To Serve Or Not To Serve ...

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  • MsLaura529
    New Daycare.com Member
    • Feb 2013
    • 859

    To Serve Or Not To Serve ...

    I'm wondering if you guys can help me out...

    I received a call from the ACD (food program) and she is coming out here next Wednesday to help me get it set up. (On a side note: this also means they got my license number from DHS, which means it should be coming in the mail any day now!! happyface).

    I've always just thought I wouldn't serve breakfast - have that be a parent provided meal, and then I would provide 2 snacks and lunch.

    I'm going back and forth now between me wanting to serve breakfast, too.

    Can anyone weigh in on if you serve breakfast or if you don't? Pros/Cons to either side? And since I'll be doing the food program, would it be more beneficial for me to claim 2 meals and 1 snack, instead of 2 snacks and 1 meal, or would it not make THAT much of a difference in the long run?

    Thanks for any help you can give
  • butterfly
    Daycare.com Member
    • Nov 2012
    • 1627

    #2
    You get paid more to serve breakfast. I chose breakfast instead of snack. I have a couple kids who eat at home, but they are always ready to eat again when they arrive. I also like that I can start preparing the breakfast before I have so many bodies here and have it ready...

    I do breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack.

    Comment

    • mema
      Daycare.com Member
      • Jul 2011
      • 1979

      #3
      I serve breakfast, lunch, pm snack. I use to do am snack also, but cut that out when kids stopped eating lunch. I have thought about changing my breakfast time to be more of a snack time, but with breakfast foods.

      I only have 1, maybe 2 here at breakfast time right now. They usually eat/drink something before they come and don't always eat all their breakfast. I have one that comes when I use to feed snack, but I have no idea when he eats breakfast. He wakes up anywhere from 445am-800am, so some mornings he eats at like 5am, but doesn't come until 9 and then is hungry.

      Comment

      • melilley
        Daycare.com Member
        • Oct 2012
        • 5155

        #4
        I serve breakfast, lunch and am/pm snacks. For the breakfast I do really simple meals because most of my kids arrive between 7:30 and 7:55 and my b-fast ends at 8. All you need to serve is a grain, fruit, veggie, or juice and milk, so I serve things like bagels, english muffins, cereal, hot cereal etc..simple! As long as the children sit and eat by the end of your breakfast time, you can count them. You do get more for breakfast. These are the rates for MI:

        Tier I Tier II

        Breakfast $1.27 $ .46
        Lunch/supper $2.38 $1.44
        Snack $.71 $ .19

        Comment

        • AmyKidsCo
          Daycare.com Member
          • Mar 2013
          • 3786

          #5
          Originally posted by butterfly
          You get paid more to serve breakfast. I chose breakfast instead of snack. I have a couple kids who eat at home, but they are always ready to eat again when they arrive. I also like that I can start preparing the breakfast before I have so many bodies here and have it ready...

          I do breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack.
          Me too. I serve breakfast at 9:00 and tell the parents to give their children a snack before bringing them. Drop-off are 7:00, 7:45 & 8:15, so they're not waiting very long.

          Comment

          • just_peachy
            New Daycare.com Member
            • Feb 2013
            • 186

            #6
            I serve a BIG snack at 9:00. I guess you could consider it breakfast, but it's more of a snack plate. Usually fruit, a veggie, cheese, sometimes a trail mix, or yogurt and granola, etc. I start with a small amount of each, if a kid eats all (or most) of it, I assume they didn't have breakfast and allow them more.

            It's kind of a win/win here. Also, I just don't really like making breakfast foods. I have no idea why!

            Edited to add: If you got paid more to serve breakfast, I'd call my snack plate a breakfast!

            Comment

            • e.j.
              Daycare.com Member
              • Dec 2010
              • 3738

              #7
              You will get more money if you claim 2 meals and 1 snack vs 1 meal and 2 snacks. Since my dc kids' arrival times are staggered, they eat breakfast at home and I serve a morning snack once they're all here. My morning snack consists of the same meal components as a breakfast, though, so I was told I could claim it as breakfast to get the higher meal reimbursement amount.

              Comment

              • MsLaura529
                New Daycare.com Member
                • Feb 2013
                • 859

                #8
                Thank you everyone for your answers.

                My concern was if I have kids coming in at different times, then it would be hard to do breakfast, but I guess I could do what a lot of you are doing and serve a big snack around 9, with breakfast components included in it.

                Comment

                • LK5kids
                  Daycare.com Member
                  • Oct 2012
                  • 1222

                  #9
                  I serve breakfast and an am snack along with lunch and pm snack. In my state kids can't go longer than 3 hours between eating and I don't want to serve lunch at 11:30, so I do a morning snack too. I know I could serve "breakfast" at 9:00. They could wait till 9:00 to eat breakfast and that would eliminate the am snack. I may switch to that.

                  I find that many kids are not real hungry at 7:00, the time when they could be eating at home. Most my kids come around 7:30. Even if parents try to get them to eat they don't eat much. It helps the parents out, they appreciate I serve breakfast, I like serving breakfast, etc.

                  Comment

                  • SilverSabre25
                    Senior Member
                    • Aug 2010
                    • 7585

                    #10
                    I serve breakfast around 9 or 9:30 most days. This works for us because this is when my own kids are hungry and awake. I do give DS a snack earlier because he's hungry earlier, and anyone who's here then tends to get a cracker or something too, but I don't bother claiming it.
                    Hee hee! Look, I have a signature!

                    Comment

                    • snips&snails
                      New Daycare.com Member
                      • Oct 2012
                      • 91

                      #11
                      Breakfast I always do cereal now - I tried to vary but the kids just wanted cereal . Then I often do juice for the fruit since they have the milk in the cereal. It's my laziest meal of the day!!

                      Comment

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