The effect of meal preparation time on food expenditure and menu quality in family child-care homes in King County, Washington

A full time child-care program is expected to provide at least one-half to two-thirds of a child’s daily nutrient requirements. As such, child-care settings have been acknowledged as an important setting for the assurance of children’s nutrition and for the prevention of childhood obesity. It has been suggested that an increase in the use of in-house food preparation in child-care settings could improve the nutrient profile of menus and decrease food costs. However, a limited number of studies have examined the effect of meal preparation time on nutritional quality and food expenditure in the general population, and no studies have assessed this relationship in child-care settings. The objective of this study is to investigate the association between meal preparation time and food expenditure and nutritional quality of menus in family child-care homes.

Materials Available

• Abstract

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Project Type(s): Master's Thesis

Author(s): Emily Faerber

Program(s): Master of Public Health, RDN Training

Year: 2012

Adviser(s):

• Donna B. Johnson