Does Food Program Really Cover Food Costs?
Just wondering.... because I am signing up for the food program soon. If I have 6 children that eat Breakfast, Lunch and 1 snack Monday through Friday and am on the tier that gets paid the lowest amount per meal/child does it actually cover the cost of food?
From my research: Breakfast reimbursement rate: .44 Lunch reimbursement rate: 1.33 Snack reimbursement rate: .18 That's only $11.70 a day or $58.50 a week to feed 6 children. How do you guys make that work? Is that enough money? How much do you guys spend a week? Just want to get a budget together so I know how much I need to set aside to spend out of pocket for groceries. Cheap meal ideas.. that follow the food program guidelines anyone?? |
The food program is not meant to cover the entire cost of the meals children are served. The point is to HELP providers with the costs so that they are more likely so serve healthy meals and ensure that they meet minimum requirements.
We serve organic whole foods, being on the food program allows me to spend the extra money to purchase organic apples over applesauce or canned fruit in syrup. Lots and lots of parents will pay a few dollars more each week for daycare that includes whole foods rather than processed and organics...it makes a great selling point for your daycare! |
Jen is right. The check is very helpful each month & is much better then having to wait to the end of the year to claim it. You still get to claim the meals you serve at the end of the year just not as much since you are being reimbursed threw out the year.
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I wonder if I could get the food program even though I'm not licensed? In Ohio you don't have to be licensed.
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In Minnesota you have to be licensed. This is a federal program, so I assume that the basic rules apply to every state.
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Yes, for food program you have to be licensed. No exceptions.
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Not at all. Honestly, with all the paperwork and then entering it onto their website, I don't think it is worth it. It is sooooooooooo much extra time and stress making sure they have just enough of this and that. Plus, I have families that don't allow their kids to drink milk and I have to still put it in front of them or get into trouble. So waste. Lots and lots of waste! The kids don't eat near all of what I am required to feed them. I am going to give it a try thru the summer (since I will be feeding so many more kids at each meal time). But I may not continue next school year.
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I totally think it's worth it. I get over $800 a month in reimbursement. I couldn't feed the kids as well as I do without it. I enter attendance and meals at the end of every day on-line and that's it.
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Ok thanks for replies. I understand it a little better. I will no longer look at it as to cover ALL expenses but simply reimburse me for part of my food expenses. What do you guys usually spend a week total for food for children and how many do you have in care?
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Originally Posted by TGT09: |
Originally Posted by kpa0627: |
Oh really, I will be on tier 2 also and with 6 kids eating bfast, lunch and snack each day it ends up being 58.50 a week for reimbursement (that's if they are all here all 5 days!)
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Originally Posted by sahm2three: |
Food program...bah!!!
If I could go back in time and not have wasted my time with the food program, I would! I think it's more of a hassle than a helpful thing. My reimbursement is only slightly over $200 a month and I am almost always at capacity. I had a friend who had less kids in care (not counting her own 3) and she got about $800 a month. It's not like groceries cost any less for me to buy than for her! I hate getting the food program visits, especially when they are the unscheduled ones. I feel like I have to take too much attention away from my dcks and I really don't like that. I hate having to serve whole or 2% milk to the kids when I would much rather serve 1%. The food program check barely puts a scratch on my grocery bill. OK, vent over, lol!
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Originally Posted by Pammie: |
I spend right around $80-$100 each week just for daycare food/supplies. Take in mind that I buy mostly fresh and organic though.
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Originally Posted by kpa0627: I have 6 dkcs (2 are my own girls and then 4 others). I spend on average $100-$125 week in groceries just for the daycare. |
Originally Posted by GretasLittleFriends: Also, I did the math one time and I figured out the cost per serving of the actual meals that I served for a week it was VERY close to the reimbursement rate. I felt much better after that :) |
twin mama,
do you get reimbursed for the meals you feed your girls? |
Serving family style makes a huge difference.
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No one has mentioned family style to me. I had the food program rep here last week and we talked about how much waste and she said that it had to be put in front of them. Like on their plates in front of them. The kids don't eat near what they are supposed to. Most of them won't eat fruit and veggies. Do their parents really not feed it to them at home?! UGH!
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Originally Posted by kpa0627: |
Originally Posted by twinmama: |
I believe you can register with the food program if you are a legally doing daycare with out being licensed through the state. Here we can watch 2 children or 1 family of children without a daycare license.
When my children were younger, I was reimbursed for their meals when I was on Tier II, but if you are Tier 1 or your children are school age, they do not qualify for reimbursement. Currently I have between 6-8 kids throughout the week and my check in April was $228. Not a lot, but I put it towards my taxes. |
Originally Posted by sahm2three: |
Originally Posted by TGT09: |
Great, Thanks Pammie!
