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The CACFP Mealtime Environment — Transcript

by MSDE TV · 2,652 words · 412 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00[Music]
0:22what is mealtime like at your facility
0:26mealtime at our Center is a time of joy
0:29our meals are prepared on site fresh
0:33every day
0:34our staff takes great pride in the
0:38presentation and the variety of foods
0:41that they serve and how the particular
0:44foods for that day complement one
0:46another and our children enjoy the
0:50product mealtime is an important time in
0:53your childcare facility especially so if
0:56you are participating in the child and
0:57adult care food program CACFP in this
1:02video we will describe the different
1:04types of meal service discuss the role
1:06of children and staff during meal
1:08service and share best practices for
1:11creating and maintaining a healthy
1:12mealtime environment furthermore there
1:15are important CACFP requirements that
1:18must be followed during the mealtime
1:20routine we will discuss what these
1:22requirements are and how to follow them
1:25we should begin by understanding that
1:27there are two ways that CACFP program
1:30participants can serve these meals using
1:32either a traditional pre plated method
1:35or family-style dining free plated meal
1:38is when mispriced serves measure the
1:42foods that put it on the kits plates
1:44already and brings them out already pre
1:46plate and that means that on each
1:48child's plate we have to put all the
1:50foods that we are serving that day and
1:53we have to serve them in the portions
1:54that are required for that age group to
1:57serve our pre plated food means it is
2:00put on the child's plate the child may
2:02not be asked if they want the food or
2:03not it must be served it goes by quickly
2:07the teachers can just pre plate
2:09everything make sure everything's there
2:11put it in front of the children and the
2:13children can get started fairly quickly
2:15many child care centers choose this
2:18method because it is convenient it
2:20allows for cost control predicting what
2:22foods need to be served and forecasting
2:24costs and it is less time consuming
2:29along with the advantages pre plating
2:31does have its corresponding
2:32disadvantages it prevents children from
2:35being directly involved in the process
2:36they are not permitted to decide for
2:39themselves what they want to eat or how
2:40much and there may be more food waste
2:43and sometimes a need for additional
2:44staff to pre plate each of the meals
2:46being served for children the
2:49disadvantage is that the children don't
2:51get really to say oh you know what I
2:54don't really know that I'd like green
2:55beans today
2:56can I maybe not try so many they also
2:59don't have a chance or an opportunity to
3:02participate and engage in that meal
3:04service component childcare staff who do
3:07not want to use the pre plated meal
3:09service can use family-style dining
3:12family-style is when the food is put in
3:14the bowls and the kids serve their self
3:17and take the thing the amount of things
3:19that they want for the older children
3:21for the 3s and the fours we do the
3:23family-style dining and so then each of
3:25the foods is put into a bowl on the
3:27table and the children pass the bowl and
3:29serve themselves here participants serve
3:33themselves from common serving dishes of
3:35food placed on the table enough food
3:37must be brought to each table to provide
3:39the full required portion size for each
3:41participant adult supervision is
3:44necessary to provide assistance to young
3:46children and to set a good example
3:48supervising adults may pass bowls steady
3:51containers or help where it's needed
3:54only first open that we were doing pre
3:56plate all the way through but by me
3:59talking to them going through the
4:00trainings and realizing this is
4:03something that could be fine and the
4:04kids enjoyed it family-style dining
4:07requires that enough food be in the
4:09serving bowls or pitchers at the
4:10beginning of the meal so each person
4:12seated at the table can receive the full
4:15required serving size portion if a child
4:18takes a larger portion additional food
4:20must be added to the bowl so every child
4:22has the opportunity to take the required
4:24serving size the supervising adult
4:27initiates passing or offering the food
4:29to each child the child may take or
4:31decline any food item the supervising
4:34adult offers and encourages but never
4:37forces participants to take a serving of
4:39each meal component food items should be
4:42passed and offered
4:43least two times during the meal service
4:45so in family-style dining you have the
4:47ability to offer only one component in
4:50that family-style so you could have a
4:52pitcher of milk and everything else is
4:53pre plated but the children pass around
4:55the milk and serve themselves their milk
4:57or they could serve their own green
4:59beans or just one component that would
5:01save on some of the time that it takes
5:04to conduct the family-style dining
5:07implementing family-style dining in your
5:09Center may require advanced preparation
5:11the cook must have enough time to
5:13prepare the meal and ensure all items
5:16are placed on the dining table at the
5:17same time the center staff may also want
5:20to practice the skills needed to execute
5:22family-style dining get your staff
5:26involved motivate your staff talk to
5:30your staff you have to have your
5:32teachers involved now let us discuss the
5:36advantages and disadvantages of
5:38family-style meal service an advantage
5:41of family-style meal service is that it
5:43allows for social and motor development
