Eating well – on the same page

Display your menus so parents can see at a glance the type of varied and nutritious food you offer. You could also share recipes for some of the favourite dishes on your menus so parents can recreate them at home. Ask parents to share pictures and videos of their creations to encourage others.

Share your setting’s healthy eating policy. This will help families understand the importance of good nutrition, its impact on future health outcomes and what you are doing as a setting to support these health outcomes.

Add a healthy eating tip to your newsletters, or create a healthy eating display in your nursery. This is a great way to share nutrition tips and to focus on topics that are particularly relevant to your setting; for example: fussy eating tips, healthy snacking, moving from bottles to cups, or how to encourage children to try new foods. Check out the EYN Partnership website for blogs written by nutritionists and dietitians for content ideas and tips. 

Deliver events at your nursery where healthy eating messages are shared. For example, a menu taster evening where parents can sample your food, hear from the chef or cook and understand a bit more about the planning that goes into your menus. You could also use parents’ evenings, sports days, summer fêtes and other celebrations or family events as an opportunity to share healthy eating messages with parents and carers.

Ensure your messaging is consistent. For example, ensure healthy eating messages are promoted by all staff and other stakeholders who might visit the nursery. Think about your food environment, educational activities and cultural events or celebrations. Aim to ensure that healthy eating is a consistent theme across the nursery, not just at meal and snack times.