We have a live out nanny and she has always brought her own lunch. She is welcome to space in the fridge, shelves, any storage. She is also welcome to the snacks and drinks we have on hand, and of course, to make a lunch with what is on hand if she forgets her lunch.

That said, lunch is definitely not included as a perk in our contract and is not standard and not provided.

A stipend or a specialized list of food for nanny's lunch would be over the top. If she were a live in, of course, it would be different.

MB here-we don't provide lunch or snacks, although I know she shares DD's food sometimes and of course it's fine if she helps herself to the occasional snack. We do give her gift cards sometimes for food and provide spending cash if she wants to eat out with DD. Personally I hate going to the grocery store and I plan out the week. Our nanny doesn't cook at all, even prepping DD's food so it's all I can do to make 3 meals a day for myself, DH and DD. I don't want to add in another grown adult. I might feel differently if she was making meals for DD anyway, in which case I would probably say, sure go ahead and eat with her. If you have a good relationship and respect each other, food is not going to be the thing that makes or breaks it either way.

Offering access to your frig and pantry is:

1) A great way to judge if the nanny you've hired is respectful of your home and possessions.****

2) A fairly easy and relatively inexpensive way to make your nanny feel welcome and to show that you are kind and thoughtful.####

****If you offer her access, and she gobbles down the imported chocolates, or eats the last of things (and then doesn't have the grace to add the stuff to the grocery list!), or feeds your kid Kraft easy mac while she eats your salmon steaks, you have chosen a thoughtless and selfish nanny, and should probably reboot and hire someone else.

####Gracious hospitality is not taken for granted by people with good manners and good breeding. A family that bars nanny from touching their food will be seen as stingy, whereas a family who offers to share will be seen as generous, and nanny's feelings about her employers food DO translate into her overall job performance.

I'm always invited to help myself to anything but only one of the two families I work for goes out of their way to buy things they know I like. The others don't keep much food in the house so I bring my own meals and snack on fruit of chips from their pantry.

Basically there is no universal policy and whatever you do will be fine, but if you're happy to feed your nanny meals while she's working she'll definitely appreciate it.

Our nannies have always preferred to bring their own lunches. They are welcome to keep their food in the refrigerator and help themselves to drinks. If they work into the evening, I provide dinner and dessert.

I've never had a job where they weren't totally generous with everything.

My mb is very generous about offering me food. She always tells me that I am welcome to everything- just as long as I write anything that me or the kids finish on the grocery list. And if I take DC out to eat she insists she pays for mine too-always. It makes me feel very welcomed and appreciated- but I am very conservative about this because I do not want to abuse this perk. I've had other jobs where food was not provided and that was totally fine too. But it should defiantly be addressed because it can turn uncomfortable fast.

We have in our contract that we do not provide food but will provide space in the fridge and cabinets for anything she wishes to bring.

This worked fine. It's also evolved over time so that pretty much anything in the fridge is fair game for her, when I cook I make extra for her and the kids, when she cooks for the kids she'll often make extra for me and my husband, etc...

I'm glad we started where we did and it's evolved into a really comfortable, thoughtful kind of thing now.

He's welcome to eat anything we have, and bring anything he wants. Sometimes he shows up on Monday with like half a dozen apples and oranges and stores them here to eat throughout the week.

OP here, thanks for all the tips so far! They all sound reasonable and along the lines of what I was thinking. My general inclination would be to offer her what we have in the fridge and if that doesn't work for her she can bring her own food.

You ask her what she would prefer. If she seems over the top, you made a poor hire.

Treat her the way you would like to be treated.
It's not always easy to help oneself in somebody else's fridge, hence the weekly stipend ...
If you're on a budget, just ask her to bring her food.

Even just offering her a shelf and room in the fridge to keep her foods would be nice so she doesn't have to bring it every day

My boss gives me $80 extra per week to get my own lunches, usually on my way back from the playground ...
I get sushis, a sandwich or a salad from sbarro's.
For other families, I was welcome to use anything in the fridge. There was a grocery list and I was asked to add whatever item I wanted them to get for me ...
I was reasonable and asked things to make a sandwich or a salad ...

If you don't want to provide her with lunch, ask her to bring hers and you could provide some snacks or coffee during the day, as a sweet gesture.

What do people do regarding feeding of their nannies? Do you provide lunch and food for them or do they bring their own? I'm new to this and am trying to figure out what, if anything, I should offer our new nanny and if I need to make sure the fridge is stocked, etc.

thanks for any advice!