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I spend approx $600 per month on groceries for family and daycare. I average approx $450 from the food program, over $5500 a year. I am mixed tiered with being tier 2 but most of my families are tier 1. Also at tax time I claim A LOT more meals than that because of the only two meal/one snack (and vice versa) and being open longer hours than most daycares, another $2500. That and the government allowable rate ends up being a BIG tax write off. Contact the food program in your area and ask questions. You don't have to join just because you contact them. For me it is a win/win. Also you can go onto the USDA.gov website and they have a multitude of answers plus you can find out the sponsoring agencies for your area.
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Originally Posted by sahm2three: Signing up for the food program was easy enough but I had one visit with the worker and she just gave me a bunch of papers and said here's what's allowed and sort of left to think about my own foods and menus. I feel that she didn't give me enough training. It's sort of like a sink or swim type of training. I learned everything I needed to know from other providers on the food program. You have to enter every child's information into a computer program that's connected to the internet so you HAVE to have internet connection. That's ok with me but what about those who don't? Anyway, the menus have to be entered in to this program weekly in advance and god forbid that you send them a menu plan and they come to your home and you changed one little thing on the menu. Even something as little as changing oranges to grapes instead for the fruit is a big no-no. At the end of each meal you have to enter in the info of who was here, who ate, what they ate etc. You can also do this at the end of the day for everyone but it has to be done THAT day. If there's a family emergency or you need to go out and do something after DC or just forget and you don't enter the info that day, you don't get paid for that day. They can also come in to your house whenever they want during your meal and snack times to check that you're feeding them properly. And heaven forbid that you're running late and they show up at lunch and the kids are not eating. You have to tell them what time your meal and snack times are and stick to them. Not so long ago I started having park days twice a week since my home is walking distance to four really nice parks. We go to a different park each time to keep things interesting and we can be there for a few hours so I take beverages and lunch and snacks with us. The bad thing is that here in CA the food program doesn't cover any meals that are eaten out of the home even if you prepare it at home and pack it with you. Also you have to call them each time you are gone during a snack or mealtime so they don't accidentally show up while you are gone. Too much trouble if you ask me. |
I also found it to be too much DRAMA with the constant changing of tiers/regulations (ketchup is a vegetable??!!), services losing their state contracts/having to start process all over, agents repeatedly getting lost trying to find my house/had to send someone to escort them, multiple unannounced (until they called to say they were lost:rolleyes:) home visits, redundant paperwork and over-regulation.
I also lost the tax deductions...was not worth it for me, personally.:lol: |
I am on my third month on the food program. I have 6 kids, but two are mine. I am on the tier that gets the higher rate which is great. But my kids dont qualify because you have to qualify by income.
My last check was $328 for the 4 kids. I think it is worth it but I do not count on that money each month. I just look at it as a little bonus. If I was on the lower tier I do not think I would do it. |
Food Program Always Financially Beneficial
Originally Posted by Golden Rule: |
Originally Posted by kpa0627: My check from the food program is only about $140/month so I don't know if I'm going to stick with it. I'm on the lowest tier and my own children don't count so I don't know if it's worth it for me. |
Wow, I guess it is different for each state. I interviewed 3 different agencies/programs before I joined one. They were all basically the same because they are all funded through the USDA. However, one program did not have the option to submit things online. One program was online only. I chose the one that allowed either way because I wanted to have the option to submit everything via the mail IF my internet went down for some reason.
