On October 1, 2016 the Child and Adult Food Program had new standards go into affect. The center decided it was time to redo the menu.
One change was that the cereal we serve must not contain no more than 6 grams of sugar per 1 dry ounce of cereal. We did have to remove a couple of cereals, but took this opportunity to add new cereals to add more variety. A second change that we had to accommodate was that we are now required to serve at least one serving of whole-grain per day. This change made us more intentional with our planning of the meals to ensure that we are serving at least one whole-grain per day.
The new menu has a variety of new fruits and vegetables. On the menu we added fresh pears, berries, mango, zucchini, mixed vegetables, and stir-fry vegetable mixes to the menu. For entrees we added a sweet and sour chicken stir-fry, chicken stroganoff, meatballs, baked potatoes, and cheese ravioli to the menu.
We just completed week 1 of the five-week cycle. There were a couple of hiccups, but overall the menu went over well with the children and staff.