Write a minimum one-page plan for your Center's Food Program. How will you provide for the nutritional needs of the children? Where will you find recipes? What nutrition education will you provide?
Food, Health and Safety Plan
Part 1: Food, Health Program
Food and Nutrition
The center will find recipes from the USDA. This is the U.S. food safety regulatory body, and it offers free evidence-based and scientifically validated recipes, including portion sizes, nutrition information, cooking methods, and menu planning tips (UC Delisle 2020). According to the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), it is vital to choose age-appropriate and nutritious foods for the whole child to receive the five food groups (grains, dairy, vegetables and fruits, protein, and meat) and encourage children to choose at least one food from every food group to avoid wasting food (CACFP, n.d.). Nutrition education will also be derived from the USDA-CACFP, which can be tailored for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers based on the helpful strategies outlined in the program.
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Food, Preparation, and Safety (Menu Planning)
The center facility will have separate rooms/space for food preparation and serving. The kitchen has adequate sanitation and ventilation. The latest health research indicates the prevalence and cause of foodborne disease outbreaks in child care centers – leading to foodborne illnesses, infections, and deaths. Federal, state, and local food make law and enforce the Food Code, even though it differs per state (UC Delisle, 2020). In consideration of these facts, the staff will preserve, serve, and store child food with utmost considerations to preclude foodborne pathogens and allergies (including cross-contamination) that can injure children. For infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, meals will be balanced to include vegetables and fruits, dairy, grains prepared staff and offered to children family-style. It will also be appropriate for the age. Foods like hotdogs will shunned, and anything that can choke children (CACFP, n.d.-c).
Part 2
Floor Plan
Every room has a separate room for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, respectively. Fire exits are aligned to the left and right, while the nurse's office is adjacent to the director's office/closet of staff space. Toilets are accessible to children and staff on the first floor to avoid inconveniences as they perform their duties (finiku_delivery, 2021). There is emergency exit as labeled. There are sinks in the bathroom as well in kitchens as provisions for the staff to wash their hands. As the children enter the center, they disinfect their hands since all the rooms have a Lever 2000 perfume-free liquid soap device. The classrooms have small pneumatic soot (hinge-type) closed as infants enter the room with their mothers.
Health and Safety
There will be sufficient ventilation for the rooms by measurement – the rooms' height needs to be at least twenty-four inches. As allergies have been increasingly on the rise, staff will undertake training on measures to reduce allergens in children (CACFP, n.d.-b). Staff will supervise meal delivery. Meals will be correctly integrated with residential meals to save storage space. Staff and children will practice frequent hand washing, especially when children have to use the bathroom near kitchens. Staff returning from the bathroom to the shift need to wash their hands so as the children before entering the center. Also, staff will wear clean garments and proper gear for diapering and bathing as child care professionals plan to use (CACFP, n.d.-b). Concerns regarding sanitation will be addressed to health, safety and nutritional manager promptly to allow for remedial measures in the long run.
References
CACFP. (n.d.). Online Food Production Records | Food Service Guidance | CACFP. Hhs.cms.gov. https://hhs.cms.gov/files/online-food-production-records
CACFP.(n.d.-b). Grow and Thrive Fingers crossed! Crème de la Crème's growth journey has come Crème de la Crème. Crème de la Crème. https://www.crèmedelacreme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/CACFP_GocceNutrirciConSegno_Eng_Opt_web.pdf