Nutrition and Wellness
More Than a Meal. A Lesson They’ll Carry for Life.
At Creative Kids Academy, meals are about more than simply filling hungry bellies. Every breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack is thoughtfully planned by our Director of Child Nutrition, prepared fresh at our centers, and included in tuition — no extra fees, no packing a lunch, no wondering what your child ate today.
But what happens around the table matters just as much as what’s on it. Around the table, children build healthy habits that last far beyond childhood. Mealtime is where children practice independence, try new foods, learn table manners, share conversations with friends, and discover that mealtime is another opportunity to learn, grow, and connect.
Our Nutrition Program
At a Glance
A Director of Child Nutrition on Staff
Breakfast, Lunch & Afternoon Snack Included in Tuition
Meals Prepared Fresh On-Site by In-House Chefs
A Garden at Every Center, Planted and Harvested by Children
Nut-Free Centers & Individual Diet Plans
Family-Style Dining That Builds Independence
Meet Our Team
Meet Lindsey: Our Dedicated Nutrition and Wellness Director
At Creative Kids Academy, our nutrition program is guided by someone who knows our schools inside and out.
Lindsey, our Director of Child Nutrition, Wellness, and Family Resources, has been part of the CKA family since 2013. Over the years, she’s worked in every role within our centers, and all four of her children attended CKA from infancy through Pre-K, giving her a unique perspective as both an educator and a parent.
Today, Lindsey oversees our menus, trains our kitchen teams, supports food safety and nutrition practices, and partners with families whose children have allergies or special dietary needs.
Because Lindsey works closely with our teachers, kitchens, and families, our menus continue to evolve based on real feedback and are built around how children actually eat. Portions are right-sized for small hands. New foods are introduced next to familiar favorites. And when something isn’t working — a recipe kids consistently push away, a snack that doesn’t hold them until pickup — we change it. It’s a thoughtful, child-centered approach that reflects the same care and attention we bring to every part of the CKA experience.
Lindsey
Director of Child Nutrition, Wellness, and Family Resources
With CKA since 2013
Included in Tuition
Every Meal. Every Snack. Included.
Breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack are served every day and covered by tuition.
No lunch box to pack the night before. No separate meal plan to sign up for. No morning scramble when you realize the bread is gone.
For families, this is one less thing — and one less cost — to think about. For children, it means everyone at the table is eating the same meal together, which quietly removes a lot of the comparison and self-consciousness that lunch from home can create.
Menus are posted in every center and shared with families in advance, so you always know what your child is being offered and can talk about it at home.
What We Serve
What You’ll Find on Our Menu
We’re intentional about every ingredient. Here’s what you’ll find on our menus and why it matters.
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Fruits & Vegetables
Vegetables are served fresh or frozen — never canned, which can carry a surprising amount of sodium. We serve as much fresh fruit as we can, and when we use canned fruit for variety, we buy it packed in juice or extra-light syrup rather than heavy syrup.
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Proteins
A rotating variety of quality meats — beef, poultry, pork, and fish — alongside plant and dairy proteins like beans, cheese, and sunflower seed butter, so children get range and there’s always an option for children who don’t eat meat.
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Whole Grains
Whole grains are a staple of our menus — from pancakes and bread to pasta, tortillas, and brown rice — helping children get more fiber and lasting energy throughout the day.
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Milk & Dairy
We serve milk produced without added growth hormones at every meal where milk is part of the menu.
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Prepared Fresh, On-Site
Meals are prepared in our own kitchens by our in-house chefs, not delivered pre-plated. Preparing food on-site allows us to serve fresh meals and maintain the quality families expect.
Our kitchens, our chefs, our food.
Every Dietary Need
Room at the Table for Every Child
Whether a child has food allergies, a medical diet, cultural or religious food preferences, or other dietary needs, we work closely with families to provide safe, nutritious meals that allow every child to enjoy mealtime alongside their friends. Because sharing a meal isn’t just about nutrition, it’s about belonging.
Allergies
When your child enrolls with a documented food allergy, we partner with you to create an individualized plan before their first day. Allergies are clearly communicated to classroom and kitchen staff, every kitchen has a dedicated allergy board, staff are trained on it, and substitutions are planned in advance so your child can enjoy meals alongside their classmates.
Nut-free centers
All Creative Kids Academy locations are nut-free to help protect children with food allergies.
Medical diets
We follow your physician’s documentation to provide meals that meet your child’s specific medical dietary needs.
Religious & cultural practices
Tell us about your family’s dietary practices, and we’ll work with you to plan meals that respect them.
Vegetarian
We regularly serve plant-based proteins as part of our menus, making vegetarian meal accommodations simple for many families.
Infants
Bottles, formula, breast milk, and the transition to solids follow your lead and your pediatrician’s guidance on your child’s timeline, not a center-wide schedule.
Let’s Make a Plan
Every child’s needs are different. Talk with your Center Director before your child’s first day so we can have the right plan in place from day one.
