Fruit and Vegetable Preparation Styles in Family Child Care Homes Caring for 2–5-Year-Old Children Across Oklahoma in 2020

Background

Many US preschoolers receive two-thirds of their dietary requirements while at Family Child Care Homes (FCCH) that are critical settings to offer fruits and vegetables, but less is known if these are served fresh or processed, which may include excess added sugar and sodium.

Objective

This study explored the fruit and vegetable preparation styles, across one day in FCCHs catering to young children (aged 2 to 5 years).

Study Design, Settings, Participants

This descriptive study examined baseline measures of a virtual intervention study, delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020). Sixty-three licensed FCCH providers across rural Oklahoma, participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program were included. One day's meal photographs and detailed recipes for breakfast, lunch, and snack were collected. Fruit and vegetable preparation style by meal was calculated in SPSS.

Results

FCCH providers were 100% women, 43.1 ± 10.2 years old. For breakfast, canned fruits or vegetables was served 2.5 times greater than that of frozen fruits or vegetables (4.4% frozen and 11.1% canned) and canned fruits were served 6 times greater than that of fresh (73.3% fresh vs. 11.1% canned), and 6.8% served fruit juice. For lunch, approximately, half of the providers served fresh or frozen vegetables for lunch (35.6% fresh and 15.6% frozen), while more than one-third (44.4%) served canned vegetables, 0.0% dried vegetables, and 4.4% fruit juice. For snack, 11.1% served fresh and 0% frozen, canned, or dried vegetables; and 37.8% served fresh, 2.2% frozen, 13.3% canned, and 4.4% dried fruits and 13.3 % served fruit juice.

Conclusions

Since canned foods are served more than that of the frozen foods and high in sodium, reducing the use of canned fruits and vegetables and promoting fresh and frozen equivalents is important to improve the nutrient quality of foods served in FCCHs. Future research can explore strategies to promote healthier preparation styles, such as fresh or frozen foods, over canned options.

Funding

USDA