Maryann Durrant (USBE): This is the infant food chart. You’ll want to keep this handy when serving and recording infant meals. Contact our office if you need a copy of this chart. The food chart outlines what a reimbursable meal consists of. It’s split into the two age groups, 0-5 months, and 6 months to the 1st birthday. It lists the components required for meals and snacks as well as the serving sizes that are required to be offered.
There are four different meal pattern components for infants. We’ll go through each one of them and discuss the details specific to the components.
Breast milk and/or formula is the main source of nutrition for infants. It’s required that infants be offered breast milk or formula at every meal and snack. As a child care provider, you can have a big impact on helping mothers achieve their breastfeeding goals. Not only is supporting a mom in giving her baby breast milk great customer service, it’s helping both mom and baby be healthier. In the Lancet Journal, they estimated that improving breastfeeding from current levels to 90% in the US would reduce healthcare costs by at least $2.45 billion. Breastfeeding doesn’t just help mom and baby, it helps the entire community. If you’re able to, try to offer a quiet space for mom to come and breast feed at the center if she can.
You are always able to claim a meal of breast milk for an infant. You’re able to claim the meal if the breast milk is given in a bottle by the staff or fed on site by the mom.
As a child care center on the food program, you are required to provide a house formula which is iron fortified. Parents cannot be asked to provide their own formula if the mom is not providing breast milk. The infant formula can be milk or soy based.
Sometimes parents would prefer to provide their own formula, or food when their infant is eating solid foods. That is just fine. Make sure that you document the parent’s preference. Simply marking on the infant record that the parent is providing the formula/food is sufficient documentation, although you are welcome to have them sign a waiver stating that they choose to provide their own. You may still claim this meal with parent provided components if the parent provided formula is iron fortified, if the meal pattern is met, and if the parent provides no more than 1 meal pattern component for each meal claimed.
There are times when infants need to be on special diet formulas for medical reasons. If the infant is on a formula that the doctor has prescribed due to a disability, you are required to provide the formula for that infant. You would need to have the same documentation as any other food substitution due to a disability. You can refer to the special diet training to learn more about the requirements. Please contact our office if providing the special diet formula would create an undue hardship on your center. Also, if the parent would prefer to provide the formula, that is just fine.
Once the baby turns one, they are moved into the 1-2 age group as far as the food program goes. This means that they shift to a different meal pattern which includes cows milk. Some infants require a transition period to adjust to drinking cows milk. For infants who are receiving formula, you are able to give a combination of formula and cows milk during the 12th to 13th month (so from the time they turn one, to one month later). If formula is being requested in the place of milk past the 13th month, you would need to have a special diet request from the child’s doctor. For infants who are receiving breast milk, you’re able to substitute breast milk for cows milk after the age of one. In fact, you’re able to serve breast milk in the place of cows milk for as long as the parents would like their child to receive it.
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