DAPHNE, Ala. — Four Daphne-based day centers will receive reimbursements while offering nutritional meals to children under the U.S. Department of Education’s Child and Adult Care Food program. Weinacker’s Montessori School Inc.; Just Kid’n Around L.L.C.; K&R Daycare Inc.; and Community Action Agency participate in a program to bring nutritional meals to children while being reimbursed for food expenses by the state and federal government.

Melanie Wolf, co-owner of Just Kid’n Around, said the guidelines are tight on what food groups the center may feed children, but the exact food is up to the center.

“The food program is very strict.

The only thing the child-care center can deviate from is the actual menu itself,” she said. “Lunch, for example — you have to serve a meat, a fruit, a vegetable and a bread. But you can serve any meat you want to, any bread you want to.

“The positive for parents is that their children have a very well-balanced meal.”

Wolf said meals cost around $4.50 per child per day, and there are around 110 children per day at Just Kid’n Around, which equals nearly $500 a day for food expenses.

“It is extremely expensive to feed a child in that manner,” Wolf said. “Any child-care center licensed by the state of Alabama has to serve breakfast and lunch to the children.”

Amanda Cooper, director of the Montessori school, said around 50 children are at her care center, and the cost to feed a child per day is the same, which equals around $225 in meal expenses per day.

Parents’ household income levels determine whether the Alabama Department of Education could partially or completely re-imburse the daycare centers for a given child’s meal expenses. The United States Department of Education mandates the state’s education department reimburse centers that participate in the program.

“All of our parents have to have a form that we ask them to fill out, and it’s very similar to the ones filled out at public schools,” Cooper said.

The center is re-imbursed more as parents’ household incomes, collectively, decrease.

Income eligibility is based on income from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011; and according to the Alabama Department of Education, it is as follows, based on number of household members:

r One: $14,079 for free meals; between $14,080 and $20,036 for reduced-price meals.

r Two: $18,941 for free meals; between $18,942 and $26,955 for reduced-price meals.

r Three: $23,803 for free meals; between $23,804 and $33,874 for reduced-price meals.

r Four: $28,665 for free meals; between $28,666 and $40,793 for reduced-price meals.

r Five: $33,527 for free meals; between $33,528 and $47,712 for reduced-price meals.

r Six: $38,389 for free meals; between $38,390 and $54,631 for reduced-price meals.

r Seven: $43,251 for free meals; between $43,252 and $61,550 for reduced-price meals.

r Eight: $48,113 for free meals; between $48,114 and $68,469 for reduced-price meals.

“It’s based off their income because it’s a guideline to go by, so we’re loking at their income and household size,” Cooper said. “If we were to charge the parents, we’d see if they would be able to pay the cost of the child’s meals, or would we be the ones to have to front that cost.”

However, Cooper said the child’s meals are not part of tuition costs.

Other Baldwin County centers involved in the program include: Children’s Learning Center Inc. in Robertsdale; Discovery Island Inc. in Orange Beach; Precious Moments Learning Center in Foley; Eastern Shore Kids Kastle Inc. in Fairhope; Heavenly Sent Learning Center Inc. in Foley; and Kid Plus Child Development Centers Inc. in Foley.