Collard's Childcare & Kindergarten Meals & Nutrition
In House Cook
Our in-house Cook will prepare delicious and wholesome fresh food each day. We know how important good nutrition is for growing children. We know that some children are fussy eaters. With this in mind our chef and educators have come up with a healthy menu your child’s bound to enjoy. Our cook prepares a variety of age appropriate tasty and wholesome meals. If you have a healthy family favourite recipe that your child loves to eat, please share it with our chef, so that we can add it to our menu.
We have planted a garden with trees and shrubs to surround our kindergarten. We also have an orchid, with fruit trees, vegetable and herbs gardens. Our fruit and veggie gardens are looked after by our children and educators. The children will help to plant, care and pick /cook our healthy food.
Our Breakfast program: From 6.30-8.00 am the children are offered breakfast. They can choose from cereal, fruit or toast.
Busy parents Breakfast: In our dining hall parents can help themselves to a piece of toast on your way out each morning.
Late snack will be offered to children at 4pm daily.
As part of our outreach program for families doing it tough, we will have a community sharing basket. Staple food items such as bread, milk, pasta, rice, and fresh fruit will go into our sharing basket. Families can also contribute to the sharing basket by bringing in staple food items, or a tin of food or some fresh vegetables to share.
Nutrition
We understand the important role we play in meeting the nutritional needs of children while in care. Children who attend a full day of long day care will be offered at least 50% of their recommended daily dietary intake while in care. We also have a commitment to assist families, who provide their children’s meals to develop healthy food attitudes and habits. Guidelines around healthy eating when food is supplied at the service or when families provide the food can be found in the foyer or by asking a friendly team member.
Allergies and Dietary Preferences
We understand that many children in our care have food intolerances and allergies ranging from minor to severe. To ensure every child’s safety and wellbeing, all meals and snacks are prepared fresh daily on site by our qualified Cook.
Our Cook provides alternative menu options to accommodate a variety of needs, including dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free, and vegetarian diets.
We are a nut-free Centre, which means no nut products are used in our kitchen or permitted on site.
If your child has any allergies, please speak with our Administration Team once you have enrolled. This will ensure you receive the correct allergy forms to complete prior to your child’s start date.
All educators follow a strict allergy management procedure to prevent cross-contamination. Room Leaders also complete a checklist with our Cook before any meals or snacks are served to children with allergies.
