LOs school has an optional lunch meal plan that we pay for. It includes lunch and two snacks. We provide breakfast for her and she usually eats most of it on the way to school in the morning.
I'm working to convince DH to consider stopping the lunch plan just to save money as it adds about $50 to our monthly tuition costs. But I admit that meal plan is great/nutritious/convenient for us.
Does your childcare provider include food?
honeydew / 7235 posts
Ours only includes 2 snacks so I pack his lunch. I wish our school offered a meal plan!!!!
grapefruit / 4278 posts
Ours includes two snacks and lunch. I can't get it together to pack my own lunch. I think they do a much better job feeding him than I would 
I don't think that you'd end up saving all that much either.
nectarine / 2878 posts
Our tuition includes two snacks, lunch, whole milk. The food is not the most nutritious but at least the kids all have the same food. I make sure breakfast and dinner are somewhat healthy options. I don't think we can ask for a tuition discount if we don't want to use their lunch plan...
persimmon / 1043 posts
Our tuition includes food-- breakfast snack, lunch, and afternoon snack. Of course milk, too. They try to provide organic but definitely some things are not. I would provide my own lunch/snack if I had the time/energy to do it all every night and keep the meals actually nutritious and varied, but I don't! Lol Plus, I think my daughter actually prefers having the same lunch as her school friends, and I feel she eats more stuff she wouldn't normally eat bc of the peer mentality of it all.
GOLD / eggplant / 11517 posts
@lilyann: Ours is provided by a totally separate caterer and paid for separately. The price changes each month depending on how many days they are providing food for the month (they deduct for holidays and whatnot)
pomegranate / 3113 posts
Morning snack, breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack are included in the price. We're not allowed to send outside food (I think they would make exceptions for kids with severe dietary restrictions, but their kitchen can accommodate some restrictions, too). Even if we could send food, I know I wouldn't be able to provide a month's worth of lunches and snacks for much less than $50, and the time saved by not having to prep it is priceless.
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
We provide all food and milk. I don't mind because I'm packing Dh and my lunches anyway. I think it made her a good eater because it's almost always leftovers from the night before, so she gets two attempts at a meal whether she likes it or not
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
none of ours ever included food, but i would have still packed lunches anyway since my kids are happy to starve if they don't like what's served.
pear / 1547 posts
Includes all meals/snacks, formula if needed, milk and diapers/wipes. It's pretty great. We send her EBM and she's in cloth diapers (which they happily do) but we could do disposable if we wanted less work. It's so nice not having to pack meals! They'd be slightly healthier if we did it but so not worth the effort, ha!
pear / 1657 posts
Includes breakfast, lunch, and two snacks as well as milk. The food is pretty healthy, but I prefer for DS to have organic milk so I send that.
grapefruit / 4988 posts
Ours includes breakfast, lunch, two snacks, and milk in the tuition. Honestly I would not switch to making her lunch even if it did save money. We had to provide our own food while she was in the infant room (up until 15 months) and it was so much work to make lunch and snacks every day. It is such a timesaver to not have to worry about it. Plus the food they serve is healthy, and she eats better seeing the other kids eating the same thing as her.
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
Lunch! He's part time 8-1245 three days. Week they provide snacks!
hostess / papaya / 10219 posts
Man, ours doesn't provide any food but $50 a month sounds like a steal that's less than $3 a day, right?
grapefruit / 4418 posts
Our daycare included 2 meals and 2 snacks. It was so convenient! Now, my in-laws feed her on their days. I send a lunch to our friends house when she watches her, but she usually gets other snacks while she's there, too.
cantaloupe / 6171 posts
They provide snack mostly (we bring in for the whole class once a month) but we provide lunch and milk. And diapers/wipes/sunscreen/etc
squash / 13208 posts
They offer it but its $5 a day and the portions are tiny! So for $25 a week I pass and make their lunches myself
They provide 2 snacks though
papaya / 10560 posts
If it was only $50 a month and my kids ate it, I would do it. That's about how much I spend on their lunch and snacks weekly and it would save me so much time!
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
All meals, snacks and cows milk are provided. I did pack dd1's lunch till she was two because I wasn't happy with their offerings. But then they started the NAEYC application process and their menu got revamped for state standards. I'm much happier and started letting her eat daycare lunch. But I do bring in soy milk for her.
DD2 just turned one and now eats their food too.
If I had to pay extra I'll probably just pack it since I just pack leftovers anyways. Both girls are historically good eaters so that's not a concern.
persimmon / 1436 posts
I don't think I could do lunches cheaper than $50 a day and I would have loved that meal plan option. Our daycare provided breakfast and snacks so we had to send a lunch. Would have been great to have one less thing to think of every day.
pomegranate / 3595 posts
We provide lunch and school provides two snacks and milk. We provide all food for the infant room. Lunch is pretty monotonous but we have gotten into a good routine. It does sound nice not to worry about lunch!
clementine / 849 posts
They provide breakfast, lunch, snacks, and milk. It would be totally worth it to me to pay the money.
pear / 1837 posts
2 snacks and lunch are included in the cost and you can't opt out. But I pack her lunch daily because they provide our county's public school lunches- it's in the basement of a public elementary school- and it's not vegetarian (she is). The snacks are not very nutritious (Fritos twice a week), so I send those too.
pomelo / 5469 posts
She only goes 2 mornings a week but she gets breakfast, snacks and lunch included in the price.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
There is no lunch program at my son's current school, we have to pack a lunch. They do provide snack, though.
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
Daycare includes breakfast, 2 snacks, and lunch. It's not always what I would choose to serve but it's included and easy to not worry about. it follows the state daycare standards.
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