At The Co-operative Childcare we include all meals and snacks within our fees and we recognise that by educating children from a young age about healthy eating practices, we can influence them later in life. By providing children with a rich and varied diet and developing their knowledge of the food they eat, we hope to sustain their enthusiasm for healthy eating and enable them to make healthy choices for themselves.

We plan menus in advance and adhere to the national statutory guidelines that recommend children over the age of one until the age of five should eat from a well balanced diet with plenty of variety that provides sufficient energy for satisfactory growth and development.

Our aim is to keep our menus interesting by including a variety of colour, textures and flavours. If an item of food becomes unpopular it will be replaced. We plan separate menus for the summer and winter and we always display the menus of meals/snacks in the nurseries. Below is a typical week's menu.

Monday

Lunch:	Spaghetti bolognese and garlic bread
Vegetarian:	Vegetarian spaghetti bolognese and garlic bread
Dessert:	Fresh fruit salad
Tea:	Vegetable soup with fresh bread rolls
Dessert:	Orange shortbread biscuits

Tuesday

Lunch:	Home-made fishcakes with mashed potatoes, peas & parsley sauce
Vegetarian:	Home-made vegetable cakes with mashed potatoes, peas & parsley sauce
Dessert:	Apple, melon & banana platter
Tea:	Pitta breads with tuna mayonnaise or Dairylea filling with diced salad
Dessert:	Fruit yoghurt

Wednesday

Lunch:	Sweet & sour chicken with rice
Vegetarian:	Sweet & sour quorn with rice
Dessert:	Homemade rice pudding
Tea:	Baked potato with cheese
Dessert:	Pears & peaches with cream

Thursday

Lunch:	Broccoli & cauliflower bake
Dessert:	Pineapple upside-down pudding with custard
Tea:	Turkey, ham or cheese salad sandwiches
Dessert:	Fresh fruit platter

Friday

Lunch:	Roast pork, roast potatoes with fresh vegetables and gravy
Vegetarian:	Roast quorn, roast potatoes with fresh vegetables and gravy
Dessert:	Fruit jelly
Tea:	Carrot & butternut squash soup with bread roll
Dessert:	Rice crispie cakes