Childcare meals often not up to standard

What children are fed in childcare centres can influence their eating habits for life, so it is imperative that the foods and beverages served deliver the best possible nutritional messages.

However, it seems that many childcare staff either do not have a sound understanding of what is appropriate for a healthy eating environment or feel they are unable to change menus because of their centre’s food culture.

Currently, the National Quality Standards (NQS) regulate childcare services to provide food consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG), and state “sound menu planning incorporates foods from the basic food groups in each meal and does not include discretionary choices”.

Recognising the importance of sound menu planning for childcare centres, researchers at Edith Cowan University established Supporting Nutrition for Australian Childcare (SNAC), an online nutrition education resource. Childcare staff were invited to register on the website, access resources and engage with other members on discussion boards.

Qualitative investigation of the attitudes and perceptions about healthy eating expressed by childcare staff on the SNAC site indicates that Australian childcare services are not meeting recommendations for provision of the core food groups and discretionary foods are offered routinely.

Concerningly, childcare staff revealed confusion and misunderstanding about which foods were 'junk’ with discretionary foods such as sausages, processed meats and store-bought baked treats regularly being included in meal plans.

The research, by Ruth Wallace, Leesa Costello and Amanda Devine from the Edith Cowan University school of Medical and Health Sciences, has been published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.