Increasing Food Expenditure in Long Day-Care by by $0.50 Per Child/Day improves Food Group Provision

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There is no jurisdictional legislation or guideline that stipulates appropriate levels of food expenditure in the Australian ECEC sector. It is hoped that our study will espouse the drafting of legislation and policies by demonstrating that variation in expenditure does impact on food group provision. Children and staff would ultimately benefit from the relevant legislative and regulatory bodies supporting menu development that recommends a level of expenditure sufficient to achieve adequate provision of core food groups. This policy-based action could be further supported by training LDC staff on topics such as providing healthy meals on a limited budget, improving menu planning skills, and increasing staff confidence to address food budget issues. Further research on the impact of changes to legislature, policy, and access to training to support financial resourcing for adequate food provision are critical.

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