Mealtime Struggles – Why I Stopped Providing All the Meals for the Children in My Home Daycare. As a home child care provider, I always strive to offer the best experience for the children and families. One of the services I provided for many years was preparing and serving meals. While this added a personal touch and ensured nutritional standards, I recently decided to stop providing all the meals in my daycare as of August 2024. Here’s why.
The Joy and Challenge of Providing Meals
When I started providing meals, I aimed to offer balanced, nutritious food that parents could trust. I loved introducing the children to healthy foods, offering different choices, and reminding them to try the food or have a small bite. It was fun cooking, learning about various ingredients, and eating together, fostering community and comfort in my daycare.
However, as time passed, the challenges began to outweigh the benefits.
Rising Costs
One of the primary reasons for my decision was the rising cost of food. Ensuring that every meal was nutritious and varied became increasingly expensive. The fluctuating prices of fresh produce, dairy, and other staples made it challenging to maintain a consistent budget without significantly increasing tuition fees.
Time and Energy
Preparing meals for a group of children is no small task. It requires meticulous planning, shopping, and cooking, not to mention managing dietary restrictions and allergies. As my daycare grew, I spent much time in the kitchen, which became burdensome. I would shop, prep, or prepare meals for the daycare in late nights, early mornings, and many weekends. In January 2024, I scoured DCFS rules for clarity and wanted to find ways to make my solopreneur business less tedious. I knew it was time to shift my focus and energy in my daycare.
Compliance and Safety
Adhering to food safety regulations and standards is important but can be complex and time-consuming. Ensuring my kitchen met all health and safety standards, managing proper food storage, and preventing cross-contamination required constant vigilance and effort. This added responsibility sometimes took away from the joy of meal preparation.
Unannounced Visits and Logging Meals
Participating in the food program came with its own set of challenges. Unannounced visits and daily meal logs took a lot of work. Some days, we were at the park or on field trips, making it hard to keep up with the required documentation. This constant monitoring added another layer of stress to my already busy schedule.
Waste and Preferences
Another significant factor was the waste. Despite my best efforts to prepare home-cooked, nutritious meals, many children preferred bland food. It was disheartening to see the meals I labored over—like baked zucchini, baked potatoes, strawberries, and blueberries—end up in the garbage. Being from the Caribbean, I know firsthand how difficult life can be and how many children worldwide don’t have enough to eat. Seeing this waste was particularly hard for me to accept.
Safety Concerns
Operating a home child care by myself meant constantly running up and down the stairs to prepare meals, which posed a safety risk. Leaving the children unattended, even for short periods, was not an option. Preparing meals before their arrival would take too much of my time, making it unfeasible to continue this practice.
A New Approach
Soon, I will no longer provide meals. I will transition to a new system that benefits the children and their families. Parents will pack lunches and breakfasts for their children, allowing them to cater to their children’s specific dietary needs and preferences. Like how they pack lunch for field trip days, they will continue that method in August and beyond. I will still supply milk to ensure they balance their meals. I will also have some snack bars, applesauce, fruits, crackers, and maybe yogurt for their snacks.
The Silver Lining
By shifting away from meal preparation, I know I will refocus my energy on what I love most—creating enriching, educational experiences for the children. In addition, we will do more projects that incorporate baking together, and that way, I will bring back cooking to our daycare but with less anxiety and stress. I am very happy about this change.
Oh, I forgot to mention that the food program gave providers a $0.04 raise for each day they provided meals—yes, that’s correct, a four-cent raise. What an insult to child care professionals.
Conclusion
Deciding to stop providing meals took work. However, it was necessary for the sustainability and quality of my daycare. I am happy for courage. I remember when I just started my daycare, I was nervous and did not have the business muscle I have today.
If you are a home child care provider thinking of transforming your practice, start by reading the license standards. The standards will give you a framework of principles that you can use in your business structure.
Addressing the Elephant in the Room
If I had a child who couldn’t afford the meals, I would still provide meals to that child. I could never allow a child to go hungry when I can help. In my situation, I live in an affluent neighborhood, and my families can provide the meals. I am at the higher tier in the food program, so the money I got from the food program did not compensate for what I spent at the grocery store.
Thank you for sharing this journey with me. I am Miss Sue, your educator, in the trenches with you.
xoxo Miss Sue
