Nourishing Our Future
Exploring food provision in Essex early years settings
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Nourishing Our Future is a groundbreaking research project led by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and commissioned by Essex County Council (ECC) Public Health. It is the first of its kind in Essex, and one of the first nationally, to explore food provision in the private, voluntary, and independent (PVI) early years sector, which represent 94% of settings based in Essex.
Children can consume up to 90% of their daily nutrient intake in their early years setting, making these environments crucial to their health and development. With rising levels of childhood obesity across Essex, especially in areas of high deprivation, Nourishing Our Future aims to better understand the food experiences of children aged 1–5 in nurseries, preschools, and childminding settings.
Through a mixed methods approach, including surveys, workshops, photo analysis and interviews, over 200 early years providers and several parents provided unique insights across six key themes:
- Requirements and guidance
- Nutrition and portion size
- Food environment
- Food inclusivity
- Food education
- Sustainable food
The project generated the UK’s largest-ever visual dataset of early years food practices, with 749 photos submitted.
Findings highlight a complex and varied food landscape. Only 17% of settings have a commercial kitchen, and 41% of food is parent-provided, rising to 70% in preschools. Nutritional quality varies widely, particularly in lunchboxes across the deprivation scale. Challenges include rising food costs, allergy management, an increasingly processed food landscape and resulting challenges around individual food preferences.
Despite these pressures, the research celebrates the creativity and dedication of practitioners in supporting children’s healthy eating habits through hands-on learning, growing food, and celebrating cultural diversity.
Nourishing Our Future calls for urgent action: to fund early years food provision, support practitioners and families with nutrition education, and create clear, inclusive guidance. It advocates for systemic change to ensure every child has access to nutritious food and a positive relationship with it, laying the foundations for lifelong health.
Explore more on the Nourishing Our Future website
