None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
In Australia, less than 4% of children aged four to five years old consume the recommended amount of vegetables. Liking and acceptance of vegetables are learnt in early childhood and habits track into adulthood, thus efforts to increase vegetable intake need to start in the early years of life. About half of Australian children aged 2-5 years attend formal early care and education. These settings, such as Long Day Care, can provide 40-60% of children’s daily food intake. Early care settings can play a pivotal role in shaping children’s dietary habits and care-based nutrition promotion has been successful in improving children’s food intake. In centres where food is provided onsite, the responsibility for menu planning and food preparation falls with the cooks. The purpose of this cluster randomised control trial is to support childcare cooks to provide healthy meals, with a focus on vegetable intake, through piloting the delivery of menu boxes direct to long day care centres. This study will evaluate the effects of menu box delivery on the provision and consumption of vegetables in long day care centres and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of menu box delivery. Menu boxes will include recipes and ingredients tailored to the number of serves required by the centre, which meet long day care menu planning guidelines. This will be compared to an online cook’s training module supported by an online menu planning tool to increase vegetable provision in meals and snacks. South Australian Long Day Care Centres will be randomly allocated to either receive a menu box delivery (n=4-5 Centres) to provide recipes and ingredients for their menu cycle, or receive access to an online cooks training and menu planning tool (n=4-5 Centres). The intervention (menu box vs menu planning) will be conducted over 12-14 weeks (menu boxes will be delivered for 8-weeks). Evaluation data for dietary intake, menu food provision, acceptability and feasibility of the intervention will be collected at baseline and at the end of the intervention period. This project is being conducted as part of VegKIT (https://www.vegkit.com.au/), funded by Hort Innovation.
Interventions
MENU BOX DELIVERY
This study will pilot the delivery of menu boxes direct to long day care centres over a period of 8-weeks (2 x 4-week menu cycles). A 4-week menu will be developed by dietitians that meets the Victorian Menu Planning Guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care settings. The Menu planning guidelines are based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines. The menu box will be nut free, provide vegetarian options and will be Hallal. Centres will use standard practice to cater for o
MENU BOX DELIVERY This study will pilot the delivery of menu boxes direct to long day care centres over a period of 8-weeks (2 x 4-week menu cycles). A 4-week menu will be developed by dietitians that meets the Victorian Menu Planning Guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care settings. The Menu planning guidelines are based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines. The menu box will be nut free, provide vegetarian options and will be Hallal. Centres will use standard practice to cater for other allergies and/or dietary requirements. The menu box will provide a morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, and centres will be able to order provisions for breakfast and late snack if required. Menu boxes containing recipes and ingredients for the week will be delivered to long day care centres once per week. Ingredients will arrive in a delivery box with an insulated liner and ice packs designed to keep ingredients fresh for up to 8 hours and able to withstand most weather conditions. Ordering and use of the menu boxes (i.e. adherence to the intervention) will be monitored using weekly checklists completed by cooks and courier delivery records.
Sponsors
Flinders University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
2 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Long day care centre inclusion criteria: - Private long day care centres in Adelaide, South Australia - Operate for at least 8-hours per weekday (Monday - Friday) - Serve one main meal and two mid-meal snacks each day to children under their care - Cater, but not exclusively, to children aged two to five years with a minimum enrollment of twenty children within this age group per day Child inclusion criteria: Child aged 2-5 years enrolled at participating centre and present on data collection day
Exclusion criteria
Long day care centre exclusion criteria: - Government long day care centres - Centres that do not prepare meals onsite by cooks - Centres catering exclusively to special needs children Child exclusion criteria: Children with allergies, intolerances or medical conditions that significantly affect their food intake or prevent them from being able to consume the standard Centre menu
Outcome results
None listed