Nutrition
We serve food that provides a healthy, nutritious boost for children’s growing bodies. Our goal is to have a positive influence in broadening children’s food experiences while being conscious of young children’s tastes, appetites, safety, food restrictions, and socialization of eating together.
Menus
Our full-day and Dakhód’iapi Wahóȟpi programs offer infants, toddlers, and preschoolers a nutritious, balanced breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack. Our part-day program offers a healthy mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. Our menus comply with or exceed the minimum USDA Child Care Food Program requirements for meal composition and serving size. We emphasize healthy, low-fat (no trans fats), low-sugar (no high-fructose corn syrup) ingredients, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and non-peanut nut butters. We are a peanut-free facility.
We refrigerate dairy products and perishable foods at a temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Our equipment complies with the requirements for food and beverage establishments and is inspected at least annually by the University of Minnesota Department of Environmental Health.
Children need to be in attendance within the time frame of meal service in order to be offered meals. Parents/caregivers are welcome to join their child for lunch. Please notify your classroom teacher and purchase your lunch for $5 at the front desk before 9:30 a.m. on the day of your lunch visit.
Infant nutrition
We support breastfeeding by accepting, storing, and serving expressed human milk. We provide spaces for nursing mothers to nurse or express milk. We use appropriate sanitary procedures and practices to prepare, handle, and store formula, breastmilk, milk, and solid foods. All of our procedures are reviewed and certified by a health consultant.
- All breastmilk bottles must be ready-to-feed and labeled with the child’s first and last name, and date
- We warm bottles in cups of warm water
- Teachers hold infants during bottle feedings. We do not allow propping of bottles with infants or placing an infant in a crib with a bottle
- Parents/caregivers provide their own unopened and labeled commercially prepared food and/or formula
- We offer finger foods to infants when developmentally appropriate and with parent/guardian consent