Childcare Meals in Ultimo: Food, Nutrition & Mealtimes
At Believe Playschool, childcare meals in Ultimo are part of the care, learning and everyday rhythm of the day. The daily fee covers meals and snacks from Kids Gourmet Food, while Believe educators make mealtimes calm, social and respectful.
We provide breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and a late snack, along with water and milk. We cater for allergies, intolerances, Halal, vegetarian, cultural and other special dietary requirements, while working closely with families when a child has individual food needs.
What Children Are Served Each Day
Importantly, Believe provides food across the childcare day, so families do not need to pack the standard daily meals and snacks supplied by the service.
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Afternoon tea
- Late snack
- Water and milk
These meals and drinks form part of the daily childcare fee. Therefore, families can assess the published daily fee knowing the regular meal service forms part of the care provided.
Our childcare meals in Ultimo support children through a full day of activity, play and learning without turning food into a battleground or reward system.
Catered by Kids Gourmet Food
Believe Playschool continues to partner with Kids Gourmet Food (KGF) for our meals and snacks.
KGF states that its chefs and nutritionists develop menus for children aged 0–6 to meet the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Their childcare menu operates across a six-week cycle, giving children variety rather than repeating the same small group of meals every week.
KGF also operates separate egg- and nut-free kitchens for relevant allergy and dietary profiles. In addition, its catering model accommodates food intolerances, allergies and cultural preferences.
We prefer to describe this accurately: our catering partner designs its menus to meet Australian Dietary Guidelines. We do not need to overstate that claim to value thoughtful, age-appropriate food.
Dietary Requirements Are Part of the Plan, Not an Afterthought
Likewise, a child should not feel like the difficult exception at mealtime because their food needs are different. For that reason, Believe works with families to identify dietary requirements before they become a daily problem.
Specifically, we cater for:
- Halal requirements;
- vegetarian diets;
- food allergies;
- food intolerances;
- cultural dietary requirements;
- other special dietary needs.
When a child has a medical allergy or another significant dietary requirement, families and the service need clear, current information so educators can follow the child’s agreed requirements consistently.
This individual approach is an important part of childcare nutrition: inclusion means thinking about what a particular child can safely and appropriately eat, not simply offering one menu and expecting every child to fit it.
Infant Meals Follow the Child’s Introduction to Solids
Infant feeding changes quickly, and two babies of the same age may be at very different stages of introducing solids. Therefore, Believe works with families rather than assuming every infant should move through food in exactly the same way or at exactly the same time.
For infants, Believe can provide A2 milk, purées, fruit and vegetables, and soft solids. Families share where their child is up to with the introduction of foods, textures and solids so the infant menu can reflect what parents have already introduced and what is appropriate for that child.
As the child progresses, communication between families and educators helps the menu evolve with them. In this way, infant childcare meals in Ultimo remain connected to the child’s actual feeding journey rather than a generic age label.
Our Approach to Sugar and Highly Processed Foods
At the same time, Believe’s food approach deliberately minimises added and refined sugar, juice, confectionery and highly processed snack foods.
However, this is not about labelling individual foods as morally “good” or “bad”. Instead, it reflects our preference for everyday food choices that support a varied diet and help children become familiar with ordinary meals, fruit, vegetables and a broad range of flavours and textures.
Likewise, we do not use sugary food as a routine reward for behaviour. Food should not become a prize for compliance or something a child must earn.
Our wider childcare nutrition approach is therefore practical: nutritious everyday food, variety, age-appropriate portions and a calm relationship with eating.
Children Are Encouraged to Eat — Never Forced
For example, young children can be cautious about unfamiliar foods, hungry on one day and less interested on another, or strongly opinionated about a new texture. Mealtimes do not need to turn those ordinary differences into a power struggle.
Educators encourage children to eat and explore unfamiliar foods, but they do not force children to finish food or shame them for refusing it. Instead, educators model positive mealtime behaviour, keep the experience calm and provide gentle encouragement without pressure.
