Abstract
In New Zealand, there is a high prevalence of childhood poverty and food insecurity, which can impact a family’s ability to provide high quality, nutrient dense foods for their children. In an attempt to increase the quality of the food consumed by children attending a decile two (low socio-economic) kindergarten and to address food insecurity issues, an educational health and wellness initiative, in conjunction with a free lunch programme, was introduced. The impact of the lunches and the effectiveness of the programme were evaluated. Baseline and end-intervention 24-h modified dietary recall questionnaire data and a vegetable- and fruit-specific food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) were collected. A follow-up FFQ was administered six months after the end of the intervention. The nutrient composition of the foods recorded in the 24-h recall questionnaires were analysed using FoodWorks8™. Whilst no significant differences were observed with the intakes of individual nutrients, there was a significant decrease in the consumption of ultra-processed snack foods (p = 0.015). The results of the follow-up FFQ, including the comments collected from the parents, suggested that the intervention had a longer-term positive impact on not only the children involved in the study but also on their whānau (wider family members)
Highlights
The high prevalence of childhood poverty and food insecurity detrimentally impacts food availability in many low socio-economical households in New Zealand [1]
A low decile rating suggests that the children come from families with a low socio-economical status
The same food frequency questionnaire was administered again six months following the end of the intervention
Summary
The high prevalence of childhood poverty and food insecurity detrimentally impacts food availability in many low socio-economical households in New Zealand [1]. Staff at a decile two kindergarten in New Zealand noticed that, despite the kindergarten’s healthy eating guidelines, the children’s packed lunches typically contained high proportions of highly processed, nutrient-poor snack foods. They were aware that parents were unwilling to send their child to the Nutrients 2017, 9, 1031; doi:10.3390/nu9091031 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
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