B 1156 SEPTEMBER 1975 LIBRARY J/l N 2 0 I975 Texas A& ZEEDING PROGRAMS University OR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN TEXAS THE TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION J. E. MILLER, DIRECTOR TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE STATIQN, TEXAS * I , vA i . ONTENTS INTRODUcTION FOOD PREPARATION Facilities and Equipment Food Service FOOD ITEM USE MEAL PATTERNS Food Used for Morning Meals Food Used for Mid-day Meal Food Used for Mid-aftemoon Snacks EVALUATION OF NUTRITIONAL QUALITY Nutrient Calculations Method Variation Nutritional Contribution of the Feeding Program ACCEPTANCE OF SELEcTED FOOD ITEMS BY PRESCHOOL CHILDREN REFERENCES SUMMARY Eleven federally assisted child feeding centers were bserved for a 1-week period, totaling 55 days 0f meal ser- ice. The centers were not selected by random sample, but IQIQ designated by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. )bjectives were to observe food item use and acceptability. The major food items used were whole milk, butter rmargarine, commercially sliced bread, and orange juice. >f the cooked cereals, rice and oatmeal were most fre- lently used. Meats were most often served in ground vrm; green beans and mashed potatoes were used more ian other vegetables. A tossed salad was the leading form Fraw vegetable served. The most used solid fruit was mned peaches. More cookies and cakes were served than her forms of dessert. The use of dark green or deep yellow egetables and citrus fruits other than orange juice was w. Generous supplies of commodity cereal products icouraged a high level of service of cooked cereals and aked products. The‘ mean nutrient content of the meals was found » provide more than half of the Recommended Dietary llowance (RDA) of most nutrients. Variations among centers were high with coefficients of variation between 20 and 4O percent. Mean contents of protein, vitamin A, ascorbic acid, and riboflavin approached or exceeded the RDA values. Five nutrients —— calcium, phosphorus, thi- amin, and vitamins B6 and B12 — and caloric content were between 5O and 66 percent RDA while mean content values below 5O percent RDA were found for iron, magnesium, vitamin E, and folacin. Fats contributed 39 percent of the food energy, a level which is above the recommended 35 percent maximum. The mean caloric contribution from carbohydrates was 47 percent. Selected food items were checked to find the level of acceptance by the participating children. The foods con- sumed by children with refusals of 5 percent or less were grape and orange juice, fruit, hot dogs, fish, dry beans, milk, cookies and pudding. Farina and rice were the most acceptable cooked cereals. Commercial and fresh bread- stuffs were accepted about equally. Of the cooked vege- tables, fried potatoes, corn, and carrots were most accept- able. Some of the least acceptable foods were greens, green beans, sweet potatoes, raw vegetables, cake, and butter or margarine. FEEDING PROGRAMS FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN TEXAS Flowayne Drew* INTRODUCTION Many day care and Head Start programs serve chil- dren from 10w income families through aid from govern- ment funds. An essential phase of such programs is child feeding, for which federally donated commodities are available, in addition to funds, to assist qualifying pro- grams. This is a report on 1) facilities for the preparation and service of food, 2) food use practices, and 3) nutri- tive contribution of meals in 11 federally assisted child- feeding centers at various locations in Texas. As part of a concerted study by the University of Ne- braska for the U.S. Department of Agriculturel, on-site observations of one 5-day week each were made of pre- school feeding programs at five Head Start and six day care centers, yielding a total of 55 days of food service. The locations were designated by the USDA. All centers re- ceived USDA funds, and nine centers received federally donated commodities. Six of the centers were located in cities with a popula- tion of 50,000 or over; five were in cities with a population under 50,000. Most of the children served by the centers were from low income families with a high representation of Afro- and Mexican-Americans. There was an average of 48 children per ‘center mostly between the ages of 3 and 7 years. FOOD PREPARATION FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT. The centers were located in two churches, two schools, and seven buildings especially built for youth programs. In each building the kitchen and dining room were located on the same floor; they were located next to each other in nine and separated in two. * Research Associate, Consumer Research Center, The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, Texas 77843. ‘Survey of Special Food Service Programs for Children for the U.S. Department of Agriculture by the University of Nebraska; Memorandum of Agreement between Nebraska and Texas—S-1955, Investigations of Food Practices in Special Food Programs for Children. All kitchens were equipped with at least one ran ' s" oven, refrigerator, sink, mixer, and home-type small equiT ment. Very little institutional-type equipment was us; Most kitchens had a freezer and a broom closet. There adequate cupboard space for storage of equipment __ g where it was to be used. Cleaning compounds were sto _ apart from the food items in all but two centers. All kitch s; had adequate space for the storage of canned and packa€ . food items on shelves or platforms. The nine centers rece if ing USDA commodity foods were able to store them pr; ; erly. 3' Various provisions were made at different centers My I handling soiled dishes. They were placed on carts at f 1 center, on a counter outside the kitchen at one center, I side tables at three centers, and in the kitchen at six cent; Differences depended mainly on space and room arran ment. Eight centers had home-type electric dishwash while the other centers washed dishes in three-compa ment sink units. Dishes were sterilized either by hi chemicals, or both. FOOD SERVICE. Four centers had separate dining r00: while seven centers served their meals in multi-pur rooms. All dining areas were equipped with child- 7. tables. Some centers used child-size plates and eat' utensils. Regular size plates were used by three centers “Q regular size flatware was used by six centers. Time often spent teaching the children how to use a fork “A spoon properly; at a few centers the older children l“ taught to use a table knife. Morning meals varied with six centers serving br fast only, two centers serving a mid-morning snack o [I and three centers serving breakfast and a mid-mor snack. All centers served lunch and a mid-afternoon _ The time usually allowed for eating was 30 minutes I breakfast, 20 minutes for lunch, and 15 minutes for sna, Plate service was used for breakfast at all the cent ’ It was also used for lunch and snacks at most centers; N ever, three centers served lunch family style and one ce used the family style method to serve snacks. Chili were allowed to serve themselves when a meal was se » family style, and two centers which began lunch with p. service allowed the children to serve themselves second As long as there was extra food, seconds were allowe a Milk was always served with the meal when it was included 0n the menu and it was always poured by an adult. N0 pre-portioned cartons were used. Dessert, served after the main course at most centers, was served with it at two centers and used for the mid-afternoon snack at another. Children scraped their own plates when they finished their meal at six centers while plates were collected by adults at five centers. There was always adult supervision during meals. FOOD ITEM USE A count was made of food items served by the 11 Head Start and day care centers during a 55-day observation period. Milk, which was served from one to four times on all but 2 days of observation, was served more often than any other food. On 42 out of 55 days, butter or margarine was served one or more times. The breads and cereals used most often were commercially sliced bread, corn bread, yeast rolls or buns, and rice. Oatmeal was served more than any other cereal for breakfast. The most frequently used vegetables were green beans, potatoes, peas, and corn. Canned peaches, bananas and apples were the fruits STABLE l. FOOD ITEM USE IN ll CHILD FEEDING CENTERS FOR ONE 5—DAY WEEK Number of Times Served Total Number Servings Food Morning, Noon Afternoon Dairy products Milk 39 50 l7 106 Cheese l 7 l2 Butter or margarine 36 23 59 Ob Breads Bread, commercial l French bread Corn bread Yeast rolls Biscuits Crackers Pancakes Buns Sweet rolls Tortilla, corn