by: Dstar - 23-06-05 11:44
Hi there,
I am doing a feasibiliy study for a Day Nursery and would really appreciate if anyone could shed some light as to how much £ food per child is per day in a day nursery and what type of food is given?
PS this site is great and has helped me heaps :-)
by: bev
Ive had my nursery for 15 years and although I don't have a clue what I spend on food per child I would say that they don't eat a lot! We serve lots of home cooked food cooked from scratch. Cheese & potato pie is perhaps the most popular meal but they also like pasta meals, casseroles, roasts, curry, sweet & sour chicken. We always have fresh fruit and vegetables and the cook always bakes a lovely cake for tea time.
I used to shop at a cash and carry but now I do Asda on line shopping. It's very easy and seems quite good value.
Cost of food per week/ per child - 18-02-06 17:09by: madhuparimi
hi
I have one and half year old boy. I would like to join him in a nursery.i am in london. how much it would cost.
Thanking you
madhavi
Cost of food per week/ per child - 20-02-06 10:11by: joshuajones
Hi Dstar
You should be able to provide breakfast,a two course cooked lunch and a high tea with snacks for a pound a day. We are manageing to feed all our children for 39pence a day. We serve all fresh, home cooked food and have a weekly shop delivered by Sainsbury.
Cost of food per week/ per child - 26-02-06 20:36by: newsetting
Jo, Ive lost your email address. Just wanted to say that my nursery has implemented a lot from the menus you mailed me. To start with, we were doing our own but we were spending a small fortune! Last week I decided to try out one of your menus and we cut our shopping bill in half! Not compromising on the quality either. Just wanted to say thank you. Oh, and if you still have my email address then do get in touch! Sian x
Cost of food per week/ per child - 27-04-06 20:50by: LittleAnna
Jo could i have a sample of the menus you use as we need a revamp Ta dwright95@clara.co.uk
Cost of food per week/ per child - 28-04-06 19:36by: janny
jo, me too please!! janny11@hotmail.co.uk thanks
Cost of food per week/ per child - 25-05-06 13:50by: Ayse
I'm very impressed if you are managing at 39p each.
Could i have a sample menu please?
thanks
info@nextgenerationdaynursery.com
Cost of food per week/ per child - 29-05-06 10:35by: woodpecker
I'D LIKE A COPY OF THE MENUS TO PLEASE. VERY BORED OF OUR MENUS AND I THINK THE CHILDREN ARE TOO! sammy_claire_24@yahoo.co.uk thanks Sam x
Cost of food per week/ per child - 29-05-06 20:18by: newsetting
You can do it! You just have to be organised and plan in advance! We have recently worked out cost per head of our meals and they are varying between 40-50p per head. We shop at ASDA and buy all our fresh fruit and veg at the local farm shop. We only spend £20 a week on fruit and veg from the farm shop but this allows us enough to supply fresh fruit for the children everyday, enough fruit to make smoothies for their afternoon snack and vegetables for meals throughout the week. We cater for 27 children a day.
Cost of food per week/ per child - 30-05-06 11:15by: joshuajones
Hi Tabby.
I can assure you we do use fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish all the time. And we use a variety of them, including mangos, raspberries seasonal friuts pork,lamb, chicken, cod, leeks, cauliflower, broccoli runner beans etc need I go on. We do our shopping on a weekly basis only ordering what we need for each week, this means that there is no waste and no issue with stock rotation etc. It also ensures that all the food is fresh. We plan our menus carefully and cost effectively it can be done. Jamie Oliver was advocating healthy eating on 59 pence a day,(for school aged children, who eat more) which goes to show you can do it if you think carefully and plan appropriately.
Cost of food per week/ per child - 30-05-06 16:28by: Kraftykook
I have been a catering manager in hotels,resturants,education and now a nursery as i like the hours etc.
I run my budget to £1.00 a day for breakfast/snack/2 course lunch/2 course tea.
There is NO way you are feeding your children for 39p a day unless you are feeding them rubbish.
I left working for Initial catering in school dinners as I had a budget of 33p a meal and was not prepared to serve the rubbish I was expected to for that amount of money especially the beef burgers that contained beef heart and smelt horrible.
I will not compermise on the quality of ingrediants and my nursery are fed extremly well.
Just ask if you want my menus :0)
Cost of food per week/ per child - 01-06-06 08:06by: joshuajones
You work (worked) for a large organisation where you have to buy your food from preferred suppliers dictated to you by the company, and you pay premium prices for your food as a result. We on the other hand can shop around and take advantage of local offers and local farm shops. We can take advantage of the supermarket buy one get one free offers, two for £2.00, buy one get one half price etc, and shop at farm shops where the fruit and veg is home grown, fresh picked and a fraction of the cost. In this way we can save a considerable amount of money on our weekly food bills, and thats why we are able to do it so cheaply. We serve fresh cooked food every day and it is of a good quality, We do not use pre packed or frozen foods, no beefburgers or chips etc. You unfortunately do not have that luxury, your food costs will always be higher as you are also paying for storage and transportation. Good quality food can be bought cheaper and thats how we can cut our costs.
