I think all totaled I spent almost $200 this past week. Twelve kids every day, my 20 yo dd, myself, 2 dogs and a cat.
One day, just out of curiosity, I made a list of all the food consumed just by 12 kids and it was...well, quite a bit. I've got ages 1- 12. The 1 yo eats like a bird all the way up to the 12 yo dcb who can pack it in. Must be some mighty high metabolisms here because the only one who is even remotely chubby is a little girl I have.(we're not counting adults of course )
Just curious how some of the daycares feed their summer crews economically.
I do participate in the food program so get reimbursed but still.....and it's not like we're living on shrimp and lobster.

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And THIS is why I don't do the food program. I just don't have that out of pocket cash, reimbursed or not. Shew. Good luck with that!!

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Between my daycare kids, my kids, husband, and all the animals I spend about 1200 a month on groceries and pet food. And that's minimum

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I am not eligible for a food program. I dont serve breakfast or dinner to my daycare kids and they also come with a sack lunch. There is no way I could afford to feed kids three meals a day and make a decent income.

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I coupon and save a huge amount of money. It's time consuming at first but I've gotten better and faster now that I've done it for a while. I wrote some details about it in the off topic section if you are interested

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I can only have 6 so I don't have that much but I feel like I feed them fairly economically. All of mine are preschool age.
I don't buy a lot of processed food. I don't find that the food program makes it more expensive to feed the kids. And I do appreciate the checks.
I do know that I am paying a lot more for food than I was 3, 6, 16 years ago

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Man, I wish I could feed all those people on just $200!!! I spend almost that on just my family of 5! Goes to show what a difference geographic location makes. Too bad the food program reimbursement rates don't reflect that.

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I guess I am the exception. I average $80-$120 a week for Hubby, me, 5 cats 1 big dog plus the 5 daycare littles. I stock up when things are on sale and do not serve a lot of processed foods. We have a produce stand less than half a mile from us and use only what looks good that week. We eat meats but cheaper cuts or reduced for quick sales. I only serve water except for lunch, and then I serve 1 glass of milk.Even I drink mainly water. I do coupon but only for the things I normally buy. Works for us.

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I'm curious what an average day of your food might look like if you wouldn't mind sharing.

We spend about $100-$130 a week at the grocery store but then we buy most of our meat at a wholesale club and stop at another store for some of the fruit and veggies. Plus we eat out once in a while. There are 2 adults, no children of our own still at home (adult and live elsewhere), 3 daycare children (one who is an infant so parent provides food), no pets. Except for the daycare children we almost exclusively drink water (just a preference). We don't even drink coffee cause we just never liked it. Our cheap produce stand closed unfortunately.

I know I could plan better and waste less. So anyway, just wondering if you could share a sample menu for a day.

Thanks, Laurel

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thats roughly what I spend a week anywhere between 150-200. Now i'm feeding dh and I , and my 4 kids (ages 8-12) and 5 daycare kids everyday. But last week I didnt need to go and buy any food. I coupon too so this is why I didn't need to buy food last week, we had plenty.

ok, I will say that it all depends where you live. In canada food prices on some things are crazy high, now I shop in michigan all the time for my groceries and can buy a boat load of stuff for half the price.

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We spend between $90 and 150 per week on groceries. There are usually 1-2 meals per week that me and my family eat out and that is not included in the above price. We are a family of 4 (me, my dh and my 2 daughters) plus 4 daycare kids (none of which are infants). The more expensive weeks are usually because I have to purchase laundry detergent, paper towels, toilet tissue, personal hygiene products, etc.

We price match what we can at Wal-Mart. The remaining groceries are purchased at Sprouts and Costco. What helps us a lot is making large meals and spreading it out throughout the week (like spaghetti for dinner, a daycare meal of spaghetti and dinner of leftovers where spaghetti is one option).

