Author Identifier (ORCID)
Abstract
Menu and meal quality is central to the role early learning settings play in children’s growth, development and wellbeing. The food provided across the day shapes children’s nutrient intake, their developing relationship with food, and the eating patterns they carry into later life. At the same time, services must balance nutritional quality with food safety, food allergen management and dietary needs, cultural diversity, family expectations, and practical constraints such as budgets, time and access to supplies.
This Menu and Meal Quality (MMQ) module aims to:
- Support ECEC services to provide menus and meals that align with the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Infant Feeding Guidelines, across the full age range from birth to five years.
- Provide practical guidance on menu planning, meal provision and recipe quality that is realistic for the conditions in which services operate.
- Support responsive feeding and the provision of breastmilk, infant formula and first foods for infants.
- Strengthen the use of feedback from children, educators and families to review and improve menus and meals.
- Support nutritional adequacy and inclusion for children with food allergies, intolerances, medical, cultural and other dietary needs.
Keywords
meal quality, early learning settings play, children’s nutrient intake, eating patterns, nutritional quality, dietary needs, menu planning
Document Type
Other
Date of Publication
2026
Contributor's Note
This Menu and Meal Quality (MMQ) module was developed through a strong, collaborative co-design process. For the purposes of citation and attribution, members of the Best Practice Guide Project Team, the Menu and Meal Quality Working Group and Best Practice Guide Advisory Group, together with those acknowledged under Workshop Development and Facilitation, Meetings Chair, and Additional Consultation, are collectively recognised as the Menu and Meal Quality Consortium. Contributions across the Consortium varied according to individual expertise and involvement and included Conceptualisation, Writing: original draft, and Writing: review and editing, as applicable to each contributor’s role.
Authors are listed in alphabetical order by surname.
Type of File
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
Version
1
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Copyright
© Edith Cowan University 2026
Content Type
Full object
First Page
1
Last Page
96
Recommended Citation
Menu and Meal Quality Consortium. (2026). The best practice guide for early childhood education and care food environment: Module 2: Menu and meal quality (Version 1.0). Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia. https://doi.org/10.25958/5t05-t040