MEALS
As a participant in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Program, Moss Street will make meals available to enrolled children without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Menus are posted on bulletin boards and our website.
Breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack are prepared by the Moss Street kitchen staff. The children and staff eat all meals together at classroom tables. We believe that these shared meals help develop relationships, interest in food, good eating habits and social and self-help skills.
At Moss Street we utilize three of the different food service styles that USDA recognizes- the Littles do a combined restaurant and family style, the Middles, Preschool and Jay classrooms use family style, and the Mallard/Ellies classroom does the cafeteria style.
All of these styles of service have these same elements:
- All children and staff will wash hands with soap and warm water immediately prior to eating;
- Serving utensils, distinct from eating utensils, will be used;
- Appropriate tables will be used for each group size;
- Staff must be seated at the table (or at the food buffet for cafeteria style service) the entire meal;
- When mildly ill children (children that have non-excludable symptoms, i.e. runny noses) are present, staff will serve all food;
- All food brought to the table, or served will be discarded if not eaten at the time of the meal;
- All staff and children will wash hands immediately after eating.
The combined style service requires the staff to plate the minimum portion required of the food components on each child’s plate and additional portions are placed on the table for children to self-serve or for staff to assist.
The cafeteria style service allows the children to serve themselves each food component as they pass through the buffet line. They are required to take at least the minimum portion required of each component if they choose to pass through the buffet line.
Family style service requires that the children pass food around the table at least three times. Children serve themselves and can take the amount and type of food they desire. If staff assist children, they must serve the minimum portion required.
Feeding Infants:
The schedule of feeding times for our youngest age group is “on demand” and dictated by the indicators each child gives.
For children 03-12 month only, parents are allowed to supply some, or all of the food served to their child while in care. When a parent of an infant supplies all the food served, they will not be charged for those meals.
By the end of the 12th month of age, children are transitioned to the daily menu that is served to the rest of the children at our center, which includes cow’s milk.
Also at one year, children are served the "combined style" which means Moss Street provides all the food, and meals are served at regular, pre-set times of the day.
This is in accordance with the USDA food program regulations for our center.
Families whose income meet USDA standards for free meals will not be charged for meals. Families whose income meets USDA standards for reduced-price meals will be charged 30 cents per breakfast, 40 cents per lunch and 15 cents for afternoon snack. Families who are above scale/over income for meal assistance will be charged $1.10 per breakfast, $2.15 per lunch and $1.00 per afternoon snack served. Meal charges are separate from tuition and billed after the fact, on the following month's statement.