Organic Food vs. Child Care Fee

[Jenniferdawn]

Emailing you!

[Blackcat31]

So for you gals who go the complete organic route.....how do you purchase all your goods when you are on the food program? Are there special rules?

I am interested in the organic route but was told by our food program coordinator that EVERYTHING served must be purchased through a grocery store or be USDA certified. We are a big area of deer, elk (and yes Nan, moose ) etc and we cannot serve any of it to our dck's unless it was processed, inspected and approved by a USDA licensed inspector.

I didn't dig any deeper after being told that so I was wondering if anyone actually knows the rules about this. What about fresh produce, eggs, meat, fish or poultry we have caught or raised ourselves?

[Jenniferdawn]

Ohhhh, hmmm. Well, I haven't signed up yet with the food program cause I'm still in process of setting everything up, so I'm not sure what the rules are here. That's a good thing to look into. Where are you located? I imagine there are different regulation for different states about this sort of thing.

[Blackcat31]

Ohhhh, hmmm. Well, I haven't signed up yet with the food program cause I'm still in process of setting everything up, so I'm not sure what the rules are here. That's a good thing to look into. Where are you located? I imagine there are different regulation for different states about this sort of thing.

I am in MN but the food program is a Federal program so the basic guidelines should all be the same but most of us on here have fugured out that some of the rules are interpreted differently between states and sponsers. I am unsure of what they are and aren't allowed to do differently for each state so if you do find out an answer be sure to post because I am definitley curious too....

[Jenniferdawn]

I just talked to the food program lady here and they accept all food as long as it is the types of food listed that cover. In fact, they support farmers markets, etc and encourage providers to use them and encourage people to make their own garden and they will reimburse for that too. I think being california, there is more openess to things like this maybe??

[Blackcat31]

I just talked to the food program lady here and they accept all food as long as it is the types of food listed that cover. In fact, they support farmers markets, etc and encourage providers to use them and encourage people to make their own garden and they will reimburse for that too. I think being california, there is more openess to things like this maybe??

LOL! That's funny that you called her because I was curious as well. I was told fresh fruits and vegetables either purchased at a grocery store, farmer's market or home grown are okay. The same goes for vegetables and fruits you have personaly froze. However it is NOT okay to serve home-canned vegetables and/or fruits.

ALL meat (domestic and wild game), fish and poultry must be slaughtered, processed and packaged at a USDA approved facility. We cannot serve meat or wild game we have processed and packaged ourselves.

The same goes for milk and eggs. They must be purchased from approved sites and not local farmers in order to be credible for the food program.

My coordinator said the food program is a federal program and although each sponser is a separate entity and may interpret the rules differently they can be looked up on the USDA website. http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care/Homes.htm

So after all that new knowledge, I feel like I just received a food training course. LOL!!

[nannyde]

So for you gals who go the complete organic route.....how do you purchase all your goods when you are on the food program? Are there special rules?

I am interested in the organic route but was told by our food program coordinator that EVERYTHING served must be purchased through a grocery store or be USDA certified. We are a big area of deer, elk (and yes Nan, moose ) etc and we cannot serve any of it to our dck's unless it was processed, inspected and approved by a USDA licensed inspector.

I didn't dig any deeper after being told that so I was wondering if anyone actually knows the rules about this. What about fresh produce, eggs, meat, fish or poultry we have caught or raised ourselves?

I don't think it's that we can't serve it ... it's that it cant be counted as credible. All of the venison, elk, salmon, phesant, and bufallo we eat has been processed at a USDA certified facility. My donators don't do their own slaughter. They send it to a butcher to be processed.

I don't know about the eggs though. In Iowa you are allowed to sell eggs directly to the customer and slaughter your own chickens. We buy our chickens straight from the farm. They are AMAZING.

I also don't know about buying veg and fruit from the store. We grow our own and I buy directly from backyard farmers and orchards. One of the toughest things about the organic is weeding out who really is and who isn't. That's part of the LABOR costs. It's a huge learning curve and a lot of times it's just gut instinct.

I've never had a kid get sick off of my food so I must be doing something right. If the food program doesn't reimburse for something I feed I would just take the hit. I think the food I serve is very safe. I'm really careful about everything that the kids get.

