Doubting the Food Program...

[melilley]

Without m daughter on the program I will only be claiming 3 kids. Hardly worth the extra effort right now.

I only claim 2 full time and 2 part time kids. I get where you are coming from, but once you start buying things like snacks, they last for a while.

[Brooksie]

Thanks for the ideas guys but its not just the money factor. Its the time factor. Its the stress factor. Its another thing to think and worry about and plan for and organize and I can't add any more right now. I just had a mental breakdown to my boyfriend last week and he agreed I need to take more time to relax and stop overloading myself and then I signed up for the food program.. I just can't fathom the idea right now. I have too much going on personally atm.

[Lucy]

This is the exact reason I stopped doing the food program. I was on teir two, still had to deduct cost of food on my taxes and it wasn't enough to make it worth my time! Plus I don't like creating reasons for the state to come- I have NOTHING to hide but when you have surely inspectors messing with the schedule I just didnt find it benefiting- I still do all the components except for offering two fruits, vegs at lunch if I don't want to.

This!! I was on it 12-15 years ago. (I know it's probably different now.)

I'm not a 'government intervening in my bizness' type of person. Leave me alone and let me serve nutritious foods.

I also didn't like the paperwork. Apparently you can do it online now, but jeez.... I had to fill out this big schedule each month - handwritten on paper of every single breakfast, snack and lunch that I planned on serving - every day of that month. They'd review it, and write back that I was repeating a certain food too many times, or that I served something too close together (like chicken on Monday, and again on Thursday or whatever.) And I had to keep track of who was here what time, what day, who ate what meal or snack, etc. It was tedious and I'd get behind. Guess what... that's when she'd come - when I was behind. Then I didn't get paid for any days that weren't written down.

I also had to mail in the paperwork by a certain date. Well, I hate paperwork and deadlines (a weakness of mine), so I'd end up driving it up to their office 20 minutes from me on the night before it was due, and dropping it through their mail slot. Yes, totally MY fault, but I got sick of it.

I like the ability to change up what I serve, and decide on the fly. With the food program, I had to plan it ahead and if they happened to show up one day, I sure better be serving what I said I was going to serve! Ugh. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's just me. As we say often on here, it wasn't a "good fit".

[melilley]

Thanks for the ideas guys but its not just the money factor. Its the time factor. Its the stress factor. Its another thing to think and worry about and plan for and organize and I can't add any more right now. I just had a mental breakdown to my boyfriend last week and he agreed I need to take more time to relax and stop overloading myself and then I signed up for the food program.. I just can't fathom the idea right now. I have too much going on personally atm.

:hug: I totally get what you are saying. It would be much easier if my parents brought lunches!

Sometimes it's hard to slow down and think about yourself and by the time you do, you're so overwhelmed with everything that it all comes out at once. Been there believe me! Maybe you should wait until you have more time.

[butterfly]

Without m daughter on the program I will only be claiming 3 kids. Hardly worth the extra effort right now.

Didn't you say your dc parents were excited about this though?

at 3 kids per day that's 13.17 extra you'd earn for meals. (with breakfast $1.28, lunch $2.40 and a snack .71) I bet you could feed your dck your kids and yourself for less than $13/day.

I don't see much more work involved in being in the food program. If you file online, it's very quick. I still have to keep track of attendence and meals/meal counts for taxes anyways - even if I weren't on the food program...

[Heidi]

This!! I was on it 12-15 years ago. (I know it's probably different now.)

I'm not a 'government intervening in my bizness' type of person. Leave me alone and let me serve nutritious foods.

I also didn't like the paperwork. Apparently you can do it online now, but jeez.... I had to fill out this big schedule handwritten on paper of every single breakfast, snack and lunch that I planned on serving - every day of the month. They'd review it, and write back that I was repeating a certain food too many times, or that I served something too close together (like chicken on Monday, and again on Thursday or whatever.) And I had to keep track of who was here what time, what day, etc. It was tedious and I'd get behind. Guess what... that's when she'd come - when I was behind. Then I didn't get paid for any days that weren't written down.

