When Brooke Mauger first took her son, Ty, to Mother Goose Preschool and Childcare in Wendell, she did her homework.

Ty wanted to eat lunch with his classmates, Mauger said, so she talked to day care ownerBarbara Larsen about what kind of food she served. She found out Larsen voluntarily participates in the Child and Adult Care Food Program through theU.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. The program reimburses care providers for food expenses if they follow its nutritional guidelines.

Convinced, Mauger let her son eat lunch at the preschool. Ty, now 5, loves the day care’s food, Mauger said, and Larsen gets him to try new foods that Mauger didn’t think he would like.

“Mrs. Larsen is really great about balanced nutrition,”Mauger said.

Because Idaho doesn’t require day cares to follow nutritional or physical-activity guidelines, ensuring that lunches are healthy and appropriate for children — and that kids are on the move — is the parents’ and care providers’ responsibility. Participation in the Child and Adult Care FoodProgram requires adherence to guidelines on serving sizes and adequate fruit and vegetable offerings, but participation is voluntary.

That’s not a good sign for children who already face high obesity rates. According to a recent study fromHarvard, three-fourths of children ages 2 to 5 spend at least part of their day in day care, while almost one in five 4-year-olds are already obese, The Associated Press reported. Idaho and Louisiana have the fewest requirements for nutrition and activity levels for day cares, researcher Sara Benjamin found.

April Wagner, owner of April’s Angels Childcare in Jerome, said most parents don’t ask what she feeds their children.

“They just ask if they ate anything or if they ate all of it,” said Wagner, who also participates in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

Chris Dunn, director of Kids Can Be Kids Preschool inTwin Falls, said parents rarely ask her about food.

“Out of 80 parents, one may ask to see a copy of the menu,” she said. Dunn doesn’t participate in the USDA nutrition program but voluntarily offers a variety of fruits and vegetables to the children.

Some day care owners take the initiative and post the menus where parents can see them. Christene Schmidt of Christene’s Home Away From Home in Twin Falls writes daily food offerings on a white board.

Although Schmidt no longer participates in the nutrition program — she used to, but stopped after downsizing recently — she makes sure her charges get plenty of fruits and vegetables, at least while they’re under her care. She hopes parents will take initiative, too.

“I think as a parent, they need to be involved in that,” Schmidt said.

Melissa Davlin may be reached at 208-735-3234 or melissa.davlin@lee.net.