Thanks everyone! Really helpful

I would want to see a menu first. I don’t want my kid eating cheap chicken nuggets and back n cheese on a regular basis with fruit cups. We also eat whole grain bread and pasta at home so id be irked if they did white bread and then my kid got a taste for it and refused whole grain. Do you have the option of doing lunch once a week? My older kid buys elem school lunch once a week, usually on pizza day.

A lot of centers in DC are catered by Good Food, and a lot of centers in VA are catered by Jeffery's Catering. Both have been good in our experience.

Our daycare served food family style so all the kids ate the hot lunch that was included in the cost of care unless there were specific dietary reasons not to. It was nice for kids to try foods we didn't necessarily make at home and so I'd learn new foods they liked, and it was definitely a timesaver.

Depends. We opted in. But my daycare is small and the hot lunch is great (they make it in a central kitchen and distribute to multiple locations to reheat etc). It's immersion so it's food from our culture and is always a soup and a hot entree. I think it really helps when all the kids are eating the same thing too.

My son's daycare lunch is great! Lots of veggies and variety. Ask for a menu and see what they offer.

Putting him on the menu at daycare was 100% the right choice for us.

It varies from daycare to daycare. Some in homes that are on the food program (my experience) can vary from frozen chicken nuggets, pb&j, a lucky few can manage to fit in all the requirements into delicious meals (the. Those not on the food program have more flexibility but each meal still needs to comply with USDA food requirements.

It definitely helps us out. I'd say sign up, see how it goes and then stop if your kid isn't eating the meals.

Ds started daycare when he was 2 at a small daycare and preK setting. There were 6 kids in his class when he started. He had homemade hot lunch every day as they had a full kitchen. Often times it was something made in the slow cooker or something made ahead.of time and reheated in oven. It was awesome.

OP I would ask for a menu if you haven't already. We've had very positive experiences with the daycare provided lunches but our in-home provider made a homecooked meal every day and the center where DD now goes uses a local company that is pretty good. I'd say a big benefit of it (besides not having to do the prep myself!) is that she probably eats a larger variety of foods on a consistent basis at daycare. Starting around age 2 she became more picky at home but always eats the daycare lunch.

However, we visited other places where the lunches were largely processed "kid" food (e.g., chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, etc.) and I wasn't comfortable with that.

It would help if you could tell us the name of the daycare or the catering company. PP is correct - the quality really varies. My DD's preschool offers a hot lunch that is made in house (it's not very good). The preschool my older child went to had a catered lunch and it was great.

Anonymous wrote:How would we know? We don't know what daycare it is, or where they source their food. It could be McDonald's for all we know.

Your snarky response is not cute. I asked for your experience... shall I be so pedantic in framing my question? I understand there are unknowns. I understand this is an anonymous forum but try and at least pretend you are talking to me face-to-face. Ugh.

Every daycare is different, some have good food, some have terrible food. Some have a kitchen, some use a company that brings the meals.

How would we know? We don't know what daycare it is, or where they source their food. It could be McDonald's for all we know.

My daycare provides hot lunch ... should I sign-up and has it been a good experience for those doing this? I think it will speed up morning time and 15 month old has more teeth and can eat a more diverse diet..thanks.