Abstract
Objective
Explore using food photography to assess packed lunches in a university-based Early
Childhood Center and contextualize these photographs through parent interviews.
Methods
An explanatory sequential design was used. Packed lunches were photographed to assess
the type and quantity of foods offered and consumed by Child and Adult Food Care Program components (fruit, vegetable, grain, and protein) and quality of foods offered using
the Healthy Meal Index. Parent interviews aimed to understand motivations and behaviors
related to packing lunch.
Results
Data were collected on 401 lunches. Only 16.2% of lunches met all Child and Adult Food Care Program requirements. Most lunches included fruit (84%) and grains (82%), whereas fewer included
vegetables (44%). Portion sizes were large, especially for grains (2.7 ± 1.5 servings).
In interviews (n = 24), parents expressed tension between offering healthful items
and foods they knew their child would eat, as well as concern about children going
hungry.
Conclusions and Implications
Food photography is a feasible methodology to capture parent-packed lunches for preschoolers
and may have utility in nutrition education, particularly related to age-appropriate
portion sizes.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 13, 2020
Accepted:
October 16,
2020
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The third author of this article (S. L. Johnson) serves on the JNEB staff as Associate Editor. Review of this article was handled, exclusively, by the Editor-in-Chief to minimize conflict of interest. The rest of the authors have not stated any conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