I also had to mail in the paperwork by a certain date. Well, I hate paperwork and deadlines (a weakness of mine), so I'd end up driving it up to their office 20 minutes from me on the night before it was due. Yes, totally MY fault, but I got sick of it.

I like the ability to change up what I serve, and decide on the fly. With the food program, I had to plan it ahead and if they happened to show up one day, I sure better be serving what I said I was going to serve! Ugh. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's just me. As we say often on here, it wasn't a "good fit".

With MMK, you do everything online, and there are no more endless boxes. You just hit "submit" at the end of the month.

We are not required to plan any meals (I think the centers here must, for licensing anyway, so they do). I can serve on the fly.

I hate that some programs have other restrictions, and yet they're all answering to the same federal agency.

[sharlan]

I'm not sure where you're coming from on this. Do you currently provide the food or do your parents provide the kids' breakfasts and lunches?

I was a MAJOR anti food program for about 15 years. I had absolutely nothing good to say about it. I signed up last May and have been happy so far.

It takes me about 5 - 10 mins on Sun to plan out the week's menu. I write it down on a piece of paper and then set it next to my computer. It's actually less stressful because I don't have to think about what's for breakfast/lunch/snack - I just glance at the paper.

My food bill has actually dropped because I plan my family dinners with the kids lunch for the next day in mind. (Last night we had fajitas and I took some of the meat off the top and put it into the fridge for today.) I no longer send my dh out for pizza or McD's when I can't think of what to make the kids. A big box of Cheerios or Rice Krispies are cheap. Large bags of frozen veggies are always on sale. Check your area for a "day old" bread store.

[NeedaVaca]

Thanks for the ideas guys but its not just the money factor. Its the time factor. Its the stress factor. Its another thing to think and worry about and plan for and organize and I can't add any more right now. I just had a mental breakdown to my boyfriend last week and he agreed I need to take more time to relax and stop overloading myself and then I signed up for the food program.. I just can't fathom the idea right now. I have too much going on personally atm.

Sounds like you answered your own question then I hope your parents are ok with you changing your mind?

[Brooksie]

Parents provide the food now. The only meal I worry about is dds.

Here's my financial situation right now. In the past week, my fridge went up the day after we went food shopping. Lost $300.00 worth of food. Now we are struggling to replace the food for us alone. DBF had a record low 2 weeks at work and is in the start of his slow season and we are expecting his income to be cut in half. Friday I spilled on my laptop and had to immediately shell out $450.00 to replace it. My rent and monthly expenses are just BARELY lower than my income and we are behind in our utilities and fight a shut off every month. We have no extra money. Heck we barely have the money for the basics.

On top of that I have a ton of stuff going on personally that leave me drained, exhausted, frustrated and overwhelmed. Its not just the day care. Its not just the 1 hour a night dog training after a 10 hour shift while dragging a 2 year old around. Its not just the fact that i don't have time to go grocery shopping, or run my errands before dd need to be in bed. Its not me cleaning houses on the side after working the day care hours to help with the bills. Its not endless lesson planning and cleaning and parenting. Its not the seasonal depression kicking in. Its not having DBF working so late that I'm not able to get help around the house. Its not the custody battle. Its not the preparations for going back to school. And its not the juggling of dd's moods and allergy issues... its everything at once.

I can't fit any thing else in. I will have a mental break down. Its happened before. I need to get on top of it and lower my stress so I can continue to do my job successfully. I understand all you super women who are masters at everything. I am not one of those. I struggle daily. I need to lower my expectations for myself. I have nothing left at the end of the day to even show dbf any kind of positive attention and find myself so drained that the last hours with dd at the end of the day aren't enjoyable, and that's not fair to her. I understand its easy and its worth the investment and doesn't take a lot of effort, but it does. Right now it does. And I don't have any thing else to give. I'm on the edge here. and I'm tryin my hardest to hold on..

