Beyond the menu: putting the new ECEC food environment guide into practice

The new guide brings together advice on mealtimes, food education, family engagement and service leadership. Its six modules offer educators and providers a way to review what children experience around food each day.

A food environment is shaped by more than the meals a service provides. It includes the relationships, routines and conversations around food, the opportunities children have to explore it, and the decisions leaders make about how food practices work across the service.

These are among the areas covered by the free Best Practice Guide for Early Childhood Education and Care Food Environment, which ACECQA highlighted in a recent blog. Designed for services caring for children from birth to five years, including family day care, the resource brings advice that is often spread across different sources into one guide. 

The Sector has already covered the guide’s launch, however for services now considering how to use it, the guide offers an opportunity to look beyond the menu and examine children’s whole experience of food.

The first of the guide’s six modules covers mealtime environments and practices. A service reviewing this area might observe what happens from the moment children prepare to eat until the meal finishes.

Do children have time to settle and participate? How do educators respond to children’s questions, preferences and cues? Are mealtimes an opportunity for conversation and connection? Looking closely at an ordinary lunch or snack may reveal strengths worth keeping, as well as routines a team wants to reconsider.

A second module addresses menu and meal quality. This gives providers and educators a reason to bring together the people who plan, prepare and serve food. The written menu is one part of the picture; its delivery and children’s experiences of the meals also matter.

ACECQA notes that food environments can influence children’s nutrition, wellbeing, learning, social development and sense of belonging. Considering those connections can help a team discuss mealtimes as part of the educational program as well as the daily care routine. 

The guide also includes a food education module. In an ECEC setting, children encounter food in many ways: through meals, conversations, play and experiences that help them learn where food comes from.

Educators could use this module to reflect on the opportunities already present in their program. A discussion about an ingredient, for example, might grow from a child’s question at the table. A service garden may offer another opportunity, where it suits the setting and children’s interests. The aim is to consider how food education fits naturally into everyday learning, rather than adding activities simply to complete a checklist.

Sustainable food practices form another part of the guide. Services can use this module to examine decisions about purchasing, preparation and waste in the context of their own resources and community. A practical starting point may be to identify what the service already does, then choose one area it can realistically improve. 

The fifth module focuses on staff and family engagement. Families may have important perspectives on children’s food experiences, cultural practices and needs. Educators, kitchen staff and leaders may each see different aspects of mealtimes and food education.

A review is more useful when those perspectives can inform the discussion. A service might ask families what helps their child feel comfortable around food, invite staff to describe where routines work well, and consider whether its communication about meals is clear and respectful. Such questions can help a team identify improvements suited to its children and families.

The guide was developed with input from educators, providers, families, health professionals, regulatory staff and sector organisations across metropolitan, regional and remote Australia. That breadth is intended to make it useful in varied ECEC settings. 

The final module addresses quality, leadership and governance. Food practices need support through decisions about staffing, communication, resources and review. A service leader can help the team choose a manageable area of focus, agree on an action and return to assess whether it improved children’s experience.

Food safety and allergy management are covered throughout the guide. Services should read the relevant sections alongside the requirements that apply to their setting when reviewing or changing practice. 

The guide’s value lies in providing a shared starting point for these conversations. A team does not need to tackle all six modules at once. It can begin with an aspect of food practice that matters to its children and families, use the guide to inform its discussion, and build from what it learns.