Nutrition in Child Care Settings.

• Facilitating Family-Style Meals - Tips and guidance on how to implement and support family-style dining in childcare. 
• Promoting Food Literacy in Child Care - Ideas and strategies to help children develop a positive relationship with food through hands-on learning.  
• Building Positive Relationships with Food Through the Four Foundations of Learning - Ideas on how to help children develop a lifelong positive relationship with food through the foundations of learning.
• Choosing Learning Resources: Nurturing Positive Relationships with Food through Play and Learning – Information on how to choose books and toys that reflect positive messages around food.
• Celebrations - Suggestions for planning inclusive, healthy celebrations that respect diverse cultures and support healthy eating. 
• Fundraising - Alternatives and best practices for healthy, food-free fundraising activities. 
• Sample Policies for Child Care Settings- Ready-to-use policy templates on responsive feeding practices.

The Child Care Menu Planning - Practical Guide is a resource for childcare providers to ensure that meals, snacks, and beverages served in childcare settings meet healthy eating recommendations for children one year of age or older. They reflect current best practices for creating supportive nutrition environments in the childcare setting and are:

• Aligned with requirements set out by the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 (section 42 of Ont. Reg. 137/15).
• Based on the guidance of Canada’s food guide (2019)
• Referenced in the Ministry of Education’s Child Care Centre and Home Child Care Licensing Manuals

The following additional menu planning resources are available on the ODPH website:   

• Modifying Recipes to Meet the Practical Guide - Practical tips to reduce sodium and sugar and increase whole grain content in recipes. 
• Increasing the Use of Plant-based Proteins in Child Care Settings - Practical tips on how to choose, prepare and add more plant-based proteins to menus. 
• Common Food Allergen Substitutions for Child Care Settings - Discover substitutions for common food allergens to accommodate children with allergies. 
• Understanding Calcium- and Iron-Rich Proteins – Additional information on how to choose protein foods that will ensure that the children in your care get the nutrients they need.
• Reducing Food Costs and Environmental Impact Checklist – Information and ideas on how to reduce food costs and your environmental impact at your childcare centre.
• Sample Menus - Sample four-week menu cycle that incorporates different foods to align with the 2019 Canada's Food Guide.
• Fillable Menu Template – A fillable menu template that you can fill out to create your weekly menus.
• Meals and Snack Checklist – A fillable checklist that can be used with your menu to ensure that it meets the guidelines set out by the Practical Guide.
• Sample Policies for Child Care Settings- Ready-to-use policy templates on foods offered in childcare setting.

The Nutrition in Child Care Settings eLearning Course is a free, interactive two-hour online course is designed to empower Ontario childcare professionals who are passionate about supporting the healthy growth, development, and well-being of young children. It draws directly on the provincial Child Care Menu Planning Practical Guide and other childcare resources developed by Ontario Dietitians in Public Health to offer you practical, and helpful evidence-informed strategies to support your everyday practice when working alongside children and their families. 

As outlined in The Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, each child under one year of age is to be fed in accordance with written instructions from a parent/legal guardian of the child. 

Support parents/caregivers in their decision to provide expressed breastmilk for their baby/child. For more information on breastfeeding, refer to the Health Unit’s breastfeeding webpage. 

For more information about feeding solid food to babies, refer to Feeding Your Baby.