Over time, repeated exposure can help children become more familiar with foods even when they do not choose to eat a large amount immediately.
This respectful approach to childcare nutrition supports both nourishment and the child’s developing relationship with food.
Mealtimes Are Also Social Learning
In practice, children learn a surprising amount around a table. They wait, communicate, observe others, practise manners, make requests and notice that meals are shared social experiences.
Meanwhile, educators sit with children and model mealtime behaviour. Educators encourage children to participate according to their age and readiness rather than doing every task for them.
In addition, the Lunch Server is one of Believe’s voluntary rotating Responsibility Chart roles. Children who choose the role can take genuine responsibility within the classroom mealtime. We have even observed Lunch Servers reminding peers to say thank you — and peers responding, apologising or enthusiastically offering their thanks.
Consequently, small moments like this are why mealtimes belong inside the curriculum as well as the nutrition plan: they create opportunities for independence, communication, courtesy and contribution to the group.
Cooking & Nutrition: Learning About Food by Doing
Children also take part in frequent hands-on Cooking & Nutrition experiences. Importantly, these experiences connect food with practical learning. These are an important recurring part of the curriculum, although they are not locked into a rigid weekly timetable.
Cooking can bring together many areas of learning at once:
- food hygiene and safe food-handling habits;
- early nutrition knowledge;
- measuring and quantity;
- sequencing and following steps;
- early science and cause-and-effect;
- fine-motor skills;
- language and new vocabulary;
- independence and practical life skills;
- cultural appreciation through different ingredients and food traditions.
For example, mixing, pouring, spreading, counting spoonfuls and watching ingredients change all create genuine learning without needing to turn the experience into a worksheet.
This is one way our curriculum connects childcare nutrition with practical capability.
What Families Can See in OWNA
Families can view the menu through OWNA. As a result, parents can easily see what the centre plans to serve. This gives parents a practical way to see the planned menu and stay informed about their child’s food day.
For families managing allergies, intolerances or a staged introduction to solids, direct communication with educators remains important as well. However, the app supports communication; it does not replace the conversations needed when a child’s dietary circumstances change.
Why Food Belongs in Our Wellbeing Approach
Ultimately, Believe does not treat nutrition as a side service between learning experiences. Eating, drinking, preparing food and participating in meals are part of a child’s everyday wellbeing and development.
For that reason, a strong food approach needs more than a menu. It needs safe dietary planning, respect for appetite, age-appropriate independence, responsive infant feeding, opportunities to learn about food and open communication with families.
That broader view is what we mean by childcare meals in Ultimo: not simply what appears on the plate, but how children experience food and mealtimes throughout the day.
Meals & Nutrition FAQs
Are meals included in Believe Playschool’s fees?
Yes. The regular meal and snack service forms part of the daily childcare fee.
What food is provided each day?
Believe provides breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and a late snack, along with water and milk.
Who caters the meals?
Kids Gourmet Food supplies Believe’s meals and snacks. KGF says its chefs and nutritionists develop menus for children aged 0–6 around a six-week cycle to meet Australian Dietary Guidelines.
Do you cater for allergies and special diets?
Yes. Believe caters for allergies, intolerances, Halal, vegetarian, cultural and other special dietary requirements in partnership with families and our caterer.
What do you provide for infants?
For infants, Believe can provide A2 milk, purées, fruit and vegetables, and soft solids. We work with families so the infant menu reflects the foods and textures parents have introduced.
Do you force children to eat?
No. Educators encourage children to eat and explore unfamiliar foods without pressure, shaming or forced finishing.
Do children cook at Believe Playschool?
Yes. Children take part in frequent Cooking & Nutrition experiences that can include food hygiene, measuring, sequencing, science, fine-motor skills, independence and cultural learning.
Where can parents see the menu?
Families can view the menu through OWNA.
See Believe for Yourself
Families joining our Free Childcare Experience can spend a real morning inside Believe Playschool, including lunch with the children and educators. It is a useful way to see not only what children eat, but how mealtimes actually feel.