Horrible Menu!

[Hunni Bee]

My job serves the worst food I've seen. Its a wonderful place, but I can't get over how bad the food is. This is a high end preschool.

Everything is either canned, frozen or boxed. All processed. The cheese is fake, the butter is fake. Out of the fifteen meals they serve a week, only one contains fresh fruit or veggies.

Say if they have, chicken pot pie, the ingredients are canned cream of chicken soup, canned peas and carrots, precooked frozen chicken chunks (blehhh) and a box biscuit mix for the crust. Nothing fresh or unprocessed.

All the families seem okay with this. A few kids pack lunches, but it seems to be so they can eat mac and cheese and chicken nuggets everyday, not because the parents want them to eat healthier options.

I am seriously considering sending my daughter there once she's born and a little older, but this is a real problem for me. I know I'd have to pack all her meals (we do NOT eat this way at our house) and there's no reduction in tuition for providing all food.

What do you all think about this?

[ksmith]

That is just awful. They are setting those kids up for poor eating habits, but odds are their families eat that way too. Before I closed I served a lot of processes foods, but once I reopen I plan to change that. Most will be made from scratch, organic, Andorra of fresh produce. Most people dot realize just how bad the processed foods really are. We have so many health problems in America today and people can't seem to realize its our food that is poisoning us!

[BumbleBee]

I completely know where you're coming from. At the last center I worked at everything was canned/processed/fake. It was a cost thing for them and may be for your center to. I don't know your centers financial situation but the one I worked at had extremely high overhead and massive debt.

Pesonally, I would just send your childs lunch when you get to that point. It is unlikely that the center will change.

[Bookworm]

This is how my center is now since being bought by a corporate daycare. We used to have have fresh fruit everyday. Our veggies were frozen but better than canned and the some of the meat was fresh ( homemade chicken and fish nuggets). We were privately owned and the owner tried to provide healthy meals and snacks within her budget and for the most part it was.

When we were sold, the group that bought us changed us over to their menu because they were on the food program. Now I don't know who oversees this food program, but we serve the exact same meals every week for three weeks straight and at least 3 of the 5 have no veggies or fruit in them. Our cook had to start sneaking in canned fruits/veggies on the food order just so the kids could have them. Since they took over, there are whole plates of food being thrown away by at least 7 of 12 of my kids. The numbers are high in the other classes as well. I know that we only have to offer the food, but when so. Ugh goes to waste and they majority are starving by snack (which is usually something sugary), I feel so bad.

[Hunni Bee]

This is how my center is now since being bought by a corporate daycare. We used to have have fresh fruit everyday. Our veggies were frozen but better than canned and the some of the meat was fresh ( homemade chicken and fish nuggets). We were privately owned and the owner tried to provide healthy meals and snacks within her budget and for the most part it was.

When we were sold, the group that bought us changed us over to their menu because they were on the food program. Now I don't know who oversees this food program, but we serve the exact same meals every week for three weeks straight and at least 3 of the 5 have no veggies or fruit in them. Our cook had to start sneaking in canned fruits/veggies on the food order just so the kids could have them. Since they took over, there are whole plates of food being thrown away by at least 7 of 12 of my kids. The numbers are high in the other classes as well. I know that we only have to offer the food, but when so. Ugh goes to waste and they majority are starving by snack (which is usually something sugary), I feel so bad.

how can they be on the food program and not serve fruits and veggies on a daily basis? They serve a fruit and veggie at lunch at my job, buts all canned though...

Edit: I see you said you don't know how they are getting by with it...what in the world do they serve though?

[HomeMADE]

When I opened I had this great idea that I would cook meals for the DCK's just as I do my own. We do very minimal processed foods. I cook almost every meal we have and the microwave is used only for reheating and popcorn.

Then I opened and saw that the reality is that everything can not be homemade as I wished. Not to mention I was also throwing away the good food. I don't think they are used to getting home cooked food everyday.

So until my veggies in the garden come in we have been doing frozen veggie's. I buy fresh apple's, banana's, and oranges, but the rest of the fruit is canned until they come back in season.

I do almost all of my grains from scratch, muffins, rolls, bread, ect. But I do goldfish, Cheerios, Honeycombs and such for snacks.

I also will do a canned ravioli, hotdogs, or bagged nugguts once a week for a treat. Usually Thursday's.

This summer the food will be so much better!!!!!! I know I am looking forward to all the fresh fruits and veggie's

[AmyKidsCo]

Yikes!