I have the option of planning menus in advance or just entering the foods and attendance at the end of the day. Even with the planned menus, I can change oranges to grapes when I do the paperwork (computer work) at the end of the day. So if they show up and see grapes, I just tell her that I planned for oranges, but we changed our minds and I will make the proper adjustment when I enter everything in the evening. No problem and I still get reimbursed. But I have a really awesome sponsor who is very laid back and used to be a home daycare provider. So maybe that helps, having a sponsor who understanding that flexibility is a necessity in home daycare. If we end up serving lunch at 11:45 instead of 12:00 on the dot, I can change that too. So I’m not LOCKED into the foods I serve or the times. I just make the proper adjustments when I record it at the end of the day. I’m not sure about preparing a meal or snack and doing a picnic elsewhere. From the way I understand it, the reimbursement is based on the fact that I am providing the food, paying for it, and serving it. Also, I get reimbursed for feeding infants even if the parents provide the formula. I have to “offer” a brand of formula, but if the family uses another brand (which has always been the case for me), they sign a waiver, then I get reimbursed. It was explained to me that since we have to take the time to actually hold the baby and feed him/her (instead of propping up the bottle) and also preparing the bottle, it is just as time consuming as preparing a meal for older children and therefore, it’s worthy of reimbursement. As for calling them if we will be out of the house, I don’t see a problem with this. After all, I hate going to see someone and find out they are not there and I wasted my time and gas. So, I see it as a respect thing. I would feel awful if my sponsor showed up and I wasn’t here. Also, for the first year, I got reimbursed for my DD because our income was low enough. Then we got “kicked off” of claiming our DD because my husband got a raise and I got more clients, which increased our income, making us ineligible. Now, when our twins are born in Nov., we will probably be able to starting claiming the twins and DD since we will jump to a family of 5, with a higher income eligibility cut-off. Also, I am in Tier 1, the highest tier. So this will be a HUGE benefit. The only rule there is that I can only claim the meals that I serve my kids if I am also claiming at least 1 DC kid for that meal/snack. And I'm still limited to 2 meals and a snack OR a meal and 2 snacks per day. But I think the biggest benefit to the food program is the record keeping. I upgraded to Minute Menu Pro, which has a lot of features. I log in each DCK’s sign in and sign out times each day. It will calculate my time-space percentage based on my actual hours of operation. I can also record all my expenses. Then at tax time, it will print out reports showing how much I spent for various categories, such as office supplies, toys, or advertising (to name a few). There is even a mileage calculator where I can enter the miles I use to run to the bank to make deposits, trips to the grocery store, field trips, etc. Then it calculates a time-space percentage for my car mileage, so I can deduct some of my car insurance, fuel, and upkeep. Basically, it makes tax time MUCH less painful and a LOT more organized for me. I can also print out all my tax reports for all my families at the end of the year in less than 5 minutes. I do my invoices to the parents and print those out in record time. These are just a few of the amenities of that program. I absolutely love it and would be lost without this software that is specifically designed for home daycare providers. Can it be a pain in the neck to log everything in all the time? Sure. But it sure beats the full day, mind-numbing, migraine-causing nightmare of adding everything up on my own at tax time. And it will need to be done, whether I am on the food program or not. I just adore the fact that the program does so much of the calculations, forms, and recording for me. At tax time, I just print some reports, plug the numbers into my tax software, and I’m done. But, it appears that the different agencies in different states have different rules, so check with your sponsors. Also, check with the different agencies to see who you like more. |
Yes I agree, check with them first about how it works. I used to do food program but it was awful. I just quit not too long ago. They were so nit-picky about schedules and menu's that it was too much trouble for just being reimbursed for part of my costs. I prefer to buy the food myself for daycare and pay my families food on a seperate receipt and then claim all of the DC food at the end of the year like I used to do. It was nice being reimbursed monthly and all instead of yearly but I hated having to stay at home for the meals to count. We like to take walks to the park and have picnic lunches which I prepare at home and take with us but in my area only meals eaten at home count. That means I couldn't count at least 2 lunches a week. That's a lot of lunches in a year and considering that right now I don't have any kids arriving before 9am so I also don't need to serve breakfast. Not to mention how they freak out if your menu says bananas and you serve apples instead :eek:. "Oh no, food program is giving birth to a water buffalo in my kitchen right now" was my thought when this happened once. I still follow their nutritional guidelines but I'm not signed up anymore.
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Originally Posted by professionalmom: I seriously could have written this out...even about our sponsor!! |
Originally Posted by Unregistered: I did however sign up for Minute Menu Pro because I loved it!! We had it included (and didn't pay for it) with the food program but it was just so awsome that when I dropped the food program I had to sign up for it. For a $70 initial first year sign-up fee and only $40 to renew each year you can't go wrong. I do EVERYTHING on that program. |
I LOVE the food program. My case manager is AWESOME...I have had the same one for 13 years, and I never mind her dropping in. She has never checked my fridge or cupboards, and most times she comes when it is not even mealtime. I could not feed the children as well as I do without the food program. The paperwork is really very minimal....no more time consuming than coming on here and making a couple of posts ;)
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Originally Posted by Crystal: |
Where does money go?
Just wondering...if daycare requires me to provide my own formula for my infant, why are they also requiring me to have my doctor fill out food program paperwork so they can get an extra $100/month from the state? That $100 isn't going to feed my kid, so where is it going and what's that about?? If the state is willing to pay for formula, would be nice if they would help out the parents who are actually buying the expensive stuff in the first place!!
