Research from Soil Association’s Better Nursery Food Now campaign has revealed that nine out of 10 (89%) parents wanted to see legally enforceable rules for the nutritional standards of food in nurseries.

95% off parents said they wanted to ban additives linked to behavioural problems or health issues in nursery food and almost all parents wanted compulsory nutrition and cookery training for nursery staff preparing and serving food.

The study revealed that only a third of parents were happy with the food their children were given at nursery, with one in six reporting that children were being given junk and convenience food and little vegetables and fruit.

Currently there is no legislation to prevent under fives being fed junk food in nurseries – all banned for older kids in schools.  This is despite the fact that one in four children starting school is now overweight or obese.

The study found some nurseries spend just 25p a day on each child’s meal, compared to up to £1.68 on prisoners.

If you are concerned about what your child is being fed at nursery here are some questions you could ask:

1. Is food made from scratch using fresh ingredients?
2. What do the children eat at snack-time? Nurseries often fall down on what is offered between meals.
3. Do staff eat with children, and eat the same food?
4. Do children help with the cooking or with growing vegetables?
5. Is oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel or sardines, on the menu?
6. Does the nursery comply with the highly regarded guidelines for feeding under-5s in child care, from the Caroline Walker Trust?

The Soil Association is now calling on the Government to introduce mandatory standards to ensure high quality food is served in all nurseries.

Sign the petition here to demand better nursery food here.