I don't like cooking but I still manage to provide good meals without mixes and boxed meals (except the occasional Kraft Organic Mac and Cheese). Once a week I have my husband (our family cook happyface) make extra at supper so I can use the leftovers for lunch the next day.

[Heidi]

When I opened I had this great idea that I would cook meals for the DCK's just as I do my own. We do very minimal processed foods. I cook almost every meal we have and the microwave is used only for reheating and popcorn.

Then I opened and saw that the reality is that everything can not be homemade as I wished. Not to mention I was also throwing away the good food. I don't think they are used to getting home cooked food everyday.

So until my veggies in the garden come in we have been doing frozen veggie's. I buy fresh apple's, banana's, and oranges, but the rest of the fruit is canned until they come back in season.

I do almost all of my grains from scratch, muffins, rolls, bread, ect. But I do goldfish, Cheerios, Honeycombs and such for snacks.

I also will do a canned ravioli, hotdogs, or bagged nugguts once a week for a treat. Usually Thursday's.

This summer the food will be so much better!!!!!! I know I am looking forward to all the fresh fruits and veggie's

Don't feel guilty about frozen vegies. They actually have more nutrients than store-bought fresh, because every day after the fresh ones are picked, they are losing some nutrients.

Of course, fresh from the garden is great!

[Jewels]

Thats awful, all school food is awful, when my son goes to 1st grade next year, he will be bringing a lunch everyday, I am NOT excited to make him a lunch everyday, but I don't want him eating the crap food! I would definatly pack my kids lunch if I were to send her to the preschool you work at.
I do half frozen veggies here combined with fresh veggies, I do believe frozen is just as good as fresh, good frozen, I buy the frozen organic veggies from costco, I love them! Stuff in cans I never serve, but I do believe now a days you can buy really good boxed mixes for some things, like pancake mix, there are some awesome all natural mixes, I find cooking healthy very easy, I don't do homemade breads, but I do 100%organic whole wheat, I buy very good quality frozen fish, steelhead trout, salmon, mahi mahi, its so easy I pop it in the oven with just a little seasoning and the kids eat it up, I never make it fancy or marinated, otherwise most don't eat it, lots of Brown basmatti rice, pop it in the pan on the oven 40 minutes before I need it. I never slave in the kitchen, my meals are all very healthy and easy to prepare.

[LK5kids]

Don't feel guilty about frozen vegies. They actually have more nutrients than store-bought fresh, because every day after the fresh ones are picked, they are losing some nutrients.

Of course, fresh from the garden is great!

Agree.....frozen veggies are fine.

[Bookworm]

how can they be on the food program and not serve fruits and veggies on a daily basis? They serve a fruit and veggie at lunch at my job, buts all canned though...

Edit: I see you said you don't know how they are getting by with it...what in the world do they serve though?

The majority of the meals are carb/carb/ canned fruit. We get a protein maybe twice a week. For snacks, morning snacks are pure sugar and afternoon snack is something like chips or cheezits.

[Hunni Bee]

The majority of the meals are carb/carb/ canned fruit. We get a protein maybe twice a week. For snacks, morning snacks are pure sugar and afternoon snack is something like chips or cheezits.

That is hideous. Why people think kids dont have to eat real, decent food...is way beyond me.

[melilley]

This is how my center is now since being bought by a corporate daycare. We used to have have fresh fruit everyday. Our veggies were frozen but better than canned and the some of the meat was fresh ( homemade chicken and fish nuggets). We were privately owned and the owner tried to provide healthy meals and snacks within her budget and for the most part it was.

When we were sold, the group that bought us changed us over to their menu because they were on the food program. Now I don't know who oversees this food program, but we serve the exact same meals every week for three weeks straight and at least 3 of the 5 have no veggies or fruit in them. Our cook had to start sneaking in canned fruits/veggies on the food order just so the kids could have them. Since they took over, there are whole plates of food being thrown away by at least 7 of 12 of my kids. The numbers are high in the other classes as well. I know that we only have to offer the food, but when so. Ugh goes to waste and they majority are starving by snack (which is usually something sugary), I feel so bad.

When I worked in a center, we were also corporate and on the food program. We had to serve the components, I don't see how they didn't. Maybe it's different in different states.

[melilley]

When I worked it a center it was the same. I think that a good majority of centers and preschools serve meals like that due to the high cost of food and the amount of children they serve. At the last center I worked at, all of our meals were like the meals that you mentioned. We did however serve some fresh fruits when they were in season.