Nutrition and menu planning in child care
Tools and resources for early years providers to plan menus and help children develop healthy eating habits.
Resources to help child care settings align with requirements from the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, the Ministry of Education’s Child Care Centre licensing manual and Home Child Care licensing manual.
Ontario Dietitians in Public Health offers a variety of nutrition resources for child care settings to support menu planning and to promote positive relationships with food.
Menu planning in child care settings
Use the practical guide to meet the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 nutrition requirements.
Tools and resources
- Menu revision tool
- Meals and snacks checklist
- Fillable menu template
- Meal planning examples
- Healthy recipes for child care
- Modifying recipes to meet Practical Guide
- Increasing the use of plant-based proteins
- Using food labels to make healthier choices
- Reducing food costs and environmental impacts
- Nutrition in child care settings eLearning course
Managing allergies and dietary considerations
- Common food allergen substitutions for child care settings
- Anaphylaxis in child care settings – training
- Anaphylaxis in schools and other settings
- Develop an allergy management policy for child care settings
- Indigenous traditional food ideas
- Understanding halal foods
- A guide to eating fish
Promoting healthy relationships with food
- Nurturing children through responsive feeding
- Strategies for mealtime success
- Promoting food literacy in child care health
- Facilitating family-style meals