5:46this is a great opportunity for them to
5:50learn social skills to develop their
5:53fine motor skills and for them to feel
5:57good about their growth and development
5:59and their independence and family style
6:02allows the child to be directly involved
6:05in the decision making process they can
6:06decide what to eat and how much and it
6:10also gives them the ability to make some
6:12choices about what they eat and how much
6:14they take and going back for seconds
6:16sharing with the other children and
6:19understanding that there needs to be
6:22enough to go around and it promotes
6:25independence and responsibility the
6:28children would describe the meal
6:30environment as fun that's a time when
6:34they are at the table with their friends
6:36and they are simply having social
6:38conversation and when the teachers are
6:41talking to them about food they don't
6:44even realize that it is a time of
6:47learning and instruction for them as
6:49well family-style eating helps to foster
6:52community
6:54now some disadvantages family-style meal
6:57service may not be appropriate for all
6:58age groups of classrooms it takes a
7:02while to do family-style dining
7:04admittedly it's a longer process each
7:08child gets the bowl and it's passed
7:10around and they dip and they serve and
7:13yes they're not is the dexterity for the
7:15children is not always as quick as it
7:17could be for the children in serving
7:19there's spilled milk all the time
7:22because they're serving themselves so
7:24yes there's a few more mishaps it takes
7:26a longer time but really the learning
7:29and socialization that goes on we'll
7:32hopefully offset the disadvantages there
7:36regardless of the meal service style use
7:38in your childcare setting there are
7:41additional CACFP requirements that must
7:43be followed
7:44first you must display a menu that
7:47accurately reflects the meal served the
7:50menu must indicate the meal type
7:51breakfast lunch supper or snack and the
7:55date this menu can be in each classroom
7:58or in a public common area in the
8:00childcare facility if changes are made
8:02to the menu the change must be written
8:05on the menu to accurately reflect what
8:07is served in addition you must record
8:12point of service
8:13POS point of service is a daily count of
8:16the number of meals served to enroll
8:18children taken at the time of service it
8:21is documented once the child receives
8:23all of the meal components including the
8:26milk component of a reimbursable meal it
8:29must be recorded and maintained for
8:31three years plus the current year by all
8:34participating CACFP providers a CACFP
8:39reviewer will ask for these records
8:41during a review point of service and
8:44attendance must be separate your point
8:46of service which is your check sheet
8:48that the children did receive a
8:49reimbursable meal cannot count as
8:51attendance monthly point of service
8:54numbers are reported
8:55so providers can receive reimbursements
8:57for their meals furthermore water must
9:00be available during the middle service
9:02and throughout the day for all enroll
9:04children so if a child says
9:07I'm thirsty may I please have some water
9:09then it would have to be available to
9:11them our goal is not to just feed
9:15children but rather to meet the child's
9:17nutritional needs and create positive
9:19eating habits that last a lifetime
9:21developing healthy eating habits relies
9:23on a division of responsibilities
9:25between children and adults the adults
9:28should consider that they have some
9:30specific responsibilities that include
9:32choosing and preparing healthy and safe
9:34food establishing pleasant eating
9:37environments and teaching about food and
9:40behavior let's take a look at these
9:42adult responsibilities first adult
9:45responsibilities include choosing and
9:47preparing healthy and safe food all of
9:50our staff are trained about nutrition
9:54they plan healthy nutritious meals we
10:00also have a nutritionist who reviews our
10:03menus and approves them when children
10:06observe healthy food practices at our
10:09Center it carries over to their homes
10:13adults have the responsibility of
10:15contributing to a pleasant eating
10:17experience another way of promoting a
10:20positive climate and environment is the
10:24conversation that takes place we are
10:28thinking about our conversations with
10:31our children every day we are interested
10:35in what they have to say and so we're
10:38asking them questions to engage them in
10:41conversation staff should refrain from
10:45adult personal conversations that are
10:47not directly related to mealtime adult
10:50conversations can be a direct
10:51distraction and affect mealtime in a
10:53negative manner conversation can focus
10:57on teaching children about food in
10:59mealtime behavior our teachers are
11:02familiar with the meal pattern and the
11:05menu for the day this enables them to
11:08have conversations with the children
11:10about the foods that they are eating and
11:13what they also do is they build on that
11:17from an instructional perspective
11:20teachers sometimes take a a particular
11:24food and build a lesson around it so the
11:29entire staff has responsibility in
11:32bringing food and food service alive to
11:38our children likewise there are specific
11:42responsibilities that fall to the
11:43children children's mealtime
11:45responsibilities include they will eat
11:47the amount of food they need they will
11:49learn to eat a variety of foods they
11:52will learn independent responsibility
11:54and they will learn proper eating
11:57behaviors and manners at the table
12:00first they will eat the amount they need
12:04staff members play an important role in