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Originally Posted by JustWondering: ETA: When I was on the food program it did help defray costs and keep my rates down a bit. |
Originally Posted by Crystal: |
Originally Posted by LysesKids: |
Originally Posted by LysesKids: You quoted a post from 2010. ;) |
Originally Posted by JustWondering: The provider is reimbursed for rounding out the meal components such as adding fruits, veggies, grains and/or cereals. Providers are also reimbursed for feeding (serving) the bottle. It still takes time to prepare and feed. The government DOES have a program that helps pay for formula. It's called WIC |
Originally Posted by Thriftylady: |
Originally Posted by JustWondering: What is the doctor filling out paperwork for? Does your child have an allergy that requires a specific formula or a medical condition that requires a different diet than that prescribed by the food program? As already mentioned, we DO have to offer formula, however, we only have to offer ONE formula. If a child can't drink it or the parents prefer a different one, then the parent would have to provide formula. Also, as already mentioned, we get paid to feed the bottle to the infants, as well. |
Originally Posted by Crystal: |
Originally Posted by Unregistered: |
This discussion always irks me, as the people who love it are always Tier 1
Tier 2 is hardly worth it, and the difference between an extra $10K a year to me, or $1800. Sure, $1800 is great....BUT it's a lot of visits, I have to fill out paperwork every day (FP doesn't accept online submission over here), and I'm always making the simplest mistakes, which would be caught by computer, but not when I write it out. So I can easily lose a week of money because I made a simple error (they are super strict). So I don't make $1800. Maybe $1200. On another note, child care providers are not rich. We are not stealing money from the food program and running to Maui. |
Originally Posted by midaycare: |
Originally Posted by midaycare: Personally, I think in-homes SHOULD be tier 1, especially as the food program is pushed heavily to licensed providers (and most state regulations about food are food program ones) That said, I have been on long enough to make it work so I do MAKE money (which helps immensely because the $2 per hour you make off each child's tuition hardly covers it) There is a health food store that sells organic oatmeal in bulk. You can get a 5 or 10 pound bag (I haven't had to buy in a while) for pretty cheap. And oatmeal is CHEAP to serve and lasts in airtight containers forever. Plain oatmeal, oatmeal pancakes, hm granola, oatmeal cookies for a rare treat, etc etc Chicken is another one - our grocery store has sales where boneless chicken breasts are $1.99/lb. I stock up. Grilled chicken, hm nuggets, hm chicken soup, chicken tacos/quesadillas, etc etc Otherwise it wouldn't be worth it. And frankly, it's none of my clients business what I do with the money I make. Just as its none of my business what they do with theirs. |
Originally Posted by Play Care: |
Originally Posted by midaycare: |
Originally Posted by Play Care: I use fresh organic ingredients only. Everything I buy is Organic AND Natural/Real food I am not sure if it would be worth the amount of work for Tier 2 rates. My monitor is great, I actually enjoy visiting with her. My menu and what I serve wouldn't change if I decided to leave the FP. However, the amount of work that it takes just to enroll a child is crazy. I use a Mac, and of course were still using the ancient grandmother that is MM. The Kids 2 go app constantly crashes, it can take me up to 40 minutes some evenings just to get through recording one days meals for 8-9 kids. I have been told for over a year now that the update is coming our way, any month now, etc etc. If I lost my Tier 1 status I would really have to consider if it would be worth staying on the fp. At this point I don't think I would. |
Originally Posted by Play Care: If I decided to stop doing the FP, then I would have parents provide meals and reduce my rates a small amount. |
Back when I was on it, I didn't know I could also tax deduct food costs. I was on the higher tier then also. This was before it was done online at all, and I seem to remember it being somewhat a hassle. Before that, DH had done all of our grocery shopping, and he quit saying I had gotten where he couldn't keep track what to buy due to the food program lol. I am not sure how much work it is now, but from what I know about dietary stuff now, I know much of what they allowed or called "healthy" wasn't really. I make much better choices for my own family than I did then, because I know better now. But if I wanted to feed kids like I do now, I am not sure I would find the lower tier worth it either.
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I'm tier 2 and it's hardly any work at all. I have 12 children enrolled each day...more overall since I have mostly part timers.
Totally worth it here. If I was being reimbursed more than I am now then I would be in love with the program. :lol: |
Originally Posted by 284878: |
food program
Originally Posted by midaycare: By the way, if you want, you can run off to Maui and attend a family child care conference in December where I'll be speaking for two days: https://zepedalearning.org/conferenc...i-hawaii-2016/ |
Originally Posted by TomCopeland: Hmm, I wonder if Michael would chip in for all of us to go! :p :Sunny: |
Originally Posted by TomCopeland: Now, if the FP could get me on the computer and I could do it during naptime, then yeah, it would be worth it. As for Maui, I will have to skip that one - heading to an island off of Portugal in March happyface We do love to travel! I've been to Kauai, but not Maui. It is my favorite place in the world. |
I think it depends on your situation. In WI licensing requires the same food guidelines as the food program, so you might as well be on the food program and get reimbursed for the food you'd have to feed the kids anyway. But if you're not required to follow similar guidelines you may decide it's not worth it.
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Kauai
Originally Posted by midaycare: |
I agree
Originally Posted by sahm2three: |
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