Kindergarten food programme draws criticism less than one week after its commencement in Copenhagen
Meals provided to Copenhagen’s kindergarten and nursery school kids in accordance with the city’s new food plan are already being criticised by teachers and parents less than a week after the programme started.
In line with the food plan’s implementation on 1 January, Berlingske Research polled 12 schools for the young children to see how the new meals were being received. The survey found that half had ‘a serious problem’ with the plan.
The food plan has been implemented to ensure all children eat healthy food for lunch.
But according to the survey, many children refuse to eat the meals. Several teachers have described the food as ‘too adult’ and the portions as too small.
A typical meal served through the plan this week consisted of smørrebrød, the Danish open-faced sandwich, made with either liver paté or with salami, topped with cucumber, tomato and a hard-boiled egg. In many cases the sandwich was also topped with thick dressing.
The Copenhagen Parental Organisation (KFO), which supported the implementation of the food plan, wants the problem solved immediately.
‘We fully expect the city to quickly intervene and eliminate whatever initial problems there are with the plan,’ KFO board member Nina Reffstrup told Berlingske Tidende newspaper. ‘We can’t have the children starving’.
Food scientist Gitte Gross said children could not be forced to eat food that was foreign to them or which they didn’t like.
‘If children do not eat the portions they are served, they won’t get the necessary nutrients they need each day,’ she said. ‘And that’s especially important for the smaller children’.
Some schools have their own kitchens and cooks, while others have the food brought in from contracted companies. One of those companies is Foodsource A/S, which isn’t surprised by the initial problems.
‘From our perspective it’s a good thing that the schools are reacting,’ said Gry Bondebjerg, the company’s head of customer relations. ‘But children have to learn to get used to new foods. We can’t make sweeping changes in the programme just because a couple of the kids refuse to eat’.
Copenhagen Madhus, which is responsible for ensuring the quality of the food at the kindergartens and nurseries, expressed grave concern over the survey’s results. It plans to conduct its own review of the programme.
‘We have had our concerns about whether the food prepared at places that have their own kitchens would be good enough,’ said Anne-Birgitte Agger, managing director of Copenhagen Madhus. ‘So I’m really distressed to hear of such widespread dissatisfaction’.
Agger planned to contact all outside suppliers to ensure the quality of the meals.
The Copenhagen Post