Torilla, flour 42 l 17 18 hJOh-‘OuJOfiOOOO OOO-fiOhJ-fifib |--* OOOOOFOOOOkfl P‘ I\JO\I—‘-I>UOU>OO Cereal products -Rice Oatmeal Farina Grits Dry cereal Spaghetti Macaroni Noodles OOOCD-fiwmw |—' l\J-|-\NOOOOl-‘ OOOOOOOO l—' NJ>N®J>N®4> Meats aBeef products Ground beef Roast Stew meat OOO B) OOO §Poultry I Chicken Turkey OO OO OOl-‘l-‘N P-‘bl-‘l-‘O OOOOO FJ>NNM Protein source foods Eggs Peanut butter Dry beans Blackeyed peas Peanuts ll 13 P‘ OOOOO Ol-‘OPO l-‘ hJOONl-i k0 Vegetables Green beans Potatoes, mashed Potatoes, fried Potato chips Green peas Corn Carrots, cooked Greens Sweet potatoes Mixed vegetables Green limas Beets Cabbage, cooked Broccoli .OOOOOOOOOOOI\JOO l—*l—' P-‘IHE-JNb-PJ-‘LQOCDNOON OOOOOOOOOOOOOO l-‘l-d |—'l—*|-—'l\)J-\J-\-l-\O®®NLJ'ION Raw vegetables Carrots, raw Coleslaw Tomato slices Tossed salad OOOO l—* OIQbCh OOOO P‘ kONlbCh Fruit Peaches Orange Tangerine Banana Apple Pear Applesauce Strawberries Fruit cocktail Apricots Cherries Raisins OOOOOOOOl-‘OUOIQ OPObF-‘b-‘t-‘l-“l-‘OOO kAOl-‘OOI-‘Owbl-“UJI-l OPFJ>FNPJ>OPOO Fruit juice Orange Grape Grapefruit Pineapple Apple Lemonade Hi—C, canned drink IQ l-JOOOI-“bO OOOOOl-‘NJ bJlfll-‘l-‘l-"OQ N) UJF-‘l-‘F-‘NCIJO Sweets Cookies Cake Jello Pudding Ice cream Apple cobbler l—' OP-‘IQ l-—'J-\\O \O 16 F l-‘NOGJOO l0 OOOONN used most often. A tossed vegetable salad was the most common type salad served. Some type of fruit juice was served at 27 percent of the meal periods. Of the 45 servings of juice, 32 were citrus. Most dishes were prepared from basic recipes. The frequency with which canned foods, raw or fresh produce, frozen foods, instant or dehydrated products, and mixes were used during 55 days of observation is shown in Ta- ble 2. TABLE 2. USE FREQUENCY OF FOOD PRODUCT TYPES IN ll CHILD FEEDING CENTERS FOR ONE 5-DAY WEEK Total Use Range of Use Average Product Type Frequency at Centers Per Center Canned 77 3-15 ll Fresh produce 54 3-8 5 Frozen 44 1-9 4 Instant or dehydrated 14 0-4 1.3 Mix 7 0-2 0.6 <.~s'.-.-. . . Nine of the 11 centers received commodity foods. These items were used a total of 150 times, ranging from 12 at one center to 24 at another; the average was 17 per center. The following items were the most frequently used donated commodities: butter, flour, meal, shortening, rice, farina, oatmeal and dry beans. Other commodities were used less frequently: peanut butter, dry milk, grits, canned chicken, frozen turkeys, dehydrated sweet potatoes and canned peaches. Most of the less frequently used commodities were not available to a majority of the centers. Only one or two cen- ters received dehydrated Irish potatoes and/or sweet pota- toes, canned peaches, chicken, and turkey. Maximum use was made of these items when they were available. The large amount of cereal products received by the centers resulted in a high use of cooked breakfast cereals, freshly baked breads, cookies and cakes. Dry milk was used for cooking and occasionally in cocoa. Whole milk was used when milk was served as a beverage. The use of donated items is reflected in the following list of major food items served at the feeding centers. Milk group milk B read-cereal group commercially sliced bread Zcombread Zrice zoatmeal Meat group hamburger meat 3poultry meat substitutes zpeanut butter zdry beans Vegetable-fruit group zgreen beans tossed salad grape juice l 3mashed potatoes orange juice 3peaches Sweets j Zcookies Zcakes A general food use pattern for child feeding centers is seen in the previous list. The absence of a dark green or deep yellow vegetable is noticeable. zFederally donated products were the source of all or part of the item. 3Commodity items were used when available. MEAL PATTERNS Breakfast and/or Morning snack Cereal or bread Butter or margarine Milk or fruit juice Lunch Main dish with meat Two vegetables Bread Q Milk Dessert of cake, fruit or pudding Afternoon snack Cookies, fruit or small sandwich Milk or fruit juice Foot) Usso FOR MORNING MEALS. Six centers serv breakfast, two centers served a morning snack, and three centers served breakfast and a mid-morning snacfi The morning snack at centers not serving breakfa, was essentially the same as breakfast served at so of the other centers. Other morning snacks were su _~ plements to the breakfast served earlier in the day. used- at morning meals (whether served as breakfa mid-morning snack