Nutrition and Menu Planning for Child Care Facilities

Menu planning resources

• MSDH Approved Child Care Snack Ideas
• USDA MyPlate
  Cookbooks and recipe tools from the USDA What's Cooking website.
• Team Nutrition
  Creative ideas for meal planning and food preparation from the USDA, including key recommendations and best practices.
• USDA Nutrition Resources for Child Care Centers
  Kid-approved recipes made from healthy ingredients from the USDA — available in home and school versions size from 6 to 100 servings.
• MSDH Approved 4-Week Child Care Menus
• Child Nutrition Institute
  Institute of Child Nutrition
• Weights, Measures and Portions Poster
  A one-page poster on food measurements and serving sizes for scoop, dishes, and spoons from the Institute of Child Nutrition, for the kitchen area of a facility
• Menu Planning Worksheet To be used by the child care provider to plan menus for meals and snacks.

Nutrition resources

• National Resource Center for Health and Safety
  The NRC's primary mission is to promote health and safety in out-of-home child care settings throughout the nation
• Institute of Child Nutrition
  The Institute of Child Nutrition provides information and services that promote the continuous improvement of child nutrition programs
• Party Suggestions for Child Care Centers and Parents
• Healthy Lunch Box for Children

Food Allergies

• Food Allergy Questions and Answers
• Managing Food Allergies

Reports

• Achieving a State of Healthy Weight
  This report from the National Resource Center assesses child care regulations in all fifty states against the latest evidence-based best practices.

MSDH menu planning documents

Child care facility operators can use the Checklist below to review menus before submitting them in order to speed the approval process.

Links referenced on this page
MSDH Approved Child Care Snack Ideas		http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/19254.pdf
USDA MyPlate		https://www.myplate.gov/
Team Nutrition		https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/about-team-nutrition
USDA Nutrition Resources for Child Care Centers		https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/child-care-organization
MSDH Approved 4-Week Child Care Menus		http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/5345.pdf
Child Nutrition Institute		https://theicn.org/cnrb/
Weights, Measures and Portions Poster		http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/index.cfm/30,4346,183,pdf/WeightsAndMeasures.pdf
Menu Planning Worksheet		http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/3474.pdf
National Resource Center for Health and Safety		http://nrckids.org/
Institute of Child Nutrition		https://theicn.org/
Party Suggestions for Child Care Centers and Parents		http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/5451.pdf
Healthy Lunch Box for Children		http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/5450.pdf
Food Allergy Questions and Answers		http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/index.cfm/30,5455,183,pdf/FoodAllergyQA.pdf
Managing Food Allergies		http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/index.cfm/30,5454,183,pdf/ManagingFoodAllergies.pdf
Achieving a State of Healthy Weight		http://nrckids.org/HealthyWeight

Resources referenced
MSDH Approved Child Care Snack Ideas		https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/19254.pdf ok
MSDH Approved 4-Week Child Care Menus		https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/5345.pdf ok
Weights, Measures and Portions Poster		https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/index.cfm/30,4346,183,pdf/WeightsAndMeasures.pdf ok
Menu Planning Worksheet		https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/3474.pdf ok
Party Suggestions for Child Care Centers and Parents		https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/5451.pdf ok
Healthy Lunch Box for Children		https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/5450.pdf ok
Food Allergy Questions and Answers		https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/index.cfm/30,5455,183,pdf/FoodAllergyQA.pdf ok
Managing Food Allergies		https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/index.cfm/30,5454,183,pdf/ManagingFoodAllergies.pdf ok

Find this page at https://msdh.ms.gov/page/30,0,183,464.html

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