Here are some sample meals:
Dinner (all of which can be pre-prepared and served for daycare lunches also):
*Cobb salad with homemade blue cheese dressing
*Grilled chicken over whole wheat penne pasta with caprese sauce (chopped fresh roma tomates with freshly chopped basil and olive oil)
*Pot roast
Lunches:
*Whole wheat pizza with tomato sauce, Canadian bacon and freshly sliced pineapple, served with fresh fruit
Breakfast:
*Homemade zucchini carrot whole wheat muffins, turkey sausage and fresh fruit

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We are a family of 5 (3 growing boys, lol, 12, 9 1/2 & 5) & we spend about $125-$150/week and this includes daycare foods; however, a few of my daycare kids are babies so currently I don't provide anything for them as the moms provide BM or formula plus during the summer months the one family is only very part-time (I provide mostly school-year care). I don't anticipate our costs going up much though as I only provide lunch & snacks & of the 4 kids I will have in the fall 2 of them are babies. That being said I feel like we don't buy a lot of meat - I would like to buy more but it's so expensive we tend to buy chicken when it is on sale or fresh ground turkey/chicken as we can normally get it cheaper than hamburger.

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WAY JEALOUS.

I spent almost $400 this week on food alone. I feed 12 kids breakfast, lunch & 1 snack/day and my own family of 6 dinner.

I don't coupon as most of the food items are processed. No coupons for produce.

Daycare and my family eat all fresh, locally grown, organic food, with a few minimally processed things, usually organic (I am an Annie's white cheddar shells and cheese ADDICT) .

I don't buy ANY junk food.

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I grocery shop for the daycare completely separately than my personal grocery shopping, and for the daycare I spend about 160/ 2 weeks.

That is for 12 children (2 not on solids), breakfast - lunch- pm snack. I do most of my grocery shopping for the daycare at aldi, and am on the food program. All of DCK are under 4, so portion sizes are smaller than OP's.

Personally, I eat mostly organic and non-processed foods, I believe that 1/2 my clients would be willing to pay a higher rate for an all organic diet - but the other half would not. I feed the DCK very little processed foods, so I feel like the groceries/ ingredients I buy at Aldi are comparable to the conventional ones from a Wal-Mart type grocery store. I would feel Leary about Pre-packaged foods at a discount store, but buying the ingredients for meals, I feel okay about.

Last weeks menu:

Breakfast:
M: cereal bars & bananas
T: biscuits & strawberries
W: cheerios & bananas
Th: Pancakes & strawberries
F: toast with jam & grapes

Lunch:
M: scrambled eggs, hash browns, oranges, carrots
T: Beef franks, buns, sweet potato fries, corn, tomatoes
W: grilled cheese, raisins, peaches
Th: yogurt, egg noodles, green beans, oranges
F: beef and cheese burrito, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples

Snack:
M: yogurt & apples
T: cheese sticks & grapes
W:baby carrots & oyster crackers
Th: diced turkey & cherry tomatoes
F: graham crackers & strawberries

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Food prices have shot up, so I'm trying to do what I can to make my dollar stretch.
I'm going to be honest, while my family eats lots of fresh produce and very little (probably none if I think about it) processed foods, I am more relaxed with the day care. Why? Because their parents feed them crap, and they won't eat the things I make for my family. After years of trying and having my efforts wind up in the trash I've had enough. I just recently scrapped my 4 week rotating menu and made a ONE week menu.

Monday - HM pancakes, fruit, milk lunch is deli meat, cheese, ww bread, 2veggies, milk

Tuesday - French toast (packaged because hm French toast never gets eaten) fruit, milk and lunch is pb & j on ww bread, 1 veg, 1 fruit, milk

Wednesday - waffles (frozen - same deal as French toast), fruit, milk and lunch is grilled cheese, 2 veggies, milk

Thursday - HM oatmeal, fruit, milk and lunch is chicken (frozen, because the majority of the kids have no idea what grilled or baked chicken is) 2 veggies and milk

Friday - eggs, ww toast, fruit, milk and lunch is hm pizza (I make the whole thing, crust included) This is the *only* thing I make from scratch for dc that everyone eats. Pizza... 2 veggies and milk.

I get around rules about the "same" foods by changing things up a little and using seasonal fresh produce. Do I love it? No. But I will say it has cut waste tremendously. And really, if the parents are just going to bring them to Dunkin Donuts or McDonalds for dinner every night...

Kudos to you who fight the good fight, I just can't afford it anymore

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Of course groceries are a HUGE expense for daycare. Being on the food program should not increase a daycare's costs. Every daycare should be feeding the kids nutritionally balanced meals and snacks with variety whether there's extra cash in it for the provider or not! You gotta spend money to make money, and just be smart about how you do it.