or both) is discussed without tinction because the number of centers in each categol is too small for meaningful comparison. Milk and/or fruit were commonly used in the morning‘ Five centers used milk or fruit juice, two centers used i‘ and juice, three centers used only milk, and one center us only fruit juice. Two centers chose to serve fruit juice int j afternoon rather than in the morning. \ Either bread or cereal or both were served on all b one of 55 mornings. Butter or margarine was used on i bread or in the cereal from 3 to 5 days per week at all butt centers; these two used less. Eggs were used once or twi a week except at three centers which used none. Cheerfj was used one time. Cookies or cakes were used on fo occasions. Morning meals were therefore high in p‘; hydrates; ordinarily milk was the only protein contribute‘) The frequent use of fruit juice made a substantial contrib C. tion to the total dietary quality. FOOD USED FOR MID-DAY MEAL. A main dish was servi at each mid-day meal. Ground beef was used most ofte Beef products were used twice per week on the avera and poultry was used once per week per center. Oth" meats such as fish, weiners, pork, ham, and liver gave va» ation to the meals. Cheese dishes were served as a ma course twice. Dry beans were used in eight of 55 lunch_ each time with a main course of meat. On 35 of 55 days, two or more vegetables were us‘ 14 were dark green or deep yellow. On 17 days one vegeta -: was used, two of which were dark green or deep yelli and on 3 days no vegetable was used. Raw vegetables w served on 23 days. Fruit or fruit juice was used on 18 dad i gout 0f 55. Fruit was served five times with one serving 0f "vegetables and two times with no vegetable. Fruit was never used at one center, was used once or twice at nine centers, and was used four times at one center. Citrus fruits were used two times at the mid-day meal. Fruit was usually served as a dessert. Two servings of fruit and/or vegetables were offered on all but 15 days. Every lunch included some type of bread. Almost one- half of the breadstuffs used were freshly baked. Out of 55 lunches, 17 included cereal sources such as rice or pasta. Milk was the beverage in 5O of 55 lunches. No beverage was served on two days at one center while orange juice or grape juice replaced milk in three noon meals at two cen- ters. In 41 out of 55 lunches a dessert was served. Cake, canned fruit, pudding and jello with or without fruit were used. Ice cream was used twice and fruit cobbler once. The cakes (usually of an oatmeal or peanut butter type due to the use of commodity foods) were all freshly baked. Fooo USED FOR MID-AFTERNOON SNACKS. Every center served a mid-afternoon snack using a variety of foods. Cookies or cakes were used most often followed by small sandwiches and fresh fruit. The sandwiches were usually made of peanut butter and crackers. A beverage of fruit juice or milk accompanied another food item in 33 of 55 snacks. The quality of the day's total food servings was much improved by the amount of fruit, fruit juice and milk in the snacks. Due to the small quantities of food usually consumed by young children at one time, snacks were Carefully planned to coordinate with other meals to provide a balanced diet plan. EVALUATIQN OF NUTRITIONAL QUALITY NUTRIENT CALCULATIONS METHOD. The amounts of all food items served during the observation periods were recorded and coded for the calculation of nutritive values according to ARS Manual 62-10-1 (1). From these data, con- tent estimates were made for food energy and the following nutrients: whole protein, total lipids, carbohydrates, cal- :ium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamins A, E, C, B6 and B12, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folacin, and panto- thenic acid. The nutrient contribution of the meals was estimated by calculating the mean daily values for 18 nutrients and the percent of the appropriate Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for each center (2). Recommended Die- lary Allowances are established by the Food and Nutrition 3oard of the National Research Council for nutrient levels that are considered adequate to meet known needs of most iealthy people. RDA's are computed to include a margin )f safety. They are used in this study as a guide for eval- iating the dietary contribution of