Nutrition For Child Care Centres
York Region offers a variety of child care nutrition programs and services. Serving nutritious meals to infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children provides them with the necessary nourishment and energy to live a healthy life. The foods you choose to serve to children help them form lifelong healthy eating habits.
The nutrition resources were created to support child care providers in planning and preparing healthy food for children in their care. They reflect current best practices for creating supportive nutrition environments in the child care setting and will help providers meet the food and drink requirements set out in the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 (section 42 of Ont. Reg. 137/15).
- Menu Planning & Supportive Nutrition Environments in Child Care Settings Practical Guide
The practical guide includes information on menu planning, appropriate portion sizes for different age groups, reading food labels, sample menus as well as strategies to create a supportive nutrition environment. These recommendations are based on expertise from registered dietitians working in public health - Menu and Nutrition Environments Self-Assessment Tool for Child Care Settings
Use the self-assessment tool to determine what is going well and what improvements can be made to your child care centre’s menu - Paint Your Plate with Vegetables and Fruit - A Toolkit for Ontario Child Care Providers
The toolkit includes activity cards, recipes and promotional material to incorporate vegetables and fruit in the child care setting - Online Learning Modules
For child care operators, supervisors, cooks and staff who are working in the child care setting, these online courses will help you understand and apply the nutrition recommendations outlined in the Menu Planning & Supportive Nutrition Environments in Child Care Settings - Practical Guide.
Planning Your Child Care Menu
York Region can help you plan your child care menus. Check out the Healthy Eating section in A Public Health Guide For Child Care Providers. Use the Menu and Nutrition Environments Self-Assessment Tool for Child Care Settings to learn how your menu can be improved.
You can also use the one week menu planning form for child care to plan your menus. The sample four-week preschooler menu contains healthy meal and snack ideas. For before and after school care, you can use the One Week Menu Planning Form for Before and After School Programs.
To see how your menu measures up, please use the Self-Assessment Tool to review your current menu.
Signs of Hunger and Fullness
Watch the Trust Me, Trust My Tummy 15-minute video to learn more about following the signs of hunger and fullness for babies and children 6 to 24 months of age.
