Working Methods in Kindergartens Supporting Children’s Development of Sustainable Food Practices: A Survey Among Pedagogical Leaders in Norway

The kindergarten is an important arena in which to ensure that children develop sustainable and health-promoting food practices from an early age. The purpose of this study was to investigate how kindergarten staff experience working methods, and how knowledge level influenced their food practices and attitudes. Pedagogical leaders from 240 private and municipal Norwegian kindergartens answered the cross-sectional survey. A score of the respondents’ self-reported knowledge on a sustainable diet was calculated. Knowledge of a sustainable diet correlated positively with the respondents’ views on the kindergarten’s responsibility for education on a sustainable diet and eating habits in children. All respondents emphasized the importance of reducing food waste; in most kindergartens, however, the served food did not support a sustainable diet. A majority of respondents reported that children rarely took part in activities to increase their knowledge about food and sustainability. A positive correlation was found between knowledge score and children’s participation in food waste activities, harvesting, and growing, but not cooking. This study shows that pedagogical leaders in Norwegian kindergartens are aware of the opportunities to educate children in sustainable food practices, but the reported implementation was low.