Food Program… YES or NO

[LeslieG]

I am currently not part of the food program, but am starting to wonder if I should be. I do not serve lunch, however I do serve 2 snacks.

Is it worth it? What are the perks/drawbacks?

[kelsey's kids]

The perks is the money for the food you are serving. The draw backs would be the paperwork. For snacks you dont get reimbursed very much. I generally claim 250+ snacks a month and the reimbursement for that is only about 250 that is on teer 1, check to see what teer you fall under because that will make a huge difference in your reimbursement amount. Honestly if I was just serving snack I probably wouldnt do it. And then there is the fact that where I live you cannot have parents supply lunch and you do snacks you habe to do all meals or nothing. That might be different in your area though. I generally get about 900 a month from the food program at teer 1 so it is definitely worth it for me.

[crazydaycarelady]

I would not be worth it unless you start to serve lunch.

[Annalee]

I am currently not part of the food program, but am starting to wonder if I should be. I do not serve lunch, however I do serve 2 snacks.

Is it worth it? What are the perks/drawbacks?

I serve breakfast, lunch and snack and it is worth it because I am on Tier 1 as well.

[mom2many]

I serve breakfast, lunch and snack and it is worth it because I am on Tier 1 as well.

Same here! However, if I just served snacks & was a tier 2, it definitely would not be worth it though.

[butterfly]

One nice thing about it though is that it helps alot with the tax records. If you are on the food program, they send you an end of the year statement listing the meals you can claim on your taxes and the amount of income you earned from it.

If you are claiming your meals on your taxes, it's probably not that much more paperwork or work than what you have been doing to keep track of all that for taxes.

You aren't going to get rich off of the food program, but every little bit helps. I'd certainly look into doing it. You may be required to serve a meal of some sort though - a breakfast or lunch. But maybe you are already serving a snack that would qualify as a breakfast under the food program and get paid a little more for it...

Also if you have your own children, you may be able to qualify to get paid to feed them too even though you can't deduct their meal expense from your taxes.

[Blackcat31]

IMHO, the food program is ALWAYS worth it.

For reimbursement rates you can get:

Tier 1

Breakfast.....$1.28
Snacks........$0.71
Lunch/supper....$2.40

Tier 2

Breakfast.....$0.47
Snacks........$0.19
Lunch/supper....$1.45

In my area, if the provider does not qualify for Tier 1 reimbursement, the family can fill out a form if they are low income.
Before I was qualified as Tier 1 (based on my location) I had 6 out of my 10 families still getting Tier 1 based on their family income so it was still worth it for me.

Plus, I like the trainings and support we get from the food program.

I have considered just doing it on my own and not worrying about all the paperwork etc but I can't justify it as I come out much better being on the FP.

Plus, I think it's a big selling point for parents. Even if they don't understand what the program does, it sounds good to them. ....kwim?

[christine19720]

I was on it for years until they switched me to tier 2 so I quit it.
For me it just wasn't worth the hassle anymore. If I had remained tier 1 I probably would have stayed on the food program.

[My3cents]

I am currently not part of the food program, but am starting to wonder if I should be. I do not serve lunch, however I do serve 2 snacks.

Is it worth it? What are the perks/drawbacks?

your best bet would be to call your local food program and meet and get the information to see if it is something you want to do.

I think its a great program. It helps no matter what tier your on. The paper work is very little and once you get going on it and get it down your good to go. It helps you to stay organized and know ahead what your meals are going to be, something you most likely do already. The information provided is helpful. I like being on the food program and for all the pluses already mentioned. I suggest you call and talk to a rep.

[My3cents]

IMHO, the food program is ALWAYS worth it.

For reimbursement rates you can get:

Tier 1

Breakfast.....$1.28
Snacks........$0.71
Lunch/supper....$2.40

Tier 2

Breakfast.....$0.47
Snacks........$0.19
Lunch/supper....$1.45

In my area, if the provider does not qualify for Tier 1 reimbursement, the family can fill out a form if they are low income.
Before I was qualified as Tier 1 (based on my location) I had 6 out of my 10 families still getting Tier 1 based on their family income so it was still worth it for me.

Plus, I like the trainings and support we get from the food program.

I have considered just doing it on my own and not worrying about all the paperwork etc but I can't justify it as I come out much better being on the FP.

Plus, I think it's a big selling point for parents. Even if they don't understand what the program does, it sounds good to them. ....kwim?

[TwinKristi]

Some "snacks" can be considered meals according to my FP rep as long as they have all the components for the meal and served at meal times. Like for breakfasts it's simply a grain, fruit/vegi and offer milk. Lunch/dinner is 2 servings of fruit/vegi, grain and protein and offer milk. I didn't use to serve dinner but my FP rep said it's worth it because instead of $0.71 you get $2.40 plus I can claim all my kids under 13 which there's 4 of! As long as it's after 4! It's a good chunk of change for me, between $400-650/mo depending on how many days I'm open and how many kids. I only have 2 now and was closed 2 weeks last month and it's still $430. This month will be better being a long work week month, 4 full weeks plus 2 days. I'm guessing it will still be in the mid $500 range even though I'm down a couple kids this month.

[earlystart]

I'm in California, and I only serve breakfast and PM snack (parents bring lunch), and I'm on the food program. There was a learning curve, but it taught me how to serve proper portions and food categories, and now it's so easy that of course I'm going to get extra income wherever I can. Just make sure you find a food program sponsor that uses the software Minute Menu Kids (they also have an app for your cell phone) - I can't imagine filling out everything on paper every day. I made an extra $530 this year by being on the food program, and most people make much much more.

[itlw8]

I file online so my paper work takes less than one minute a day x 22 days so If I only got $100 and I only did 22 minutes of work that would be a little more than $200 an hour.

so even if it took you 5 minutes to check your attendance and write what you served it would still be well worth it.... easier than taking another child.

And if because of your income your children qualify while you can not count the expense for them you do not count it as income either.

[TwinKristi]

I file online so my paper work takes less than one minute a day x 22 days so If I only got $100 and I only did 22 minutes of work that would be a little more than $400 an hour.

so even if it took you 5 minutes to check your attendance and write what you served it would still be well worth it.... easier than taking another child.

And if because of your income your children qualify while you can not count the expense for them you do not count it as income either.

Wait... What? So I don't have to claim the money I get feeding my OWN kids?? That's the majority of my FP money!

[Blackcat31]

Wait... What? So I don't have to claim the money I get feeding my OWN kids?? That's the majority of my FP money!

Yes, your own children count as "dck's" IF other DCK's are present when you serve the meals.

Atleast that's the way it works here too.

This is what the site says:

"Provider’s own children are eligible only in tier I day care homes, when other nonresidential children are enrolled in the day care home and are participating in the meal service."

It's near the bottom under "eligible population": http://origin.www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/C...aboutcacfp.htm