[butterfly]

Parents provide the food now. The only meal I worry about is dds.

Here's my financial situation right now. In the past week, my fridge went up the day after we went food shopping. Lost $300.00 worth of food. Now we are struggling to replace the food for us alone. DBF had a record low 2 weeks at work and is in the start of his slow season and we are expecting his income to be cut in half. Friday I spilled on my laptop and had to immediately shell out $450.00 to replace it. My rent and monthly expenses are just BARELY lower than my income and we are behind in our utilities and fight a shut off every month. We have no extra money. Heck we barely have the money for the basics.

On top of that I have a ton of stuff going on personally that leave me drained, exhausted, frustrated and overwhelmed. Its not just the day care. Its not just the 1 hour a night dog training after a 10 hour shift while dragging a 2 year old around. Its not just the fact that i don't have time to go grocery shopping, or run my errands before dd need to be in bed. Its not me cleaning houses on the side after working the day care hours to help with the bills. Its not endless lesson planning and cleaning and parenting. Its not the seasonal depression kicking in. Its not having DBF working so late that I'm not able to get help around the house. Its not the custody battle. Its not the preparations for going back to school. And its not the juggling of dd's moods and allergy issues... its everything at once.

I can't fit any thing else in. I will have a mental break down. Its happened before. I need to get on top of it and lower my stress so I can continue to do my job successfully. I understand all you super women who are masters at everything. I am not one of those. I struggle daily. I need to lower my expectations for myself. I have nothing left at the end of the day to even show dbf any kind of positive attention and find myself so drained that the last hours with dd at the end of the day aren't enjoyable, and that's not fair to her. I understand its easy and its worth the investment and doesn't take a lot of effort, but it does. Right now it does. And I don't have any thing else to give. I'm on the edge here. and I'm tryin my hardest to hold on..

:hug: Praying for you, Brooksie. I guess your answer is very clear then isn't it. :hug:

[My3cents]

Thanks for the ideas guys but its not just the money factor. Its the time factor. Its the stress factor. Its another thing to think and worry about and plan for and organize and I can't add any more right now. I just had a mental breakdown to my boyfriend last week and he agreed I need to take more time to relax and stop overloading myself and then I signed up for the food program.. I just can't fathom the idea right now. I have too much going on personally atm.

Food Program doesn't take much time and if your on tier one your at the highest paid level. It takes no more time then probably what your already doing. Helps you to be more organized and not guessing what is for meals. Parents love it. I advise you to just go for it and chalk it up to part of the job. Food Program just reimburses you for money your already paying out for food to begin with. It is not meant to be a start up program to get you going. Maybe the rules are different but if your child is under I want to say 12 or 13 and you have other kids in care your child is included in the program. Tier level is decided by the school systems poverty levels, not by personal income. Again that could be different from state to state, but I would think it would be the same across the board where it is a fed funded program. Not a lot to it, and I recommend going for it. Best-

[melilley]

Food Program doesn't take much time and if your on tier one your at the highest paid level. It takes no more time then probably what your already doing. Helps you to be more organized and not guessing what is for meals. Parents love it. I advise you to just go for it and chalk it up to part of the job. Food Program just reimburses you for money your already paying out for food to begin with. It is not meant to be a start up program to get you going. Maybe the rules are different but if your child is under I want to say 12 or 13 and you have other kids in care your child is included in the program. Tier level is decided by the school systems poverty levels, not by personal income. Again that could be different from state to state, but I would think it would be the same across the board where it is a fed funded program. Not a lot to it, and I recommend going for it. Best-

It is decided by the school systems poverty levels, but if you make too much then you can't count your own children. My dh alone makes too much so I can't claim my kids, but I do get tier 1 for the dck's. I can't remember what the income cut offs are though.

