There are several things you need to consider when starting your own daycare center. Other than the amenities that your daycare center provide like toys, educational materials, resting room and more, you would also need to consider the food you will feed the children with.
Not many people who are in the daycare center business realize the importance of providing food for the children. Most of them think that food isn’t necessary and the parents could simply have their children bring something to eat to the daycare center. But if you come to think of it and analyze it deeply, you would realize that the very reason why parents bring their children to daycare centers is because they have a very busy lifestyle and have no time to even prepare their food.
Of course you wouldn’t want children to be served with just about any type of food. So to add to your services and to boost your potential clients, serving healthy menu options for the children could definitely do you good. Of course this will add to more cost on your part but you can definitely incorporate the expenses on the fees that parents would pay. Don’t worry about charging a little higher than the rest, this follows because you are offering a service that no other daycare center could provide.
The first and most important thing you have to remember is to keep your dishes healthy. Of course you also have to consider that the foods that you will serve should be easy to prepare and shouldn’t spoil easily. Consider the taste and preference of children when it comes to food to make sure that whatever you prepare wouldn’t go to waste. Also, know which of the kids in your daycare center has food restrictions, those who cannot eat chicken, beef, eggs and the like and those who have allergies.
The idea is to come up with various meal suggestions which you can mix and match within a month’s time. This way the children wouldn’t have difficulty in choosing the meals that you serve and you can avoid feeding them with the same types of dishes over and over again.
Keep your menu simple. Children are easy to please when it comes to food. Of course you cannot get rid of children who are difficult to feed so what you can do is simply make your presentation pleasing and attractive to children.
When cooking for a day care center you need to ensure you are providing nutritious meals, that the food preparation process is hygienic and that the meals you are providing are can easily be prepared in bulk.
Think casseroles and stews, chunky soups, steamed vegetables, fish, pasta and lots of fresh fruits. Cheese, crackers, rice cakes, raisins, carrot sticks, sandwiches and yogurts make great snacks. A little bit of shakes and other nutritious and exciting drinks as well. The key thing to bear in mind is that daycare menus shouldn't be complicated, just simple, honest to goodness nourishing food.
For more:
How to start a daycare business by StartADaycare.org