[Eco Baby]

Eco Friendly Childcare

https://www.EcoBabyChildcare.com

We are a unique early childhood education center.
We offer an Eco safe environment, promote a message of positive worldly consciousness and modern learning. We provide a safe, and developmentally appropriate environment for infant and toddler age children. Our focus is to provide loving & educational care. Each child's potential will be nurtured to build a strong foundation for their future, as well as the future of our world.

[MaritimeMummy]

I thought it was worthwhile to post a link to this home day care. (Not mine).

Located in Halifax, NS. Legally unlicensed. I'm linking directly to the rates, etc, but worthwhile to have a look at the entire website.

http://www.organicsouthendchildcare.com/contact-information.html

Keep in mind that the going rate in NS is anywhere from $25 (essentially slave labour, haha) to $35-$40 a day.

I am a very small home day care an hour away from this one. I don't do organic as a draw to parents but I do offer it whenever possible. I am not licensed also but am approved to operate through the Department of Community Services, which means I still have to operate according to day care standards and be inspected like a licensed day care. My rate is $30 a day, and I am considering raising to $35.

I hope this helps when considering your rates.

[Willow]

The same goes for vegetables and fruits you have personaly froze. However it is NOT okay to serve home-canned vegetables and/or fruits.

ALL meat (domestic and wild game), fish and poultry must be slaughtered, processed and packaged at a USDA approved facility. We cannot serve meat or wild game we have processed and packaged ourselves.

I was told the same things, thinking we may be on the same program?

We hunt and fish and can loads as we hunt right here on our own property and keep a giant garden. I too was told the game we harvest is not credible as there is no way to prove that appropriate/sanitary field dressing methods were practiced. Any meat product must be slaughtered right there in a USDA slaughterhouse and processed via their standards. Nothing taken out in the field is credible.

We do not believe game "farms" are ethical so although I think venison in particular is incredibly healthy I don't feed it if that's the only way I can get it.


With the canning I was told same thing, there is no way to verify sanitary processing. My food rep shared a story of coming in on a provider canning once. There were flies everywhere along with full fly strips hanging above the sink where she was working. Many of the jars of what she had canned in the days earlier never actually sealed and the food was bound to spoil. She saw no problem with that saying canned foods cannot spoil and said if anything it added flavor

Although it was a thorn in my side not being able to share what I preserve I do understand the reason behind the rule.

Program rep said just about anything you can you can freeze. I started doing it last year and it actually works just as well, stores better I have a freezer near stocked corner to corner with flat ziplock bags full of fruits and veggies and it cuts the work involved by a ton!

[Blackcat31]

I was told the same things, thinking we may be on the same program?

I was with Provider's Choice (17+ yrs) but switched to Child Care Choices about 2 years ago. LOVE my current rep!

Although it was a thorn in my side not being able to share what I preserve I do understand the reason behind the rule.

Yes, I do agree and fully understand why they have the rules they do about the canned foods....as I too have seen some not-so-clean methods of preserving but there are some things I wish they would change but I guess when the government has complete control over some things we should kind of expect some odd or nonsensical rules.

[crazydaycarelady]

There was an organic daycare here in my town. They served organic food, used organic toys, etc. They charged quite a bit more, I'm thinking around $8/day more, but they weren't in business very long. Of course a lot of daycares don't last long so I don't know if it was lack of business or what. BTW....my town is VERY "hippie" and into organic, natural, etc.

They had a tour of their facility once and I was not very impressed. The "organic toys" were things like empty food boxes being used for blocks.

It really frustrates me that I cannot use the eggs that the children gather everyday from my own chickens because they were not processed. I was also told I could not serve the freezer jam that the kids and I made!!!

[Willow]

I was with Provider's Choice (17+ yrs) but switched to Child Care Choices about 2 years ago. LOVE my current rep!



Yes, I do agree and fully understand why they have the rules they do about the canned foods....as I too have seen some not-so-clean methods of preserving but there are some things I wish they would change but I guess when the government has complete control over some things we should kind of expect some odd or nonsensical rules.

Same here

I felt lucky to keep Keri Bitz when I moved - she's been so easy to work with!


I agree many of the regs are ridiculous and make no sense. Especially when you consider that the ones botching it for the rest of us are probably falling short all over the board and not just in the one area of canning