Success!

My 13 month old daughter goes to a childcare center that has a unique food program. The center provides breakfast, lunch and snacks daily and all of the children eat together family-style. In addition, the center participates in the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program and therefore receives reimbursements for each breakfast and lunch that is served. I love the idea that the children eat together. But the food that is served (conventional) does not fit our family's philosophy that food should be grown/raised without harmful chemicals and sourced as close to home as possible. Like school districts across the country, our childcare center operates within tight budget constraints. Even though the cook (yes, we have a cook and a scratch kitchen!) wants to provide the "best" food for the children, she is limited in terms of time and money. Caroline just began her transition from the infant to the toddler room this week which meant that she should have begun eating the center's food with the other children. Knowing that her teacher shared our family's food philosophy, I snuck in homemade, organic, seasonal meals and snacks for her everyday. But the director found out and we got called on the carpet. Before our meeting with her this week, I armed myself with research that supports organic food and rBGH-free dairy products. We met with her (and the cook) yesterday and to make a long story short, we can continue to bring Caroline's meals and snacks for her! Success! The director requested though that we try to mimic what's served at the center. Here we go!