I agree with all the other posters. Planning is key. I plan out all of DC's snacks. Her daycare provides meals, but I know what she likes and doesn't like, so I sometimes will pack food accordingly. Snacks I send daily. And, I give her breakfast at home every morning.

Plus then you can pick what you want your children to eat. Less processed foods, better tasting, etc.

10 mins to pack lunch (you can even do majority of it the night before), vs 2 hours in the car. No brainer.

Not a deal breaker at all. We moved from a daycare that provided breakfast/lunch/snacks to a Montessori program that does not provide lunch (it does provide snacks). It ended up being a pretty easy adjustment. We get up in enough time to eat breakfast at home (the time we saved no longer commuting to daycare is now spent eating breakfast at home). For lunch, your freezer is your friend. I make batches of things like meatballs, muffins, pasta, and freeze them in lunch-sized portions. Easy to pull out the night before, and then add fruit, yogurt, cheese, etc. in the morning. Once you get used to packing lunch, it doesn't take much time at all.

You get used to it. I pack lunch and two snacks daily for my son who goes to a small private school with no cafeteria. I set up a lunch prep area with the food containers I use (easy open). I have one shelf in the pantry with healthy options for lunches and snacks, and one shelf in the fridge. Everything's organized and quick.

Packing lunch = 5-10 minutes.

Currrently, we are at a daycare that provides breakfast, lunch and snacks. Unfortunately, it's about 12 miles in the opposite direction during rush hour which is tough especially when DH travels and I have to do drop off and pick up. Our two kids like the daycare and are settled so moving them will be a rough transitions I think. When DH is in town, I generally do drop off and pick up twice a week, he does drop off and pick up three times per week. Unfortunately, my job is not flexible so huge stressor getting the kids out of the house on time so I can make it to work on time. Sometimes, it can take 1 1/2 hours round trip from home to daycare to work although work is only 4 miles from home.

There's an all day montessori preschool/daycare literally half way between my work and home. I wasn't looking for a montessori program. It just happened this place is very convenient location wise and a neighborhood highly recommended it. However, the parents have to pack a lunch, the center does not provide lunch. for those parents who pack a lunch for their children, how inconvenient is that? Just wondering whether this is a deal breaker. We have two more years of daycare before elementary school.