spoonFULL, formerly CCSA’s Meal Services Program, provides high-quality and affordable nutritious meals and snacks per day to children enrolled in participating child care centers, keeping children healthy, helping teachers focus on teaching, and saving providers money. Learn more about how your program can participate.
Program Overview
For more than 30 years, CCSA has offered catered meals following U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines with ample portion sizes that meet or exceed Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) standards.
With spoonFULL, buying food in bulk, child care centers can purchase nutritional meals and snacks at an affordable rate, without having to maintain expensive kitchens. The program also allows directors to focus more of their attention on quality care instead of on shopping, menu planning and cooking.
Program Menus
Prioritizing fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains, while limiting salt, sugar, fat and preservatives makes spoonFULL unique. Meals are crafted with care and whenever possible, we source local products for our menus (including meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables). The meal preparation team uses only canola and olive oil in cooking and uses nutritious brown rice, whole-grain breads and whole wheat macaroni whenever possible. In addition, special diets and food allergies are accommodated with appropriate substitutions. The menus vary by the season and new foods are introduced to children in tasty and appealing ways. Our meals are fresh, unique, liked and local.
View this month’s menu below:
How to Participate
To participate in spoonFULL, centers must maintain at least a 3-star license or be working toward a 3-star license through one of CCSA’s local quality improvement projects. This program is primarily available to child care centers in Durham, Orange and Wake counties. Download the brochure to learn more about eligibility and participation.
CCSA’s Meal Services Responds During COVID-19 with Durham FEAST
spoonFULL Testimonials
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Planning, shopping for and preparing nutritionally balanced and varied meals is one of the most difficult tasks a center faces. CCSA’s Meal Services Program saves me an unimaginable amount of time each day — and we are impressed with the quality of food served by the program.
— Director of participating center
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Child Care Services Association’s Meal Services Program provides good nutritious and diverse meals that complement the daily learning and physical development of our diverse population.
— Director of participating center
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Having the variety in the menus CCSA creates has given our children exposure to some foods they might not ever had an opportunity to try. Parents have been surprised by some of the foods that their children eat here but not at home. Our children really enjoy trying so many new things!
— Director of participating center
Food Insecurity in Children Ages Birth to Five
An Analysis of Childhood Food Insecurity in Wake, Durham and Orange Counties
As Child Care Services Association (CCSA) looks to grow and keep up with the demand of our Meal Services Program, there is a need for better data on food insecurity among children birth to five in the Triangle as well as an understanding of the causes and effects of food insecurity on early learners. This report outlines the concept and realities of food insecurity, the findings and methodology of mapping food insecurity in the Triangle and the implications these results have for CCSA. This report was created by students in the Department of Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2019.
spoonFULL News
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The children of Estes Children’s Cottage are not the only ones who enjoy spoonFULL’s meals
Several parents have told us that when looking for their child’s next school they will only consider programs that provide meals because of the convenience, nutritional aspects and their child’s varied palate and how well they eat at our program thanks to spoonFULL. -
From the Kitchens at CCSA comes spoonFULL
Child Care Services Association’s (CCSA) Meal Services Program is now spoonFULL. New name, new look, same great taste! After years of exciting growth, our meal services program needed an update to better reflect who we are and all we have to offer. We’re excited to share with you spoonFULL from the kitchens at CCSA. -
CCSA Meal Services helps supply meals through Durham FEAST during COVID-19
Since April 20, 2020, CCSA’s Meal Services’ Durham kitchen has been providing 200 breakfasts and 200 lunches each day to children in Durham through Durham FEAST.
