Nutrition in Primary School

Nutrition and health are closely linked. This is also why their country has a systematically organised approach to the nutrition of children and adolescents. The law stipulates mandatory procedures for contracting authorities and suppliers in public procurement of goods and services. When planning nutrition, nutritional recommendations are taken into account, which are adapted from foreign sources and adjusted to their circumstances. At school (a larger community) it is much more difficult to adequately feed an individual child than in a family, as children have different appetites and because we can only take into account the wishes of individual pupils to a limited extent.

Problem

Nutrition and health are closely linked. This is also why their country has a systematically organised approach to the nutrition of children and adolescents. School snacks and lunches are organised at all schools, and in some places school breakfast as well.

By raising awareness among children and their parents about healthy nutrition, this ratio could be reversed in favour of wholesome healthy nutrition. With the right approach to nutrition, we protect health and at the same time prevent various diseases. Recommendations on healthy eating recommend a quality breakfast, but nutrition experts find that more than half of children do not have breakfast.

Children are not lovers of healthy wholesome nutrition. They much prefer quickly prepared food, such as sandwiches and pizza. Healthy and wholesome nutrition is far more important for their balanced development and growth than quickly prepared food, which experts claim is too high in calories and also unhealthy and, over a longer period of time, leads to various diseases.

Therefore, in primary schools, menus are prepared in such a way that the food is balanced and healthy. Educational institutions, as public institutions, must comply with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.

Solution and Method

The law stipulates mandatory procedures for contracting authorities and suppliers in public procurement of goods and services. From the data collected from the research carried out in the thesis, we can see that many children would also like to eat lunch, as for a large number of children the school snack is the only meal until they arrive home. Children and especially parents, as payers of food costs, do not opt for lunch, as the social position of families is increasingly worse.

Children at primary school X are largely satisfied with school meals, as the organiser of school meals strives to compile menus that suit the children. When planning nutrition for children in school kitchens, the same principles apply as for children who eat at home. The nutritional plan in school kitchens is more uniform and can be less guided by the needs and tastes of individual children.

Therefore, it is all the more important that meals are properly composed and that the staff who plan and prepare these meals are familiar with the principles of nutritional science with the specifics of children's and youth nutrition.

Results

When planning nutrition, nutritional recommendations are taken into account, which are adapted from foreign sources and adjusted to their circumstances. At school (a larger community) it is much more difficult to adequately feed an individual child than in a family, as children have different appetites and because we can only take into account the wishes of individual pupils to a limited extent. School snacks or school meals cannot be to the taste of all children.

Even a carefully prepared, wholesome meal does not fulfil its purpose if the child rejects it. Sometimes we hear criticism that children receive too little for a snack. We must be aware that the school snack is only one of the daily meals and that the school snack is only a supplement to breakfast.

We cannot expect that a child who has not had breakfast and whose first meal is the school snack will cover most of their daily needs for nutrients and energy substances with the school snack alone. According to the survey responses, children at the school are largely satisfied with school meals, which is a consequence of surveys carried out by the school meal organiser and the adaptation of menus to children's wishes. The analysis of the collected data shows that children are not most enthusiastic about the healthy wholesome nutrition that the school offers for snacks.

As many as 125 children stated in their responses that pizza and sandwiches are their favourite snacks. This data can be worrying because it tells us that quickly prepared food is popular with children, whilst snacks prepared from wholesome foods have no particular value for children. Nutrition and health are closely linked.

By raising awareness among children about healthy nutrition, this ratio could be reversed in favour of wholesome healthy nutrition, which is important for children's health and also later in their lives, as through nutrition we can protect health and at the same time prevent various diseases. The data that more than half (52%) of children do not have breakfast before going to school is worrying. The school also offers breakfast, but children and their parents do not opt for breakfast.

All recommendations on healthy eating are based on a quality breakfast. From the collected data we can see that many children would also like to eat lunch, as for a large number of children the school snack is the only meal until they arrive home. I assume that they do not opt for lunch due to costs, as the social position of families is increasingly worse.