Gardens & Cooking
From Garden to Table.
They grow it. They make it. They love it.
At Creative Kids Academy, healthy eating starts long before mealtime.
Children plant, water, and care for gardens at their centers, watching fruits, vegetables, and herbs grow from tiny seeds into something they can harvest themselves. Throughout the year, they also roll up their sleeves in the classroom to mix, measure, stir, and prepare simple recipes alongside their teachers.
There’s something special about eating food you’ve helped grow — or helped make. Children are often more willing to explore new flavors when they’re part of the process, turning healthy eating into an experience filled with curiosity, confidence, and pride.
Along the way, they’re learning where food comes from, practicing early math and science skills, building independence, and creating memories they’ll carry long after the meal is over.
Step One
They Plant It
Every spring, children help plant fruits, vegetables, and herbs in their center’s garden. They water, weed, and watch their plants grow, learning firsthand where healthy food comes from.
Step Two
They Harvest It
When the garden is ready, children pick what they’ve grown and bring it inside to enjoy. There’s something exciting about tasting a tomato, carrot, or herb you helped grow yourself.
Step Three
They Make It
Hands washed, aprons on, and it’s time to cook. Children mix, measure, pour, stir, and sprinkle alongside their teachers, turning fresh ingredients into simple recipes they proudly share and enjoy together.
Step Four
They Enjoy It
Children gather around the table to share the meals and snacks they’ve helped grow and prepare. Along the way, they build confidence, try new foods, and create healthy habits that can last a lifetime.
Learning at the Table
More Than Mealtime
Some of the day’s most meaningful learning happens around the table.
At Creative Kids Academy, mealtime is about more than eating. It’s a chance to build independence, confidence, communication, and lifelong healthy habits. Our teachers sit with children, not over them, modeling conversation, manners, and curiosity while making every meal feel like part of the learning experience.
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Independence
Children pour their own milk, serve themselves from shared bowls, use real dishes and utensils, and clear their own place when they’re finished. Spills happen. We know independence can be a little messy, and that’s exactly how children learn.
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Food Confidence
New foods are always served alongside familiar favorites, and children are never pressured to eat. A child may need to see a food ten times before trying it. So we keep offering, without making it a battle. By creating positive experiences around food, we help children build confidence to explore new flavors at their own pace.
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Manners That Stick
Please and thank you. Passing the bowl to a friend. Waiting until everyone is served. Asking to be excused. These everyday moments are modeled by teachers at every meal, helping children build manners that become lifelong habits.
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Conversation
Family-style meals are one of the best opportunities for meaningful conversation. Children share stories about their day, ask questions, listen to others, take turns speaking, and naturally build language skills with every meal.
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Responsibility
Wiping the table. Pushing in a chair. Scraping a plate. Throwing away a napkin. Small tasks like these help children build responsibility, independence, and pride in caring for the spaces they share with others.
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Belonging
Sitting down together every day — sometimes at the table, sometimes on a blanket in the grass — gives children a chance to slow down, connect, and simply enjoy being together. Those everyday moments help turn a classroom into a community.
Every Stage
Mealtime, Age by Age
Every stage brings something new to the table.
From first bottles to first bites, from pouring milk to passing the bowl, children build confidence, independence, and healthy habits that grow with them year after year.
Infants
Held for bottles, always. Fed on your child’s schedule, not the room’s. Solids introduced on your timeline with you and your pediatrician.
Toddlers
The first real practice at self-feeding. Small pitchers, child-sized utensils, lots of mess, lots of praise. Beginning to recognize hunger and fullness.
Preschool
More responsibility, more confidence, and more conversation. Children begin taking an active role in mealtime while exploring new foods in a relaxed, encouraging environment.
Pre-K
Full independence at the table plus real responsibility for cleanup. Children start talking about food itself — where it comes from, what it does for their bodies.
School Age
Making choices independently, helping younger children, taking on real jobs at mealtime. The habits are set; now they’re practicing without being asked.
Common Questions
Nutrition & Wellness FAQ
Meals & Menus
Are meals and snacks included in tuition?
Yes! Tuition includes a nutritious breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack every day.
Do I need to pack a lunch?
No. We provide all meals and snacks each day. In fact, to protect children with food allergies and maintain a safe classroom environment, we ask that families generally do not bring outside food into the center. If your child has a documented dietary need or approved accommodation, we’ll work with your family to create the right plan.
Can I see the menu ahead of time?
Absolutely. Families receive menus in advance so you’ll always know what’s being served. View a sample menu.
Who plans the menus?
Our menus are developed by Lindsey, CKA’s Director of Child Nutrition, Wellness, and Family Resources. She works closely with our kitchens, teachers, and families to create balanced meals children enjoy while meeting nutritional guidelines.
Are meals made at the center or delivered?