[Margarete]

Last week I enrolled in the food program and decided to start it Nov 1st. I am on tier one and have notified my families that we will be starting in November. I just filled out the paper work to also be able to claim my own child and with my boyfriends income we are way over the cut off rate, and with just mine I'm $10.00 over I was really hoping to be able to claim her to make it worth it. Now that I realize that I'm doubting enrollment... I really don't know if I can front the months money in groceries as we are struggling horribly financially right now. I am also overwhelmed with everything on my plate and really don't know if I can handle this right now... Do you guys think I should put it off? I know its going to be a big adjustment and a struggle for the kids between the picky eaters and dds food allergies..I just don't know if its worth the effort right now and I don't even know if its feasible...

If you are so close to the cut off for your daughter qualifying I would check to make sure you are counting all of your deductions. Even if you are using last years deductions you could amend it to include any you missed, but it would probably be easier to just qualify with the following year. Do some tax calculations now, and see if any daycare purchases before the end of the year will make a difference. The month or two delay in getting reimbursed for the food program for the other kids will make the difference legitimately on paper if everything else is the same. The Food reimbursements from your daughter will be tax free, and will help make it worth it.
Hopefully next year your business is doing so well you won't qualify in 2015!

[Margarete]

My understanding is that boyfriends income wouldn't be counted, and wouldn't be counted as 'household income' unless maybe you are joining all of your finances/ act as one (but even then maybe not) and/or the boyfriend is the father of your child.
My brother lives with us my husband, daughter and I (and does contribute an amount to household bills/expenses), but his income is his own, and is considered a separate household, as far as taxes, or anything else financial is concerned.

[Blackcat31]

Parents provide the food now. The only meal I worry about is dds.

Here's my financial situation right now. In the past week, my fridge went up the day after we went food shopping. Lost $300.00 worth of food. Now we are struggling to replace the food for us alone. DBF had a record low 2 weeks at work and is in the start of his slow season and we are expecting his income to be cut in half. Friday I spilled on my laptop and had to immediately shell out $450.00 to replace it. My rent and monthly expenses are just BARELY lower than my income and we are behind in our utilities and fight a shut off every month. We have no extra money. Heck we barely have the money for the basics.

On top of that I have a ton of stuff going on personally that leave me drained, exhausted, frustrated and overwhelmed. Its not just the day care. Its not just the 1 hour a night dog training after a 10 hour shift while dragging a 2 year old around. Its not just the fact that i don't have time to go grocery shopping, or run my errands before dd need to be in bed. Its not me cleaning houses on the side after working the day care hours to help with the bills. Its not endless lesson planning and cleaning and parenting. Its not the seasonal depression kicking in. Its not having DBF working so late that I'm not able to get help around the house. Its not the custody battle. Its not the preparations for going back to school. And its not the juggling of dd's moods and allergy issues... its everything at once.

I can't fit any thing else in. I will have a mental break down. Its happened before. I need to get on top of it and lower my stress so I can continue to do my job successfully. I understand all you super women who are masters at everything. I am not one of those. I struggle daily. I need to lower my expectations for myself. I have nothing left at the end of the day to even show dbf any kind of positive attention and find myself so drained that the last hours with dd at the end of the day aren't enjoyable, and that's not fair to her. I understand its easy and its worth the investment and doesn't take a lot of effort, but it does. Right now it does. And I don't have any thing else to give. I'm on the edge here. and I'm tryin my hardest to hold on..

I am curious as to why your DBF's income would count toward your DD if he isn't the bio dad and you two aren't married? It would really be no different than having a roommate...

Also have you thought about applying for any type of assistance yourself? I don't know your income/financial situation but it kind of sounds like you are living on the edge and if that is the case, I would seriously consider applying for some type of financial help if you qualify.

Also, I do NOT mean this rudely or harshly in ANY WAY at all....but do YOU have someone you can talk to that can help you manage all this stuff going on? Someone who can ease the burden? It just really sounds like the things you do have going on aren't at all chaotic like you said, just the fact that they are all happening at one time... I KNOW it can be a heavy burden to bear and often times simply talking it out with someone who isn't directly involved helps a ton!!

Hang in there Brooksie......this too shall pass! :hug: