Food and Drink (ALL POLICIES AVAILIBLE ON REQUEST AT SETTING)

Policy Statement:

The aim of the policy is to ensure that all food and drinks brought from home, consumed at Little Acorns Childcare, provide children with healthy and nutritious food. Also, to ensure that all snacks provided & served at the setting are governed by legislation.

Little Acorns Childcare Responsibility:

Little Acorns Childcare will ensure that eating food from home is a sociable experience. Our policy aims to enhance this by:

• Providing a dining environment that is appropriate, hygienic and attractive with a seat and a place to eat

• Ensuring good behaviour and consideration for others is maintained

• Providing a drinking station at all times. (inside the setting & outside) Each child has their own water bottle provided by us.

  • Providing a rolling snack bar approx. 10:00 – 10:40. Consisting of 2 options of fruit, plus a carb.

Little Acorns Childcare is not responsible for providing:

• Fridge space, so we request that food from home is in insulated bags with freezer blocks.

• The nursery is not allowed to re heat left over meals from home, all packed lunch food must be ready to eat without the need for heating. (This excludes our Ladybird room)

Special diets and allergies:

• At Little Acorns Childcare we recognise that some children may require special diets for medical, ethical or religious reasons that do not allow for standards to be met exactly. For example, a diabetic child may need to bring an emergency sweet snack to nursery. In these cases, parents and carers are responsible for ensuring the food from home is specific for the child’s needs and a plan will be put in place to support this.

• We do not allow the swapping of food items between children as there is potential for an adverse reaction (e.g., Nut allergy)

 We would like all Lunch Boxes to include:

• At least one portion of fruit (e.g., small apple, orange, dried fruit, cherry tomatoes)

• At least one portion of vegetables (e.g., carrot sticks, cucumber, celery)

 • Meat, fish or other source of non-dairy protein (e.g., chicken, turkey, ham, beef, pork, tuna, lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas, hummus and falafel)

• A starchy food such as any type of bread, pasta, rice, couscous, noodles, potatoes or other type of cereals. (For example, pitta bread, tortilla wraps, rice cakes, oat cakes)

 • Dairy food such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais or custard.

 

Lunch Boxes must not include:

• Snacks such as high in salt crisps (alternatives include savoury crackers, breadsticks, rice cakes) Fruit winders, fruit like sweets.

• Confectionery such as chocolate bars, chocolate coated biscuits and sweets (alternatives include small cakes, shortbreads and flapjack or plain biscuits)

 • Items that contain Nuts or nut products (i.e., peanut butter) due to allergies. We are a NUTFREE Setting.

 • Fizzy drinks, squash and fresh juices.

• Flasks, drinks in glass bottles or ring pull cans.

• The remains of the previous days take-away or left-over meals.

• Lunch Boxes should not regularly include items that are high in fat or salt. For example: cooked sausages, sausage rolls, chipolatas, individual meat pies.

 PLEASE ENSURE THAT FOOD IS CUT UP CORRECTLY E.G. GRAPES, BLUEBERRIES AND CHERRY TOMATOES SHOULD BE CUT INTO QUARTERS NOT HALVES.

 

Further guidance https:

Eating well early years — First Steps Nutrition Trust

Healthier Families - Home - NHS (www.nhs.uk)