The foods children eat, are key components to their healthy development. Meals and snacks at school consist of mostly organic whole foods that are free from added sugars. When we do use sweetener we choose pure maple syrup or honey. 

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Meal times at school are an opportunity for learning, exploration and creativity.  We view meals as  a time to connect and support overall development. We sit together and take time to talk and enjoy one another, this simple mealtime routine helps build strong relationships, and a healthy relationship with food.

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Each day children help prep and prepare the meal  they will be eating. They learn skills like measuring, pouring and cutting with child safe knifes. Cooking with children helps build confidence with trying new foods—and provides rich learning opportunities including math, literacy, motor development and so much more!

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Adults at school approach meal time using the responsive feeding technique. Responsive feeding is an approach that says it is the adults' job to provide a variety of healthy foods in age-appropriate servings at mealtimes and snack-times, and it’s the child’s job to decide what (and how much) to eat. In other words: The adult provides, and the child decides. 

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Benefits of Responsive Feeding:

• Responsive feeding helps children learn to recognize the signs of when they’re hungry or full, which can help prevent obesity.

• Responsive feeding helps children to notice, understand, & trust their bodies’ cues. This awareness builds healthy eating skills that last a lifetime.

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At school we recognize that many children take a long time to adjust to liking new foods. Gently, but frequently, we offer new foods—along with foods children do like—at each meal. Research shows that children need to be offered a new food 20 or more times before they will eat it. So, don’t give up on new foods. Keep trying, it just takes time.

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