I shop at Wal-Mart (Great Value brand is just that, a Great Value...we are not brand savvy around here). I price match on meats and produce. I stock up big time on awesome sale prices. I don't do coupons unless it's something decadent my kids have been begging for. Usually, the store brand is cheaper than an on-sale-and-a-coupon national brand, so why bother? We eat pretty healthy around here, while still enjoying food treats on a regular basis as well. One thing I learned is to use cheaper options as often as feels right/allowed by food program-applesauce, mashed potatoes, eggs, graham crackers, cakes/brownies baked from boxed mixes (those can be "healthied up" too!), cheap cuts of meat cooked in crockpot-just to name a few.

I've become quite the guru at eating for less!

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Just a 1day example that we ate this week:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast, bananas and milk
Snack #1: yogurt with peaches and water
Lunch: Baked chicken (left over from the night before), fried rice, green beans, water melon and milk
Snack # 2:HM hummus, crackers and Apple juice.

I purchased the peaches, green beans and chick peas from our local stand. The main protein for lunch is usually cooked the night before and repurposed.I do not serve a lot of processed foods.

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Double post.

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Do your dc clients tend to feed their kids well? The ones I have now by and large do NOT. If I advertised "healthy, home cooked, organic meals" I might get some interest from parents who think it sounds good in theory...

I kid you not, the other day my one little boy told me in front of his mother "we had donuts for dinner!" And when I said "You had DONUTS for dinner?" Mom sheepishly admitted that they were driving by the donut place and the kids asked for donuts (who is she kidding, I know those kids - they demanded donuts and she, tired after a long day, caved...). Since they were only going to be having a bagel with cream cheese for dinner anyway, she relented and they had donuts instead. This is the same kid that called my baked chicken "dirty chicken" because it has some mild spices on it...

I'm not saying I don't agree that the kids should have variety and I believe I supply it as much as I am able. But I am DONE baking chicken, grilling fish, etc. just to have it tossed. The thing that KILLS me is that I often use the crock pot or will have food baking/simmering at pick up time and the house usually smells heavenly. This same parent will ask what smells good and when I say what the meal is, will ask if my kids will eat it. When I say of course, she always says "I wish my kids would eat REAL food." My kids eat the way they have been taught.

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It's true, the majority of my dc families have horrible feeding habits for their kids, especially on weeknights after long days at work. Many have commented to me how they don't worry about it because they eat so well at my house. But only 60% of their meals and snacks are with me. I want the kids to learn healthy choices and moderation of goodies from me, cause they aren't going to learn it at home!

I hardly ever have to throw any food away. How do I get them to eat it? Well, I try my darnedest to enroll my kids as young as possible (6 of my 8 I've had since birth), so they are used to my cooking from the time they even start solids.

Now, here's the best trick: anyone who finishes their meal gets dessert. I put the minimum amount CACFP requires on their plates, the older kids usually ask for seconds of one or two items, and then they get a few chocolate chips, or a Dum-Dum sucker. It's cheap, and it makes them SO HAPPY! And I'm happy with their full bellies and smiling faces (and their excited voices saying "I get zurt! I get zurt!').

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How do you handle the kids who don't get dessert or the treat?
Especially when the other kids are eating in front of them...

I would imagine that there are a few kids who rarely get that treat and a few who get it every day...

What do the parents say/feel about it?

I can only imagine the number of parents who feel their kid is being "punished", left out and/or singled out for not eating so the parent goes out and makes it up to the child by getting them a treat after daycare every day if they didn't get dessert at your house..... kwim?

I kind of think "rewarding" the kids for eating is similar to the "clean plate" mentality and kind forcing/encouraging the kids to eat, even if they really aren't hungry...

....or that it simply encourages them to eat just to get that treat, which I kind of feel is the wrong message to send to kids about food and eating healthy.

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I get a lot of produce coupons, and even Annie's coupons! There are also coupons for organic products, milk, pork, chicken etc you just need to know where to look for them

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Everything I buy with coupons is for name brand items and they are always significantly cheaper than the store brands.

