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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Financial Help!!
blueclouds29 01:09 PM 02-18-2011
My husband lost his job in January, so our only income is the 3 kids i watch. Right now we don't have much money left and we somehow have to feed 3 toddlers ( one is mine). How do you go about handling this. My husband said we can just do sandwiches all week. How would that come across to the parents? Do i tell parents for the moment we are having financial problems? My husband has a job interview next Tuesday so things look promising but for now its not :-( What should I do? Oh i'm not licenced i only watch 2 toddlers and a infant. The 2 year old is mine. What to do??
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tenderhearts 01:29 PM 02-18-2011
Since he lost his job can you qualify for state assistance like food stamps or something like that?
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Crystal 01:33 PM 02-18-2011
Can you ask the parents to brown bag lunches for awhile? If they are aware of your husbands unemployment, I am sure they'd understand.

Have you applied for assistance? You should qualify for food stamps, and while it would be just for your family, you could supplement with a little cash to provide for DCK.

Also, check into food closets, etc.

Best wishes.
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daycare 01:35 PM 02-18-2011
Originally Posted by tenderhearts:
Since he lost his job can you qualify for state assistance like food stamps or something like that?
great idea.... and btw you can make great meals cheap and i mean I cheap....I feed my whole family for $10.00 a night for dinner, with dessert... family of 5 two teenagers and a caveman husband. baby and I....
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blueclouds29 02:02 PM 02-18-2011
yes we do but just for Feburary. His unemployment will start in March
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MARSTELAC 02:14 PM 02-18-2011
When my hubby and I were struggling, we had lots of meals with rice and veggies; spaghetti, more rice & veggies, peanut butter sandwiches and cheap lunchmeats. I would love to hear how the OP feeds her family so cheaply! I am looking at ways to cut, cut, cut to try and get rid of some of our debt. I wish you good luck and would look into assistance as well,.
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tenderhearts 02:57 PM 02-18-2011
I buy chicken in big bags and I cook chicken every way you can think of,
chicken
cream of mushroom soup
rice
with some paprika on top
bake covered

we will do just rice with cream of mushroom soup and veggies

chicken in stir fry or even just veggies in stir fry

bbq chicken

chicken pot pie (homemade)

soup with baked potatos

these are just some..
I use alot of coupons and search the stores nearest to me for the best deals too.
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JenNJ 03:01 PM 02-18-2011
I would just be honest with your dc parents. Just say that you need to increase the daily rate to include meals or they can bring a bagged lunch and snacks for their children. I think reasonable folks would understand that.

Sorry things are so tough. Hang in there!
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e.j. 03:11 PM 02-18-2011
Do you belong to a child care food program? If not, it will pay you for the meals you serve during day care. It's based on the number of children you serve meals to and if you meet income guidelines, I believe they'll even allow you to sign your own child up. It may not be a huge amount of money but it can help to defray the cost of food.
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Unregistered 01:31 PM 02-19-2011
I feed my daycare kids pretty cheaply. Kwik Trip (if you have that in your area) bananas and toast are a pretty cheap breakfast. Also, I use yogurt and cottage cheese instead of meat a lot. It provides protein but doesnt cost much. We use bagged frozen vegetables which cost about 70 cents per bag also. For only a few kids you definately wouldnt need to use even a half a bag per meal.

Do you have an aldi in your area? Their stuff is pretty cheap.

Also, look in your phone book for a county social services section. A social worker can connect you with a local bread bank and food shelf and some accept minimal donations for families who dont qualify under the income guidelines.

Finally many of the churches in our area have boxes of pre selected food- including fresh fruit and veggies. Ours are usually around $30 and claim to have a total of 1 months worth of food in them.
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blueclouds29 03:14 PM 02-19-2011
Thank you for your replies! I appreciate it! Today we went to Aldi's and got a few things that will last a week and maybe two weeks. We got chicken nuggets, a pack of 24 frozen waffles, fruit (fresh and cups, frozen veggies and chicken noodle soups. We can also do sandwiches and quesadillas. Thank you for all your help. We are getting one month worth of food stamps but are wanting to use them for 'us' and not for the daycare kids. We WILL get through this!!! I know we will!! I'm having faith!
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Rachel 10:34 PM 02-19-2011
I think you need to be upfront with the parents, especially if you promised meals. People will understand, but not if you don't tell them. I also think there are fixed cost with daycare, and you have to continue to provide the services you promised or be upfront with the parents about it. Daycare can be feast of famine, but still in the years you don't have a lot of kids, or your dh loses his job, you still have to provide the care you promised.

Hope your dh gets back on his feet soon.
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nannyde 03:19 AM 02-20-2011
Originally Posted by blueclouds29:
Thank you for your replies! I appreciate it! Today we went to Aldi's and got a few things that will last a week and maybe two weeks. We got chicken nuggets, a pack of 24 frozen waffles, fruit (fresh and cups, frozen veggies and chicken noodle soups. We can also do sandwiches and quesadillas. Thank you for all your help. We are getting one month worth of food stamps but are wanting to use them for 'us' and not for the daycare kids. We WILL get through this!!! I know we will!! I'm having faith!
Blue,

Can you cook from scratch? The processed foods you purchased per ounce are pretty expensive per ounce and not very nutrious. The frozen veggies and fresh fruit are great but the other stuff you bought... even at Aldi's is pretty expensive per ounce.

