The first client: B'Eagan With Us Child Care

As we look back at the 30-year history of CKC Good Food in 2020, we must revisit B’Eagan With Us Child Care, the first child nutrition program catered by what would become Caravan Kids Catering, and later, CKC Good Food.

Dave and Terri Kayoum opened the day care in 1990, building on Terri’s lifelong passion for kids and her experience working in educational settings. The day care, located on Cliff Road near Interstate 35E in the Thomas Lake Center, was licensed for 140 children and operated at or near capacity for much of its history. In 1994, the Kayoums opened the nearby Eagan Extended Day Care, which became a thriving wrap program often caring for kids who “graduated” from the child care center. The Kayoums’ demographic research revealed the average age of kids in Eagan at the time was 11.

Without a commercial kitchen, the Kayoums knew prior to opening they had to bring in food daily. They could easily buy breakfast items, snacks and gallons of milk themselves. Hot lunch, which was a priority for the owners because of its appeal with parents, was another story. Dave called his sister Nancy and asked her to prepare and deliver lunch from her restaurant, Caravan Serai.

“My call to Nancy was real simple, ‘Hey Nancy, we don’t have space or funds to build out a commercial kitchen. Do you want to cater meals to the center for us?’ You know Nancy – ‘Sure, Dave, I’d love to!’”

Caravan Kids Catering (CKC) delivered 75-100 daily hot lunches to the day care during its entire history, from day one, 1990, until it closed in about 2007, when the subsequent owners were called away for military duty. With low eligibility numbers for federal reimbursement, the day care did not have to contend with federal or state guidelines and factored food costs into tuition rates.

“Parents loved having a balanced hot meal or cold during summer for field trips,” Dave said. “We never had issues with our food service program.”

Lunches included traditional hamburgers and hot dogs, popular pasta items and tasty homemade recipes Nancy whipped up. In the summer, she made bag lunches for daily field trips. She prepared the meals at the restaurant in Saint Paul and delivered them prior to lunch time. The staff plated the food for the kids and Nancy watched the kids’ reactions as they ate. Even in the earliest days, Nancy was gaining knowledge that has served her well into the future.

"I will always remember those days at B’Eagan with Us," Nancy said. "I couldn’t wait to deliver the food I had prepared and see the little ones eat, feed my nephew Chase and hold him in my arms or rub his back as he fell to sleep for his nap after lunch. I used to wear the biggest earrings you could imagine that would hang down from my ears, because he like to reach up and touch them. I loved teaching him 'gentle' as he held on to those ridiculously large earrings. I am the luckiest woman I know to have lived this beautiful life and loved the career I have been so deeply blessed with - and it all started at B’Eagan with Us."

B’Eagan With Us gained great loyalty from its families with its vibrant, active curriculum. It was one of the first child care centers to incorporate cardio activity into its curriculum. Summers included daily field trips in the community and live music festivals throughout the season. An amazing summer camp included French classes, golf lessons, horseback riding and trips to the waterpark. Tired of renting inflatable bounce houses and jumpers, Terri and a friend started their own inflatables business.

After selling the child care center in 1997, the Kayoums continued to run Eagan Extended Day Care until 2003. Today, Dave is a Field Operations Manager for CKC Good Food and Terri works for Independent School District 197 in West Saint Paul.

"Who would know that my deep love for children and my first nephew would be the start of a life filled with blessings in every aspect of my life," Nancy said. "My daily work for 30 years has been focused on youth.

"What an experience to provide delicious food with pennies and to be challenged as a company to be our best every day, each year, as we work to meet our client schools' many varied preferences each day," she continued. "Many of my colleagues have grown up with me, have had children who are now grown. Now the second generation of colleagues are having children. It is such a blessing to be a part of their lives and their joy. How grateful I am to come to work each day to a team filled with commitment and gratitude for our mission, our scholars, our schools and each other here at CKC Good Food."