child feeding centers. Etandard deviations and coefficients of variation (CV) for all nutrients were included in the analysis. VARIATION. A high level of variation was found for nutrient tontent of the meals served at different locations (Table 3). [he CV’s were between 20 and 4O percent for most nutri- rnts. Two nutrients, vitamins A and B12, had CV’s above Figure A. 5O percent, due to the inclusion of liver at one meal. Johnson et al (3) found that a high variability of nutrients occurred when liver was included in a diet. Several factors influenced variability, for example, the serving frequency of a basic food, the use of larger or smaller than average servings of foods and the occasional use of a food especially high in certain nutrients. Variability was greatly increased by the food use pat- tern of one center which had a far higher percent RDA for almost every nutrient than other centers. That particular center served four meals per day, 4 ounces of milk four times each day and a large amount of sweets and bread products. NUTRITIONAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE FEEDING PROGRAM. Mean nutrient content of meals served at Head Start and day care centers provided the preschool children more than half of the RDA of most nutrients for which analyses were made (Figure A). Protein, vitamin A and ascorbic acid con- tents were above 100 percent RDA and riboflavin was 98 percent RDA. Content values for five nutrients —— calcium, phosphorus, thiamin, vitamins B6 and B12 — ranged be- tween 5O and 66 percent RDA. The mean content value of preformed niacin was high enough to provide 5O percent of the suggested RDA, but the total contribution was ac- tually higher due to the niacin available from trypto- phan. (On the average 1 mg. of niacin is derived from 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Mid-d8Y».o.o.o.o'0'o 0 0 0 0 s - - - . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .......'..'......... Proteln ":.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 . I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 C31C1Um -O I I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 phosphorus fo.o.o'o.o.o‘o'o.o.o.o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - Q 9 U Q 9 I O O O O Magnesium Vitamin A Vitamin E Vitamin C Riboflavin Thiamine - O O 0 0 0 0 0 0 , 0 I O 0 0 0 0 0 :. ' ’O...Q.O.Q.I.I.I.Q Vitamin B12 ‘_=.;;"’:':" Mean nutrient content in meals served at ll child feed- ing centers for one 5-day week. TABLE 3. NUTRIENT CONTRIBUTION OF MEALS SERVED IN 11 CHILD FEEDING CENTERS FOR ONE 5—DAY WEEK C! u o Ci-H c m u U -o o -H m = Q» s": .20 r .3 Q Average Daily Service in 11 Child Feeding Centers for One 5-Day Period G 'g_§ :3 Q fi Q 4 m m > 0 z z fi 1 2 3 4 5 7 s 9 10 11 2 we o o Food f energy Cal 1500 797 821 1328 876 738 770 811 896 1514 882 787 929 251 27 6d Protein gm 30 32 31 28 30 28 27 28 34 59 29 30 32 9 28 104 Fats gm --—- 38 38 70 34 32 31 36 36 64 39 32 41 13 32 — ‘ Carbo- N f hydrates gm --—- 84 86 154 112 84 97 91 111 182 107 98 110 31 28 —~§ Calcium gm 0.8 0.55 0.34 0.43 0.35 0.43 0.52 0.55 0.43 0.92 0.28 0.41 0.47 0.17 30 5 Iron mg 10 3.36 5.50 4.25 4.65 3.46 3.56 2.64 4.11 6.28 3.96 4.05 4.16 1.02 24 45 Phos- .$ phorus gm 0.8 0.54 0.46 0.52 0.38 0.44 0.44 0.47 0.47 0.94 0.35 0.49 0.50 0.16 32 0; Magnesium mg 200 60.46 64.03 80.18 42.03 62.73 72.57 61.15 55.32 131.60 53.35 78.74 69.29 23.47 34 I Vitamin A IU 2500 1985 9696 3214 1978 4628 1481 2337 1139 2401 1074 1766 2882 2475 86 Vitamin E IU 10 1.63 2.49 9.00 2.79 2.72 4.37 4.61 4.43 3.72 4.27 3.29 3.94 1.93 49 Ascorbic \ i acid mg 40 44.12 46.47 67.95 15.28 35.40 40.82 70.13 29.36 49.18 40.36 68.76 46.17 17.28 37 12% Folacin mg 0.2 0.01 0.05 0.037 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.01 0.03 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.01 50 Niacin *(preformed) mg 10 3.56 6.83 6.08 5.67 4.22 4.18 3.83 6.59 7.91 5.58 4.78 5.38 1.39 26 g Riboflavin mg 0.9 0.91 1.17 0.72 0.67 0.81 0.84 0.90 0.78 1.56 0.60 0.69 0.88 0.26 30 ‘i Thiamin mg 0.8 0.40 0.44 0.48 0.39 0.39 0.36 0.36 0.37 0.67 0.49 0.49 0.44 0.09 20 ii Vitamin B6 mg 0.8 0.59 0.68 0.65 0.41 0.33 0.49 0.34 0.50 0.70 0.41 0.56 0.51 0.13 25 ~g. Vitamin B12 U8 4 2.16 10.95 1.01 1.18 1.74 1.43 2.03 1.59 3.31 1.23 1.55 2.56 2.85 111 fig Pantothenic <; acid mg --—- 2.26 2.72 2.18 1.42 1.67 1.96 1.68 1.85 3.92 1.29 2.15 