Many Arcata preschool programs require the parents to provide lunch for their children. Often times Arcata child care programs provide lunch for the children. Most programs provide a morning and afternoon snack for the full day children and a morning snack for children attending half day.

Most Arcata programs have limited refrigerator space. ChildCareSelect recommends that you use an ice pack or frozen juice box in your child's lunch if it needs to be kept cold. We also suggest that you be certain the container is marked with the Child’s name. This is especially important with lunch boxes, thermos bottles and lids. We suggest that lunches are kept small unless your Child has a large appetite - a whole sandwich is usually too much. Keep sweets to a minimum. Children who have sweets or chips in their lunch want to eat them first, and then don’t have an appetite for the rest of their food. ChildCareSelect suggests including eggs, chicken, cottage cheese, fruit, vegetables, carbohydrates, and soups in your child's lunch.