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We have to provide breakfast and lunch. Breakfast is either a paper towel or what it is in. I have noticed DD's (1 yr room) lunch was on a paper towel and DS's (3 yr room) is in the container. I think DD's (2 yr room) is now in the container as well. We are in a high cost of living area and daycare is expensive here.

We have to provided meals and daycare provides 2 snacks, morning and afternoon. Depends on how it is served. Yes they try and have them learn to serve themselves, even pouring milk (out of a smaller container). Most snacks are on paper towels. Cereal is an exception, hey have disposable bowls. And there are some prepackaged, like apple sauce they give the little plastic cups of. I try to serve stuff on paper towels at home too to cut down on dirty dishes and I feel as if its not as bad/ unfriendly as paper plates.

The eating off paper towels and buttering their own toast seems a little odd for that age. They give kids plates and prepare everything at my daughter's school.

The menu isn't super diverse but they don't serve the same thing every day. For example, here's the menu for this week:

Monday - whole grain cereal with fruit
Tuesday - whole grain pancake with fruit
Wednesday - whole grain waffle with fruit
Thursday - egg patty, english muffin, and fruit
Friday - biscuit, turkey sausage, and fruit

DS eats breakfast at home but occasionally has something small to eat when he arrives at preschool to smooth the transition. He eats off a paper towel. His preschool does not provide breakfast.

My daughter is in the preschool class at her daycare facility. They serve a lot of cereal and fruit for breakfast, and sometimes have a waffle or french toast sticks instead of the cereal. They eat at a table in their class. The teachers put the food on a plastic plate or in a bowl for the kids. This morning they had cereal, so their fruit was on a napkin to the side of the bowl, but paper towels all the time sounds a little odd to me, and especially no help from the adults. I think it's a little odd that they've started giving the kids huge, tablespoon-sized spoons with their cereal instead of the little plastic kids spoons they used to use, but that seems to work for them.

We've used three different daycares/preschools so far.

The one that provided all the food:
Used styrofoam everything (ugh, the environment), except when they used just a paper towel.
Sometimes teachers served, sometimes a few students were asked to serve their tables.
Food was mostly basic and cheap, not the best nutrition.

Daycare, no food provided:
The students eat from their lunch containers.
The teacher always lays a paper towel under the container as a disposable place mat. I've been sending a cloth napkin and cloth placemat, but the teacher seems to leave them inside the lunchbox.

Montessori Preschool:
They encourage us to pack only nutritional items. Sweets are not allowed. They talk to the children frequently about health and trying new foods.
They encourage independence, so children learn to take charge of as much as possible. For example, snack time is on an individual basis. Children take turns serving their own snacks at the snack table whenever they feel hungry.
There is an emphasis on environmental responsibility, so we are encouraged to minimize disposable packaging. We are asked to provide cloth napkins.
The school composts scraps for their garden.
The containers and napkins are sent home for washing.

Surprisingly, this Montessori school is cheaper than either daycare, because it is nonprofit! I like the outlook of the Montessori school best, but sometimes I dread packing lunches; I think I'm getting into a rhythm now though.

I have no idea what they eat off of (I guess I don’t care because I never even thought to ask).

I believe they do serve themselves and are expected to be fairly independent (but if they are struggling it’s not like the teachers will let them starve). From what I understand a lot of their meals are family style.

This is the pre-k breakfast menu for this week and the next 2 weeks (but it’s nyc public school):