Breakfast

* Milk is served with all meals
Other fruit options: watermelon, cantaloupe, plums, grapes, grapefruit, clementines, cherries, raisins - other dried fruits.

Lunch

* Milk is served with every meal
Two Vegetarian meals per week
Cooks — garnish: beets, asparagus, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, green and red bell peppers

Snack

* Serve left over foods as an extra with Friday Snack

Breakfast

For many children, breakfast at the Head Start center is often their first meal of the day. The CACFP requires three breakfast components — milk, grain, and fruit and/or vegetable. There is no requirement to serve a meat, or meat alternates at breakfast. However, some Head Start Programs offer a meat or meat alternates component at breakfast to increase the variety of food served, and to provide additional nutrients and calories. To ensure that children will enjoy the lunch meal:

• Avoid over feeding children at breakfast.
• Allow adequate time between meals so children are hungry.

Lunch

The CACFP requires five components at lunch, which means that Head Start lunch is often the most expensive meal of the day. The components include milk, meat or meat alternates, bread or bread alternate, and two different fruits and/or vegetables. This can be a large meal when extra components are added that may not be required. Most Head Start centers serve one fruit and one vegetable at lunch. Typically, children tend to prefer the fruit and often will refuse the vegetable. There are more requests for seconds or thirds of the fruits, while other foods are ignored or not eaten.

Pouring milk, passing plates of food, and making serving size decisions can be overwhelming for children. To make the family style dining experience more fun and enjoyable:

• Remove extra meal components.
• Serve two vegetables for lunch.
• Include finger food.
• Provide portion control serving sizes.

Menu Changes

Management of a Head Start food service operation can be challenging. It is necessary to meet the nutrient needs of children, provide a variety of healthy foods, address childhood obesity, and, at the same time, stay within a food budget. Adjusting and making menus may include:

Serving
• Vegetarian (meat-free) meals several times a week
• Two vegetables at lunch rather than a fruit and vegetable
• Milk only for the two required meals (breakfast and lunch)

Increasing
• Dark green leafy vegetables
• Use of local and seasonal foods

Providing
• More whole fruits
• Greater variety of vegetables

Removing or reducing
• Extra foods not required
• Convenience and processed foods

Advantages to making menu changes include decreased food cost, increased fiber intake; greater nutritional quality; introduction of new fruits, vegetables and grains; and a variety of food preparations.

Snack

The snack is a mini pre-meal and is not intended to replace a meal. Since snack quality is important, it is also important to include more whole and fresh foods at snack time.

Head Start children may need a hearty snack before going home for the day. A whole grain food, and fruits or vegetables with meat or meat alternates are good choices for the snack. Serving two different components, with water as the beverage, is a positive way for children to drink more water. Crackers and juice are not satisfying, and children are often hungry shortly after consuming a highly refined and nutrient-poor snack.

Menu Tip
An example of a higher fiber snack with some protein would be water (as the beverage), and egg salad on whole wheat bread or cheese cubes with a vegetable.

Vegetarian

For many families, vegetarian meals are common. "According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), a varied, appropriately planned vegetarian diet can meet all of the growing baby's and toddler's needs, as well as those of children and adolescents."* In a vegetarian diet, meat, poultry and fish are replaced with meat alternates, which include:

• Cheese
• Yogurt
• Eggs
• Nut butters, nuts, and seeds
• Cooked dry beans and peas (legumes)

Serving a vegetarian meal several times a week is a cost-effective way to balance high food cost and meet the food budget. The vegetarian diet meets the CACFP requirement for a creditable meal.

Some examples of a vegetarian lunch entrée include:

• Cheese sandwich, casserole, or cheese added to other foods
• Egg salad, omelet, or eggs with other foods
• White, black or red beans, chili, noodles, rice, or quinoa
• Hummus, yogurt, cottage cheese
• Nuts, seeds as part of the meal

Ethnic Foods

Head Start Performance Standards encourage the support of children's home language and culture in the classroom. Diversity is not limited to food and drink — it also extends to language, art, dress, music, dance, and other activities. The culture of the children in the community can be reflected in the Head Start meals served. Ethnic foods can be related to the local area, each state, regions of the country, and worldwide cultures.

Foods that reflect children's heritage

Frequently, families are descendents of many cultures. Mealtime is a great opportunity to introduce children to different ethnic foods, including the local ethnic foods that reflect the heritage of the families in their community (i.e., European, Asian, South American, and other continents).

Parent Involvement

Parents are encouraged to be involved by sharing family food traditions and stories about the foods in their culture. Developing Head Start menus that include foods from cultures that are part of the daily life in program and the community is an excellent way to help children develop a positive attitude about diversity. When family recipes are provided, allow time for Head Start cooks to include the new food/recipe. To ensure success of the recipe preparation, ask parents to provide specific information about foods or special cooking techniques, and share those with classroom food service staff.

Classroom Diversity Activities with Food**

• Apples — Have four different colors of apples and ask the children to name the colors. Cut each apple in half so the children can see that each apple is the same on the inside. Talk about how the colors on the outside are different, but each apple is the same on the inside.
• Eggs — This activity is similar to the apple activity. Take a carton of white eggs and a carton of brown eggs and have the children look at the colors in each carton. Ask the question, "What will the eggs look when cracked?" Crack the eggs, and then discuss what the children observed.