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I don't buy into the "clean plate" theory as a leader of obesity. Just wait a few more years, and the "experts" will announce that perhaps encouraging and even rewarding children to eat the balanced, nutritional meals that their growing bodies NEED wasn't such a bad idea after all. I just read in the paper two weeks ago that, after a big study, said "experts" now say that eating the six mini meals (which has been a popular diet strategy) is actually worse than the standard 3. So everything comes full cycle, I guess, and you believe what you want to believe. That's just my opinion.

Sure, a kid is disappointed if they don't get dessert. What's wrong with that? I've never had a parent question this method, and have had a few very happy ones where I've turned a picky eater around. They are just glad to know the kids will eat the spinach leaves (or just about any other good-for-you food) here, so they feel they don't have to pretend to enjoy them at home to get their kid to eat it! For the most part, I guess I've been lucky to have had mostly parents that respect my ideas and experience. Mostly.

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Seriously? WHERE!?! I have seen Annies coupons before, but NEVER a produce coupon.

For instance, I buy a LOT of milk. It's 6.99/gallon for organic skim here. I bought 10 gallons this week. $70 on milk a WEEK. Dh always says "The cow would be cheaper."

I don't serve a crazy fancy menu, I do shop at Aldi for the clean 15 and cheap sides (they also carry a lot of organic) I farmers market, go to a farm for meat and produce, have a LOT of produce from my own garden, etc. I also price match, use reusable items to save (no paper towels or plates, that kind of thing)

Pears were 1.99/lb this week, and I needed 8. Around $10/one snack!

I am on the food program, but have the lowest reimbursement rate. I get around $150-200/m from them, and spend that on daycare in one week easily.

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I haven't seen produce coupons, but a lot of my parents will use the Aldi's adds to price match produce at larger stores.

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OCCASIONALLY I will offer dessert for the children, I don't require that they clear their plates to get it, but their fruit and vegetables need to be gone.

I try and relate it to them as a you have to eat the good foods before you can eat sugar.

I don't like the "clean plate" mentality, but I do want them to understand a balance between sweets and healthy foods. I wouldn't want to ask a child to finish a grilled cheese to get their dessert. KWIM ?

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I actually just cut out AM snack because I fully believe this constant snacking (even healthy options) is doing more harm then good when it comes to *most* kids.
I know there were many days that we were eating that snack because it was out of habit, and had nothing to do with actual hunger.

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Here are a few places to get you started. I signed up for Earthbound Farm and they email me coupons almost weekly good for any of their produce. I can get organic carrots for 13 cents a package at Walmart! I get Driscoll berries coupons all the time. In season I get a variety of produce coupons like vidalia onions. I have bought Healthy Balance milk for 49cents a carton often, there are egg coupons, I just printed off six $1 off any fresh pork a couple weeks ago, I can get Annie's mac-n-cheese for 30 cents each.

You won't find these coupons in the newspapers, they are almost always printables! You can also email companies that you buy a lot of product from and they will send you coupons! Here are a few links I found for you to look at

http://healthylifedeals.com/organic-printable-coupons-2

http://www.ebfarm.com/user/register/node/3775

http://www.organicdeals.com/

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/foo...ic_Coupons.htm

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O M G! I am SPEECHLESS! This is INCREDIBLE! I am printing coupons like a mad woman as we speak! You are going to save me a ton of money! Thank you!!!!!

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Here is a thread she started about sites for great deals/coupons.

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52976

Needavac is a FANTASTIC money saver!!!

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I actually do things just like you posted in your first post, I just wanted to know how YOU handle some of the downsides or negative aspects of rewarding or giving treats to some kids but not others.

I reward the kids but I do it randomly and unexpectedly because I don't want them to ever think there is a connection between eating and a reward...kwim?

I also reward kids for effort....and not always having eaten everything. Eating half of their veggie might be a huge step for one kid where another might love that veggie and eat it every day so rewards and treats here are done on an individual basis.

I also don't believe the clean plate theory is the basis for obesity in children. I think there a lot more outside influences that effect weight and health than finishing all your food on a regular basis. After all, our grandparents probably did belong to the clean plate club for every single meal they ate and yet their generation did not suffer from obesity like the current one does.

I do meal time in my own way and have fantastic eaters. ALL my kids eat veggies and will typically ask for seconds on veggies only. Every once in a while I hear a parent comment about one kid getting a treat and another not getting it and I often wonder how other providers deal with parents who think their child missed out on something or that I may be doing something that isn't fair...kwim?