2.10 0.73 35 “C #An average of 1 mg of niacin is derived from each 60 mg of dietary tryptophan (see text). LE7 each 60 mg. of dietary tryptophan.) The meals contained a generous amount of protein; therefore, it can be as- sumed that there was a significant tryptophan content. Mean caloric content was 62 percent RDA. Values below 50 percent RDA were found for four nutrients: iron, magnesium, vitamin E and folacin. Protein in the meals came from the generous use of meat and milk combined with meat substitutes and cereal sources. Vitamin A was supplied largely from sources other than yellow and green vegetables with a large contribution from one serving of liver. Orange juice was the major source of ascorbic acid in the meals. Milk supplied the high level of riboflavin and more than 50 percent RDA level of calcium. The B vitamins were in good supply because of the frequent use of fortified cereal products. On the average, less than 50 percent RDA of iron was supplied by the meals. Over 50 percent RDA was reached by two centers — one serving liver and one using more than an average amount of food. Without those centers, the average iron content was 38 percent RDA. As has been shown in various studies (4,5,6), iron intake of preschool children is often low. This also shows the meals provided by preschool feeding centers to be low in iron content. In addition, the meals contained less than 50 percent RDA of magnesium, vitamin E and folacin; the requirements for these nutrients are less well established than for others (2, p. 88). Since magnesium and folacin occur widely in vegetables, an adequate amou is assumed in a balanced diet. Vegetables, especially gre leafy varieties, were not used often in the meals record: in this study. Even though adequate amounts of vitamin were supplied by other food sources, more green lea vegetables would have been needed to help supply ma nesium and folacin. Diets in the United States vary widely in vitamin " content depending primarily on the amount and types l" fat consumed (2, p. 58). Even though it is found in a wif range of foods, vitamin E at all but one center was conside“ ably under the RDA figure of 10 International Units. At 0n? center, the meals contained more than twice as much vit min E than those at other centers because more than avera amounts of peanut butter and roasted peanuts were '3 cluded. The RDA has not been established for pantothe i; acid; however, it has been suggested that 4 to 5 mg. day will meet the needs of children from 7 to 9 years of a (7). Since food sources are numerous, dietary deficiency not likely. A mean content of 2.10 mg. per day ranging fr , 1.29 to 3.92 mg. per day was found in the meals for pr school children in this study. This would apparently pr vide, on the average, at least 50 percent of the amount panthothenic acid needed. _i4LE 4. PERCENT OF CALORIES FROM FATS AND CARBOHYDRATES IN 11 CHILD FEEDING CENTERS FOR ONE 5—DAY WEEK 88 G~H G w u 8-3 "J3 Child Feeding Centers '3 E <3 E C1 C-"v-l 94> m w > m 1 2 3 4 5 s 7 s 9 1o 11 é’ $8 S‘? utrient Measure gm 38 38 70 34 32 31 36 36 64 39 32 41 13 32 Fats Cal 342 342 630 y 306 288 279 327 324 576 351 288 369 9 cal) V Z Cal 43 42 47 35 39 36 40 36 38 40 37 39 3.6 9 gm 84 86 154 112 84 97 91 111 182 107 98 110 31 28 rbohydrates Cal 336 344 616 452 336 388 364 444 728 428 392 440 4 cal) Z Cal 42 42 46 52 46 50 45 50 48 49 50 47 3.4 7 Fats make up 4O to 45 percent of the calories in the typical American diet for adults (8). A diet containing 30 to 35 percent of calories from fats is generally considered to “be healthful (8, p. 272). Mean fat content of the meals served at the centers was 41 grams or 39 percent of ories, with a range from 35 to 47 percent of calories Table 4). Meals served to these preschool children often ontained more fats than are considered healthful. I It is estimated that approximately 45 to 5O percent of food energy in the average American diet is derived carbohydrates. Stare and McWilliams suggest that Feconomy in the food budget and good health can be ijprovided by increasing the caloric contribution of carbo- nifty-hydrates to between 5O and 55 percent of the total intake" p. 256). Mean caloric contribution was 47 percent in observed preschool meals, ranging from 42 to 52 per- pijlicent. Since the percentage of calories from fats is above fiihe suggested maximum of 