5.13.2
Menu and Menu Planning
Menus
Shasta Head Start utilizes a 6-week cycle menu to ensure a wide variety of foods are served. Menus are dated at the top to follow the 6-week cycle. Menus must be posted at all centers for parents to observe. Shasta Head Start has menus for infant, toddler, and preschool. Menus are developed to ensure all required CACFP meal components and nutritional components are offered on a daily basis. See CACFP Meal Patterns One Year+ | Under One Year for more detail. Menus are nutritionally balanced to ensure that a Vitamin C rich food is offered every day, and a Vitamin A rich food is offered at least every other day. A variety of colors, textures, and cultural cuisine are also incorporated into the menus. Cooks should follow the menu as much as possible. It is advised that if a Cook needs to switch the menu meals, the entire day should be switched to ensure it meets the nutritional requirements.
Links:
Menu Production Records (MPR) and Serving Amount Sheets
MPR’s and Serving Amount Sheets are a tool for cooks to use to ensure they are purchasing and providing the correct amount of each meal component. MPR’s coincide with each week’s meals from the 6-week cycle menu. The Cook will fill out the weeks’ MPR prior to shopping, using the Serving Amount Sheets and ensuring they are adding extra amounts for second servings. Cooks will purchase the amount of food listed on the Serving Amount Sheets based on the number of children they are estimating to cook for. When filling out the MPR, Cooks will fill in the center name, dates, number of meals that are being prepared, and recording the cooked and serving temperatures of the main course at lunch. It is suggested that pencil be used if there is a need to either lower or raise the amount prepared for a particular day. The Cook will save and file the MPR’s for the current year as they will randomly be checked at monitors. MPRs can be shredded at the end of each program year.
Links:
- Menu Production Records
- EHS Serving Amount Sheets – 10 Servings | 25 Servings
- HS Serving Amount Sheets – 10 Servings | 25 Servings | 50 Servings | 75 Servings | 100 Servings
Cook’s Sick Day Menu
Cook’s Sick Day Menu is a simplified menu to be used for convenience when Cooks are absent. It is made up of food items that should be regularly kept on hand and easily prepared. It is advised that the Cook put all non-perishable food items in a tub and placed in the pantry or where staff know where it is, along with instructions and menu production record. Make sure the food is rotated to ensure that the items are all within expiration dates. There is a 2-day Cook’s sick day menu for short absences and a 1-week Cook’s sick day menu that can be used for an extended Cook’s absence or emergency.
Links:
Special Dietary Needs/Food Allergies/Cook’s Diet Orders
Shasta Head Start is committed to providing alternatives and substitutions for enrolled children with allergies, intolerances, or special dietary needs. We aim to provide a nutritious meal for all children in the program and this includes assuring every child will receive all the important nutrients that are part of the daily requirements. Cooks must consider all diet orders and substitutions and plan accordingly when meal planning. Whenever possible, Cooks should try to make the food as similar as possible to what is on the menu that day. For questions regarding Cook’s diet orders, please contact the Health Services Manager or Registered Dietitian Consultant.
See Special Dietary Needs for more information.
Menu Planning
Parents are encouraged to submit menu suggestions for the following program year. Annually, the Family Services Department sends parent surveys out to all families for their input on changes and/or additions they would like to see implemented on the menu. The results of the parent surveys will be considered during the annual menu planning meeting.
The Food Service Coordinator conducts an annual menu planning meeting usually in Spring with the cooking staff. Cooking staff will review the current menu and make changes they would like to see for the following program years’ menu, along with input from the parent survey and cultural considerations. Cooking staff will use the Menu Planning Checklist to ensure a high-quality menu.
After the changes have been made the Food Service Coordinator will review the menu to ensure all nutrition and vitamin components have been met.
Once the menu is complete, the Food Service Coordinator will send the menu to the Registered Dietitian Consultant for final approval. After final approval from the dietitian, menus are set for the year, and cannot be changed until the following program year. The final menu will be printed and distributed to all enrolled families at the beginning of the program year.