Care
Centers" to determine how much food you
need to buy to meet USDA requirements.
Daily menu planning worksheet
(sample)
(1)
Date
Meal Pattern
BREAKFAST
Milk, fluid
Juice or fruit or
vegetable
Bread or bread
alternate
(including cereal)
Other foods
A.M. SNACK
(Select two of these
four components)
Milk, fluid
Juice or fru it or
vegetable
Bread or bread
alternate
(including cereal)
Meat or meat alternate
LUNCH
Milk, fluid
Meat or
meat alternate
Vegetables and/or
fruits (two or more)
Bread or bread
alternate
Other foods
P.M. SNACK
(Select two of these
four components)
Milk, fluid
Juice or fruit or
vegetable
Bread or bread
alternate
(including cereal)
Meat or meat alternate
SUPPER
Milk, fluid
(2)
Menu
Milk
Applesauce
Cinnamon toast
Orange juice
Muffin-112 (USDA
recipe, card-file
B-6)
Milk
Meat loaf (See
State Agency
recipe)
Green beans
Mashed potatoes-
1/2 recipe
(USDA recipe,
cardfile H-5)
Bread
Ice cream
Milk
Crackers
w/peanut butter
(3) (4) (5) (6)
Number
Size of To Be
Serving Served Food Items Used Amounts Used
3/4 cup 25 Milk 1.2 gal.
112 cup Applesauce 4 cans
(#2-1/2 size)
112 slice Bread .Bib.
1/2 cup 25 Frozen concentrate 2.2 cans
orange juice (12 fl. oz. size)
1 small Muffin 25 muffins
muffin
3/4 cup 25 Milk 1.2 gal.
1 slice Ground beef 3.41b.
(1-1/2 oz.)
meat
1/4 cup Green beans 2 cans
(#2-1/2 size)
Potato granules 1-1/3 cups
1/4 cup Tomato sauce 1 can (16 oz. size)
1/2 slice Bread .Bib.
1 scoop Ice cream 1/2 gal.
1/2 cup 25 Milk .B gal.
4 Crackers 1 box (1 lb. size)
crackers
Meat or meat alternate
Vegetables and/or (In this example, no supper is served at the center.)
fruits (two or more)
Bread or bread alternate
Other foods
29
Daily menu planning worksheet
(1) (2)
Date ____ _
Meal Pattern Menu
BREAKFAST
Milk, fluid
Juice or fruit or
vegetable
Bread or bread
alternate
(including cereal)
Other foods
A.M. SNACK
(Select two of these
four components)
Milk, fluid
Juice or fruit or
vegetable
Bread or bread
alternate
(including cereal)
Meat or meat alternate
LUNCH ,
Milk, fluid
Meat or meat alternate
Vegetables and/or
fruits (two or more)
Bread or bread
alternate
Other foods
P.M. SNACK
(Select two of these
four components)
Milk, fluid
Juice or fruit or
vegetable
Bread or bread
alternate
(including cereal)
Meat or meat alternate
SUPPER
Milk, fluid
Meat or meat alternate
Vegetables and/or
fruits (two or more)
Bread or bread
alternate
Other foods
30
(3)
Size of
Serving
(4)
Number
To Be Served
(5)
Food Items
Used
(6)
Amount
Used
31
Weekly menu planning worksheet
Week of __________ __
Pattern Monday Tuesday
BREAKFAST
Milk, fluid
Juice or fruit or
vegetable
Bread or bread
alternate
(including cereal)
Other foods
A.M. SNACK
(Select two of these
four components)
Milk, fluid
Juice or fruit or
vegetable
Bread or bread
alternate
(including cereal) 1
Meat or meat alternate
LUNCH
Milk, fluid
Meat or meat alternate
Vegetables and/or
fruits (two or more)
Bread or bread
alternate
Other foods
P.M. SNACK
(Select two of these
four components)
Milk, fluid
Juice or fruit or
v_egetable
Bread or bread
alternate
(including cereal)
Meat or meat alternate
SUPPER
Milk, fluid
Meat or meat alternate
Vegetables and/or
fruits (two or more)
Bread or bread
alternate
Other foods
32
Wednesday Thursday Friday
I
'
33
Menu evaluation checklist
1. Have you included all components of the
meal?
2. Are serving sizes sufficient to provide
young children the required quantity of:
Meat and/or meat alternate?
Two or more vegetables and/or fruits?
Enriched or whole-grain bread or an
equivalent?
Fluid milk?
3. Have you planned serving sizes?
4. Have you included other foods to help
meet the nutritional needs of young
children and to satisfy their appetites?
5. Are the combinations of foods pleasing
and acceptable to children?
6. Do meals include a good balance of:
Color-in the foods themselves or as a
garnish?
Texture-soft, crisp, firm-textured?
Shape-different-sized pieces and shapes
of foods?
Flavor-bland and tart or mild and strong
flavored foods?
Temperature-hot and cold foods?
7. Are most of the foods and food com­binations
ones that children have learned
to eat?
8. Have you considered children 's cultural
and ethnic food practices?
9. Are foods varied from day to day, week
to week?
10. Have you included different kinds or
forms of foods (fresh, canned, dried)?
11. Have you included seasonal foods?
34
Notes
Notes
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