12:06helping children to recognize their
12:08internal cues of hunger and fullness so
12:11that they are able to self-regulate food
12:13intake in other words eat when they are
12:15hungry and stop when they're full they
12:18will learn to eat a variety of foods one
12:22of the things they learned is to try
12:23some new foods we've had parents come in
12:25and say my child will not touch broccoli
12:27at home I can't believe they're eating
12:28it here or raw vegetable sometimes they
12:31won't eat any of those but there's a
12:33little bit of peer pressure to eating
12:34food amongst your friends and seeing
12:37other children do it and embrace it
12:38because other children the courage just
12:40to try it
12:41and that's half the battle if we can get
12:44a child to taste something then we can
12:47get them to eat it my children
12:49participate what's called the Jew bike
12:51club and so when we introduce a new food
12:54to them everybody has to take at least
12:57two bites they will learn independent
13:00responsibility one of our goals for the
13:03children to become very independent
13:05mealtime helps to enhance the
13:07responsibility of children in a number
13:09of ways they set the table there's
13:13different servers so someone will pour
13:15the milk each day get that started up
13:17again with the older children once they
13:19learn how to pour but all the children
13:21have responsibility for their own space
13:23at the end of the meal they participate
13:26in cleaning up every child cleans up
13:29their own place and they take care of
13:32one another they place their dishes on
13:35the tray and if there's a tradition over
13:39they help to straighten it up they will
13:43learn proper eating behaviors and
13:44manners at the table we do have the
13:46staff sit with the children and then
13:48they sit and they talk with the children
13:50and remind them of manners and ways to
13:54ask for more or to ask for assistance
13:56and just to be sure that they're talking
13:59conversationally and making it a happy
14:02place during lunch their eating skills
14:04improve their social skills improve
14:06because they're sitting at the table and
14:07they're taking care of each other and
14:09also talking with each other for our
14:11children mealtime
14:13can take on an even greater level of
14:16importance for some of our children
14:18these may be the only healthy and
14:22nutritious meals that they receive in
14:24their day it may also be the only time
14:28that they have someone sitting with them
14:33having conversation and interested in
14:36them and their lives there are several
14:40best practices for creating a healthy
14:42eating environment first it's important
14:45to use child-friendly items when you
14:47have children involved in the mealtime
14:48process for example child care centers
14:51should choose child sized plates
14:53silverware utensils and cups that are
14:55not easy to break and choose cups that
14:58do not tip over easily serving dishes
15:01should include small bowls with a wide
15:03rim or lip to prevent spilling and it is
15:07better to separate the same food into
15:09smaller bowls so they're not too heavy
15:11for children to handle second parents
15:16and caregivers should be encouraged to
15:18experience their child's mealtime
15:19environment in child care either through
15:21volunteering observation or
15:24participation remember by sharing a
15:28positive mealtime environment experience
15:30with families these practices can always
15:32be transferred to the home setting third
15:35it's helpful to create a relaxing
15:37peaceful and inviting atmosphere where
15:39children eat and this can include any of
15:42the following displaying signage and
15:44posters in the classroom to reinforce
15:46menu items being served
15:47removing cleaning supplies during meal
15:49service so they're not visible and
15:51posting menus that are visible for
15:54children staff and parents finally food
15:58should never be used as a reward or
16:00punishment before during or after meal
16:02service giving sweets chips or sugar
16:05sweetened beverages as a reward often
16:07leads to children over eating foods that
16:09are high in sugar fat and empty calories
16:11it interferes with kids natural ability
16:14to regulate their eating and teaches
16:16children to reward themselves with food
16:22while you learned about best practices
16:25and the CACFP meal environment let's
16:28review the CACFP mealtime requirements
16:32number one conduct point of service POS
16:36immediately after the full reimbursable
16:39meal is served attendance should never
16:41be used as your point of service record
16:44number two follow the CACFP meal pattern
16:48and served the correct portion size to
16:50each age group for each meal type such
16:53as breakfast lunch supper or snack for
16:58family-style dining remember to
17:00encourage children to take the full
17:02portion size third display a daily dated
17:06menu that accurately reflects all of the
17:09menu items and meal type being served
17:11the menu can be posted in the childcare
17:14facility and/or in each realm fourth
17:18always have water available to children
17:21during mealtime and throughout the day
17:25the importance of meal time should not
17:28be underestimated the more care and love
17:32that you put into the process the
17:35greater the dividends and it can be as
17:39rewarding for you as it is for the
17:43children thank you for taking the time
17:47to view the CACFP mealtime environment
17:50video we wish you the best as you
17:52continuously try to improve and enhance
17:54the mealtime environment in your child
17:57care center
17:57[Music]
18:41you

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