35 percent and the percentage calories from carbohydrates is below the suggested ghealthful level of 5O to 55 percent, it appears that the fat iicontent of the meals should be reduced and the carbohy- Jlflldrate content be increased for a more desirable balance ééiand better economy. W '”‘éEW""FW\ "I? "l-ljfr‘ m "° Almost equal amounts of most nutrients were con- ggtributed by breakfast and snacks (Figure A). However, ifs-ignore vitamin A, ascorbic acid, and thiamin came from ggbreakfast foods than came from snack foods; more mag- féifiinesium and vitamins B6 and E came from snacks than from breakfast. Ascorbic acid was the only nutrient in larger amounts from both breakfast and ggsnacks than from the noon meal. As much or more cal- “um, magnesium, and ‘thiamin and almost as much l osphorus, riboflavin, vitamins B6 and E, and calories ere contributed from breakfast and snacks combined as 70m the noon meal. The contribution of breakfast and _ acks to the children's nutrition is readily seen, espe- y for magnesium and vitamin E, which were found to be in low. supply. The average daily amount of folacin obtained was too small to be divided by meals. ACCEPTANCE OF SELECTED FOOD ITEMS BY PRESCHOOL CHILDREN Food habits which influence adult eating patterns are established in the preschool years. Children's acceptance or rejection of food that is served them establishes food likes and dislikes which can influence nutritional status throughout their life. Food items served most often by the centers were checked to find their level of acceptance. The degree of acceptance of a particular food item was determined by computing the percentages of the servings eaten, partially eaten and refused. Variations occurred according to the number of children served and the number of times a food item appeared in the menu. Therefore, each item received individual consideration in order to show acceptance trends. Some factors which affected food acceptance could not be controlled, such as differences in preparation, varia- tions in the number of daily feeding periods and differences in food service settings. It should be noted that the sampling of child care centers in this study was not statistically drawn to be representative of child feeding situations. Approxi- mately 13 children at each of 11 centers were closely ob- served at each meal time for a 5-day period. Acceptance results are shown in Table 5. Milk was found to be well accepted by the children; only 5 percent of the servings were rejected. A relationship was not found between the serving frequency and the level of acceptance. About three-fourths of the servings of freshly baked and commercially sliced breads were eaten. There were 4 percent more refusals of freshly baked bread than of commercial bread. SERVINGS OF FOOD EATEN, PARTLY EATEN OR REJECTED BY PRESCHOOL TABLE 5. CHILDREN IN 11 CHILD FEEDING CENTERS FOR ONE 5—DAY WEEK Eaten Partly Rejected Eaten Partly Rejected Eaten E8t§Q_ --Percent of Serving—- ——Percent of Serving- Milk 84 11 5 Vegetables, F cooked Butter or Potatoes, margarine 68 13 l9 fried 79 21 O Corn 79 12 9 Bread Carrots 73 l9 9 Fresh Peas 64 19 17 breadstuffs 73 16 ll Potatoes, Sliced 73 12 15 mashed 63 18 l9 Crackers 77 ll 12 Sweet Tortillas, potatoes 56 15 29 corn 69 19 12 Green beans 53 16 31 Cereals Greens 46 17 37 Pasta 79 8 13 , Cabbage 27 73 O Farina 76 . 13 12 7 Rice 71 19 10 Vegetables, Oatmeal 53 32 15 raw Grits 53 27 20 Coleslaw 70 14 16 Carrots 60 17 23 Meat Tossed Fish 92 5 4 salad 57 19 25 Poultry 83 9 8 Hot dogs 81 17 2 Fruits, fresh Beef 74 20 6 Apples 87 13 0 Bananas 87 12 1 Meat substitute Oranges 81 16 3 Dry beans 76 20 3 Eggs 79 8 13 Fruit, canned Peanut butter 68 l7 15 Applesause 94 3 3 Sweets Peaches 91 5 4 Cookies 92 4 4 G _ Pudding e6 9 5 Fruit Jul“ Jello s1 5 15 GraPe 97 2 1 Cake 65 14 21 Orange 87 8 5 Cooked cereals were often served for the morning meal and rice was frequently served at lunch. Farina, rice, oatmeal, and grits were usually federally donated items. Farina and rice were better accepted than oatmeal and grits; grits was rejected more often than oatmeal, which was served more often for breakfast than the other cooked cereals. Since almost half of the servings of oatmeal and. grits were only partly eaten or totally rejected, special effort may be needed to make these cereals more appealing to children. Thirteen