A cross-sectional study to “unpack” 5- to 8- year-old children's packed lunches, lunch consumption and lunch waste in vacation care centres

Analysis of the nutritional adequacy of children's lunchboxes in school settings indicates suboptimal food provision. However, the quality and composition of packed lunches for children in alternative settings such as vacation care remains unexplored. This study investigated energy content, macronutrients and waste of 5- to 8-year-old children's lunches in vacation care centres. Participants (n = 130) were recruited from five vacation care centres in New South Wales, Australia. Packed lunch contents were determined on arrival at vacation care via photography and a standard weighed method. This was repeated after lunch to determine the consumption and waste for each child. Food composition analysis was conducted. The results show that discretionary foods were consumed in excess of the gender- and age-specific food group recommendations and fruit, vegetables, protein and dairy were consumed in amounts below the recommendations for one meal. Although packed lunch contents exceeded energy recommendations, consumption was close to the recommended intake. Energy from protein (12 %) was found to be below the acceptable macronutrient distribution range, but carbohydrate (56 %) and fat (33 %) fell within range. Grain foods were the primary source of protein (45.6 %) and discretionary foods were the primary source of carbohydrate (37.1 %) and fat (17.5 %). The study highlights that children's lunchboxes in vacation care settings met the energy requirements but were low in energy from protein. The reliance on discretionary foods is concerning and does not follow the Australian Guide to Heathy Eating for this age group.