Meals are prepared fresh every day in our own center kitchens by our in-house chefs, not delivered pre-plated. Preparing meals on-site allows us to maintain quality, freshness, and flexibility.
Allergies & Dietary Needs
Are your centers nut-free?
Yes. All Creative Kids Academy locations are nut-free to help protect children with food allergies.
My child has a food allergy. How do you handle it?
Before your child’s first day, we’ll partner with you to create an individualized allergy plan. Allergies are clearly communicated to classroom and kitchen staff, every kitchen has a dedicated allergy board, staff are trained on it, and substitutions are planned in advance so your child can enjoy meals alongside their classmates.
What documentation do you need for a dietary restriction?
Medical dietary accommodations require documentation from your child’s healthcare provider. For religious, cultural, or other dietary considerations, simply talk with your Center Director so we can discuss the best plan for your child.
My child doesn’t drink cow’s milk. What are my options?
We can serve approved alternatives to cow’s milk, including unflavored soy milk, rice milk, lactose-free milk, and oat milk. At most locations, families provide the milk alternative. If your center participates in the food program, approved milk alternatives may be provided. Please check with your Center Director for details.
Infants
What do you feed infants?
Infants are fed breast milk or formula provided by their families, following your child’s individual feeding schedule and your instructions. Feeding times are based on your baby’s needs — not a classroom schedule.
Can I send breast milk?
Absolutely. We support breastfeeding mothers. Please send breast milk already prepared in labeled bottles for the day. After a bottle has been used, it will be refrigerated, clearly marked, and sent home with you at the end of the day to be washed and refilled for the next day.
When do you start solids?
Every baby is different. We introduce solid foods according to your family’s preferences and your pediatrician’s guidance, not based on a center-wide timeline.
Do you provide formula and baby food, or do I?
Families provide breast milk, formula, and purees or jar food for infants at most of our centers. Infant formula, cereal, and jar food is provided at our Anoka, Coon Rapids, Elk River on 10, and Lexington locations. Your Center Director can explain how each stage of feeding works, including when baby foods and table foods are introduced. Once infants switch to solid table foods, we provide all food.
At the Table
What if my child is a picky eater?
That’s incredibly common! We introduce new foods alongside familiar favorites, never pressure children to eat, and encourage them to explore foods at their own pace. Helping grow and prepare food often makes children more willing to give it a try.
What if my child doesn’t eat much at lunch?
Appetites naturally vary from day to day. Teachers keep an eye on eating habits, communicate with families about patterns they notice, and work together with you if concerns arise.
Will my child be made to finish their plate?
No. Children are encouraged to listen to their bodies and recognize when they’re full. We never require children to clean their plates or use food as a reward or consequence.
Is food ever used as a reward or punishment?
Never. We don’t bribe children with dessert, require them to earn food, or withhold food as a consequence. We want children to build a healthy, positive relationship with eating.
What about birthdays and holidays?
We celebrate special occasions in ways that are fun, inclusive, and safe for everyone. Because of food allergies and dietary needs, celebrations may vary by classroom and location.
How do you handle choking hazards?
Meals and snacks are prepared and served according to each age group’s developmental needs. Food is cut appropriately, and children are always seated and actively supervised by teachers during meals and snacks.
Gardens & Cooking
Do all locations have a garden?
Yes! Every Creative Kids Academy center has its own garden where children help plant, care for, and harvest fruits, vegetables, and herbs throughout the growing season.
Does my child eat what they grow and cook?
Yes! Many of the fruits, vegetables, and herbs children harvest become part of classroom snacks, and the recipes children prepare together are meant to be enjoyed together, too.
Can families get involved in the garden?
Absolutely! Families are invited and encouraged to help plant, weed, water, and care for our gardens throughout the season. Your center will share opportunities to participate during the growing season.
Wellness
How much time do children spend active and outdoors?
Children enjoy active play every day, both indoors and outdoors. Weather permitting, we spend time outside daily, and even in colder months we head outdoors whenever conditions are safe and appropriate.
How do you handle nap and rest time?
Rest looks different at every age. Infants follow their own sleep schedules, while older children have a consistent rest period appropriate for their developmental stage.
What’s your policy when a child is sick?
Our illness policies are designed to protect the health of every child, family, and staff member. If your child becomes ill during the day, we’ll contact you right away, and families receive clear illness guidelines in our Parent Guide during enrollment.
What if our family needs support beyond the classroom?
Supporting families is part of what we do. Whether you’re navigating food insecurity, community resources, or another challenge, your Center Director and Lindsey, our Director of Child Nutrition, Wellness, and Family Resources, are here to help connect you with available resources whenever possible.
Come Visit Us!
Visit during mealtime and you’ll see children laughing with friends, teachers encouraging independence, conversations happening around the table, and healthy habits taking shape every day. It’s one of the many ways Creative Kids Academy helps children grow with confidence.
Questions about allergies or dietary needs? Your Center Director is happy to talk through your family’s needs before your child’s first day.