Editor's view - Let's hear it for food, glorious food

It is evident that there is so much excellent practice going on and so many exciting initiatives under way in the field of early years nutrition.

I remember some years ago, before the influential 'Georgy Porgy Pudding and Pie' report into nursery food came out, when our website forum was filled with horror stories from practitioners alarmed at the poor food that children were being served at their settings.

The report kick-started action that has culminated in the 'Voluntary Guidelines for Food and Drink in the Early Years' and training across the country.

Now, many local authorities have their own healthy eating schemes, lots of nurseries are gaining national accreditations, and a look athe online menus for a significant number of settings can really make your mouth water! The entries for our Nursery Food Award, this year won by Snapdragons Keynsham, are proof too of progress.

Nutritious, healthy, imaginative, home-cooked nursery menus, along with activities to grow and cook food, have become a major selling point to parents, as they too have become better informed about nutrition.

That is not to say that the sector can rest on its laurels. As our news story and feature show, there is still some way to go before all nurseries are using and meeting the guidelines. The fact that they are still voluntary, rather than mandatory as in schools, is regrettable and should definitely be on the agenda for change.