Cost of food per week/ per child - 01-06-06 17:09by: Kraftykook
The idea of having designated suppliers is so that you have tracability/accountability should something go wrong.
Designated suppliers does not automatically make prices higher infact if the purchasing dept do their job properly the prices are extremely competitive.
Yes you save money going to a supermarket,but it still costs you for some-one to make that trip both in time and petrol,you then have the concerns of checking labels to make sure food items are appropiate and nut free/low salt/ no food colourings/no sesame seeds etc etc
I am cooking for children with life threating illnesses caused by food intolerances so I am more than happy to let the company do all the leg work checking and double checking our food suppliers to ensure that the products we can buy are safe.
Jamie Oliver is advocating healthy eating on 50p for primary and 60p for secondary schools.
He was appalled that a 2 course school dinner was being produced at a cost of only 37p.
What would he think to you supplying 3 meals and snacks for 39p.
The maths do not add up however you look at it.
Cost of food per week/ per child - 01-06-06 19:01by: joshuajones
The idea of having designated suppliers is to cut down on administration costs at head office. You cannot have 100 nurseries all buying from separate suppliers the time spent on writing cheques would be impractical. Bulk buying is more expensive even if you manage to secure a company discount. Accountability does not come into it. I have had deliveries from these suppliers where food is out of date on more than one occasion, all they do is credit you on the next bill but that leaves you short of food for that week and having to go to the supermarket as an emergency measure to provide food. But no other action is taken. No one has to take time out to shop it can be done on the internet, no different from your manager placing an order on the computer to head office. We too cook for children with allergies and like you our cooks check all ingredients and packaging and like you we know what is safe and what is not. I too have worked for many years in large corporate day care and like you did not think it was possible to provide good quality food for less than a pound a day, but with careful menu planning and careful shopping it can be done. Sorry if that disappoints you.
Cost of food per week/ per child - 12-06-06 05:18Two things:
1. Sample menu please to: antony.a@antonysimpson.com
(just want to see what others are doing!!)
2. Accountability!
If you children got ill from something they ate while in your care you would be accountable! Not the food providers, as you've cooked prepared etc the food, and it would be assumed your role to check things before buying!
Antony
antony.a@antonysimpson.com
Cost of food per week/ per child - 12-06-06 13:02by: janny
I agree 39p does seem low, however if they say they do it who are we to doubt. I have had a copy of the 39p menu's and they seem fine and very similar to ours but I couldn't say what ours are per head as the invoice I receive from the chef includes her overheads and salary etc (this is something I inherited), however I would love to receive your menu's too Krafty Kook please email me on janny11@hotmail.co.uk many thanks!!
Cost of food per week/ per child - 13-06-06 13:47by: NurseryInsurance
Just on the Accountability point raised by Antony, providing any illness caused wasn't a deliberate act then a good Nursery Insurance policy will cover legal costs and expenses incurred in defending criminal proceedings for breach of the Food Safety Act 1990.
Cost of food per week/ per child - 13-06-06 19:47by: joshuajones
you would be hard pressed to prove that there was no negligence on your part if you served food out of date or not fresh etc. It is the responsibility of the cook to check all foods etc before cooking/serving. If you know a child cannot have a particular food and all your systems are in place, but you still serve that child that food and it has a reaction, it is you that is accountable, as you have not followed procedure. Surely, no one would knowingly give any child a foodstuff that is going to cause harm, how do you disprove negligence ?
Cost of food per week/ per child - 13-08-06 19:45by: sumayyah
hi
i too am suprised you are able to provide food at 39 pence a day! especially if it from sainsburys!
please do mail me a copy of your menus. i would be very greatfull, as i am getting bored of our current menu!
thank you very much
Cost of food per week/ per child - 28-08-06 16:43by: missleight
I may be too late but if not... can I have a copy of the menu too?
Thanks!
missleight@ntlworld.com
Cost of food per week/ per child - 18-09-06 21:29by: pinktinkerbell
Can we see a copy of your menus please, or Email us a copy would be a great help thanks. pinktinkerbell@tiscali.com.uk
Cost of food per week/ per child - 24-10-06 09:26by: gillianmackay
I would be really grateful if you could send me a copy of your menus too - congratulations on what I read to be great management without compromising on quality.
Gillian
gillian@myflat.co.uk
Cost of food per week/ per child - 24-10-06 10:18by: BRIDGE END
Hi we're new to this website and wondering if we could also have a copy of your menu's to see wher we can improve ours. Thanks