Do you know how to make from scratch soups and stews? Beans, rice, and low cost cuts of meats can be combined to make healthy stews that will be very nutrtious belly filling food that can also be stored in the freezer for easy quick suppers.

I make a LOT of stews with beans and rice and my family and dck's love it. Before I switched to fully organic menu I would purchase the lower priced meats such as pork shoulders, beef roasts, whole chickens or chicken parts on sale etc. and combine them with a one pound bag of beans and slow cook in the crock pot. When they were completely cooked I would add four cups of brown or white rice to thicken the stew.

You can use the commercial beef stew mix seasonings or crock pot seasoning packets to season or use your own seasonings from your spice cabinet.

For chicken soup recipes you can use the dry chicken soup envelopes and crush the contents of the seasoning and add to the chicken stock for flavoring.

You can add all different kinds of veggies to it too. Carrots, potatoes, and frozen mixed veggies can be added to make "bowl in one" meals that are super healthy and yummy. They will last you guys for MANY meals and freeze up well.

Regarding the day care kids food: You can't have kids in your house that you aren't a hundred percent certain you can feed good sized healthy meals to. It's not right to skimp on their food in any way even if it means you and your husband do without in order to make sure THEY get what they need.

If you really can't do it within the money they are giving you then you have to either raise rates or ask them to bring packed lunch. Never let a parent drop off a kid with an understanding that they will get good full meals and then not be able to give it to them.

If you get food stamps try to buy single ingredient foods with them so that you can make from scratch your meals. They will go a LOT further if you make your OWN stuff. Prepackaged nuggets, fruit cups, canned soups, and waffles are not healthy and they cost a LOT per ounce. You can make your own nuggets, get pancake mix from Aldi's and make MANY breakfast meals with it compared to the 24 small waffles you get already made. Fruit cups are designed to give you a lot of liquid and sugary canned fruit. You are better off using that money to buy frozen veggies to add to your stews and home made soups.

When you are feeding from scratch foods you will find that little kids won't gobble down more than what they need. If they are given chicken nuggests, waffles, soups, and fruit cups they will. You may see that if you switch to a fully home cooked from scratch menu that they will slow down and just eat what they need. Your biggest expense is going to be their milk so make sure you get enough for them every day. If calories in is an issue than I encourage you to purchase whole milk for them just for the little extra fat and calories.

Are there food banks you can go to?
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blueclouds29 12:24 PM 02-20-2011
Thank you for your advice nannyde. Don't worry they will get the meals the parents pay for. I only have to feed a 14month old and 9 month old. That's it. Plus my own DD that's 2. 2 kids under 2. The 9 month old doesn't really eat a whole lot right now cause he doesn't have much teeth yet. So he gets anything that soft and chewy. The parents know what i feed them and are satisfied. They get breakfast (oatmeal & cheerios) morning snack (fruit), lunch and afternoon snack. I would never not have enough to feed them. My business comes first. My parents now that my husband lost his job, i told them. I have great parents and are completely understanding. The kids are first and they will get their meals. I am not licensed so i don't know what is out there to help the business. I will look into the food bank.. thank you for that idea.
As for the cooking from scratch. I'm not a big cooker at all. With watching kids, everything seems so rushed at night that making a full meal is just exhausting. I'm definitely not trying to make an excuse. We will work it out! Thank you again :-)
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blueclouds29 12:44 PM 02-20-2011
I just found a food bank right near us! Thank you Nannyde!! :-)
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SandeeAR 02:48 PM 02-20-2011
You might also look into the following


http://www.angelfoodministries.com/
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MyAngels 05:54 PM 02-20-2011
You could check to see if there is a SHARE food program in your community. My brother lost his job recently too, and they use this program. It's a small cost per "package" of food and they get all kinds of staples including meat and fresh fruit and vegetables. I think it's supposed to be enough to feed a family of four for one week. You can get as many packages as you want, and you just have to give some volunteer time to the organization that sponsors it. Theirs is through a church and they go and help package up the food each month. There is no paper work involved as far as proving income, etc., it's open to anyone who wants to participate.
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blessed mom 06:12 PM 02-20-2011
We have saved lots of money using the treasure box. Check the link and see if there is a place that sponsors a pick up place.

http://www.thetreasurebox.org/
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blueclouds29 04:42 AM 02-21-2011
Unfortunately The Treasure box is only in California and Arizona. I'm in MO. But thank you!
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blessed mom 08:38 PM 02-23-2011
Originally Posted by blueclouds29:
Unfortunately The Treasure box is only in California and Arizona. I'm in MO. But thank you!
Awww man...sorry I didn't realize!
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blueclouds29 06:50 PM 02-24-2011
Update: We have received good news! We found a website, Making home Affordable.gov and they are helping us keep our house and getting us more help! We also found a food bank called Angel Ministry which we are getting a month worth of food for under $100!! They also have a kids bundle which of course i ordered! Things are looking better for us! YAY!!
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SilverSabre25 08:11 PM 02-24-2011
YAY!! That's awesome for you, congratulations!
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