percent of the servings of pasta were rejected and 8 percent partly eaten. Pasta was usually served in a casserole with meat or cheese. Fish, served in sticks or squares, was the most accepted meat; at some centers it had 100 percent acceptance. Poultry was also well accepted, having an 8 percent rejection. Wie- ners had high acceptance and only a 2 percent rejection. Many of the partly eaten servings were probably due to size: a whole wiener in a bun was usually served. Beef, in most instances hamburger, was the most used meat, but 6 percent of the servings were rejected and 2O percent partly eaten. (Since so much beef is used, care should be taken to serve it in a dish the children will accept.) Fresh fruit was the only group of foods more acceptable than meat. Protein sources other than meat were served: dry beans, eggs and peanut butter are major donated items and are also more economical. Eggs and beans were near the acceptance level of beef, and both were more acceptable than peanut butter. The total acceptance of vegetables ranged from less than 5O percent to nearly 8O percent and refusal ranged from 37 percent to none. All servings of fried potatoes were 1O A program is defeated. totally or partly eaten; corn was second in acceptance. Oth 1 cooked vegetables, in order of their acceptance, were cargif; rots, peas, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and gree beans. Less than 5O percent of the servings of other vegef tables were eaten. Raw vegetable salads were less accept; able than some cooked vegetables. Of those served, t order of acceptance was coleslaw, carrots, and tossed spa o ads. Raw vegetable servings were rejected 16 to 25 perce and partly eaten 14 to 19 percentf Fruit was the most accepted group of foods. Mo servings of canned applesauce and peaches were totalli eaten than fresh fruit, but fewer servings of fresh fruit we rejected than other foods. Grape juice had the hfghe acceptance of any food item while orange juice corri sponded with fresh fruit in acceptance. Pudding was almost as acceptable as cookies. Five perce of the servings of pudding were rejected, which indicate. that it is a very desirable dessert for children from the stand point of nutritional quality and acceptance. Servings jello were rejected 15 percent and cake was the least accept able dessert. 4' Of the sweets served, cookies were most preferre These observations can be used as a planning gui’ to make good use of the more acceptable food items and t‘ direct attention to the preparation and service of le acceptable food items to make them more enjoyable. It important that children learn to like a variety of foods, b their nutrition must be maintained. If nutritious food poorly accepted by the children, then the purpose of t o’ REFERENCES (1) Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of A j culture, Calculating the Nutritive Value of Diets, ARS 62-10-54 Sept. 1964. ‘é (2) National Academy of Sciences, Recommended Dietary All ances, Washington, D.C., 1974. (3) Johnson, Nancy E., Susan Nitzke and Dina L. Vandeber ”A Reporting System for Nutrient Adequacy,” Home Economi Research [ournal 2: 210-221, Iune 1974. 1‘ (4) Driskell, Iudy A. and Claudia S. Price, ”Nutritional Sta of Preschoolers from Low-income Alabama Families," ]ou " of the American Dietetic Association 65: 280-283, Sept. 1974. (5) Burroughs, A. L. and R. L. Huenemann, "Iron Deficien. in Rural Infants and Children,” [ournal of the American Diet Association 57: 122, 1970. (s) Kerrey, E. and s. Crispin, H. M. Fox and c. Kies, ”Nutritio i Status of Preschool Children,” American ]ournal of Clinical Nut tion 21; 1274, 196s. . (7) Pace, ]. K. and L. B. Stier, D. D. Taylor and P. S. Goodm ”Metabolic Patterns in Preadolescent Children; V, ‘Int’; ' and Urinary Excretion of Pantothenic Acid and of Folic Acid, ]ournal of Nutrition 74: 345-351, 1961. j (8) Stare, Fredrick I. and Margaret McWilliams, Living Nut tion, New York: ]ohn Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1973. i ACKNQWLEDGMENT _. Support for this project was provided under Contr! No. 12-14-100-11027 (62), Consumer and Foods Econo Institute, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Departmej of Agriculture in cooperation with The University ‘ Nebraska. ,. ._\ W _‘ ‘(qty 1.1 n!” m a u D M. fl M E N, m T A T S m m R E P X E N. m L U m R G A S A X m m 2M9/75