Food for Thought

Lunch time practice

At the I.C.E.C. the children bring in their own packed lunch, provided or arranged by the parent or carer. This system allows families to follow their own cultural diet, diet preferences (i.e. vegan) or providing home cooked food (food they know their child will eat and enjoy).

The food should be presented in a microwaveable container, that serves as a plate or dish as well, this minimises the contact of other people with your child’s food. The lunch box will then be placed in the fridge until it is time to serve to the children. Hot lunches will be heated in the microwave before being served to the children. The I.C.E.C. will provide water with the meal to aid digestion, with milk provided as well for those families or children who want it. The school will provide all required cutlery.

The children will be encouraged to eat well and independently and follow all the social rules of good manners and eating habits. The children enjoy looking at what the other children are eating and are usually very proud of what mummy or daddy has given them. The children are encouraged to respect and make positive comments concerning the differences in cultural or religious diet.

For information about dietary requirements for your child see the food guide.

Snack time

At the I.C.E.C. we provide two fully nutritious small meals for the children daily, these are called our snack time, the meals may change or vary depending on which of our centres you attend, but they should fulfil the food groups listed below equivalent to one serving per child. Generally we provide wheat crackers or bread, a selection of toppings, cheese, jam etc, a selection of fruit and vegetables, milk, juice and water is also provided. We also prepare and cook snacks with the children so we may have pizza, fruit pancakes etc.

*WATER IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO THE CHILDREN THROUGHOUT THE DAY*

Lunchtime Party Event

At the I.C.E.C. we try to recognise as many multicultural events as possible, including Chinese New Year and Diwali. As well as looking at the culture behind the festivals listening to the music, and looking at their way of life, we also cook a selection of food from the particular country we are focusing on. This developed so well that we found ourselves cooking a full meal with and for the children, including a starter and a dessert. Surprise, surprise the children did not seem to eat much lunch on these days, and it seemed as if we spent the whole day eating! The children and teachers really enjoyed these events so rather than limit the food because of the above issues, we decided to develop the idea further and turn it into a complete lunch time menu, and make it a regular monthly event.