I wasn't getting down on you for how you do things.....just wondering how you manage some of the fall out.....or if you have any.

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My grocery store doesn't accept internet coupons.
I spent 198 bucks this a.m. Ugh.
I have found, since the schoolagers are older, they tend to have less of a discriminating palette than my younger ones do. So they're more likely to try new things, and eat their veggies. I have 1 little guy, 5 yo, he is THE pickiest kid I've ever had. One day we had goulash, beets, pineapple and cucumbers for lunch. He said "I don't like anything on the table". Well, then you can wait till snack time. And he did. But not without complaining an hour after lunch that his stomach was growling. But this is the same kid that gets cookies for dessert because he ate his corndog for supper. Oy Vey....
Thank goodness most of my kids are pretty good about eating or at least trying most of what I serve.
This week our menu looks like this(kind of)
Breakfast:
Cereal and bananas
Bagels, and grapes
English muffins, eggs and fruit salad
Cereal and bananas
Pancakes, applesauce
Lunch:
Hamburgers, cucumbers, fruit salad
Chicken and rice, frozen peas, applesauce
PB&J and/or turkey sandwiches, carrot sticks, watermelon
Pizza, Peaches, corn
Ziti, grapes, red/green pepper sticks
Snacks:
Trail Mix
Mini muffins and some kind of fruit
Cheddar cheese and wheat crackers
Animal cookies and apple slices
String cheese and pineapple chunks

All meals include milk, snacks I serve water.
I went years of not being on the food program after I had been on it for awhile, and got into such a habit of what to serve that I just kept serving the same requirements anyways. The one thing that's hard for me now though, is they want you to serve beans once a week and sometimes I forget. Kids are smart and can tell if I've tried to doctor a dish with smashed beans.

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Have you tried black bean brownies for snack? It's a CACFP favorite. Puree (very well!) one can black beans with its juice-do not drain- then mix with one box dry brownie mix. Omit the water, oil, and eggs. Bake as directed on box. So easy, so tasty, and a secret serving of beans. I promise, they will never know!

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WOW KMK I will have to try that one! Thanks for sharing!

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I will be learning how to do that, thanks for the link, BC!

and thanks for being a super saver, Needavaca!

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I just have to say, the Driscoll's berries rewards site is awesome! You get a 50 cent off coupon right now just for signing up. And every time you buy a package a their berries, you can fill out a quick survey and you get entered to win a $100 gift card EVERY MONTH!

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I spend around $50.00 a week for four kids-still waiting for licensing so I can get on the food program and also enroll more kids!

After my paperwork was on someone's desk for a month (they have to get you liiscensed within 2 mo after receiving paperwork) and I thought they would be here any day someone noticed both my husband and I need nationwide fingerprint checks since we have lived out of the state in the last 3 yrs.

The pre-licensor and licensor did not realize we would need this??? New regulation I guess. Off topic-sorry. ;-(

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You're welcome!! I love doing this and I'm so happy if I can help other people save money

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I personally never offer a treat unless everyone can have one, I feel its unfair, kids can eat or not eat in my house I don't even really pay attention, unless they are asking for seconds. And there is no dessert here, my own kids get dessert maybe once per week, but were not much in desserts, now I love dessert, I just have never wanted my kids to get in the habit of always having a dessert after a meal, and I would not be happy if my kid were getting a piece of candy after lunch everyday. I find it best to offer very few treats at daycare, and let the parents do it at home, I know when my son was in daycare I would pick him up most days and he would have a cookie, I don't feel a kid needs cookies more than once a day, and I always felt like I had to over compensate at home for poor habits at daycare.
I spend at least $300 per week on food, I have a total of 12 kids most days, with 1 baby. My husband, the dog and cat, and 2 rats are not included. But my dog is like $50/per month.

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I coupon to its helpful. I guess I spend about 130 or so a week maybe a bit more between the 4 of us, pets and dc. I try and just make enough for each child so theres as little food watse as possible. I have pretty average eatters except for one boy who can pack it away! I dont serve morning snack and I offer water between meals. I wish I had a magic answer for you. I think a lot of grocery costs does depend on where you live to.
Deb

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