Food served in institutions
Food services in institutional settings such as educational settings: child care /pre school, elementary, junior and high school including Sawa and vocational training setting, and hospitals settings, can play important role in nutrition security and the the well being of the society. Food served in such stings include free meals served at education and hospital settings, sales of food in the school and hospital vicinity, meals and snacks brought from home.
Many times the free foods are mainly adjusted to meet the functional goals of the institution, with little or no attention given to the nutritional value of the food. The main reason behind this probably being the general belief that nutritionally sound food is costly, though in reality nutritious food is not necessarily more expensive than the non nutritious foods. Moreover, meals of high nutrition quality contributes to the well being and productivity of the population, thus cutting medical coasters and enhancing per-capita productivity of a population. Thus the cost of nutritious foods weighed against the long term health and economic benefits of nutritional sound foods at national level are most probably less expensive.
In Education settings
Food is served in different ways in daycare/pre-school, elementary school, high school including saws and higher education. The main direct target group in education system are those that are target group for effective nutrition interventions namely children, and adolescents directly and pregnant and lactating women indirectly. Improving nutrition in these settings is therefor improving the well being and productivity of future generations. Moreover since the education system provides platform for capacity strengthening and nutrition awareness raising to enhance working capacity and nutrition behaviour, educational setting have enormous possibility to improve food served in institutions.
Moreover the educational setting can improve the food and nutrition environment at educational settings and other settings by promoting nutrition sensitive strategy and by creating awareness in those purchasing, preparing and serving the food in educational and other services.
In hospital settings
In hospitals food should be part of the treatment to enhance the efficacy of the medical treatment thus, lowering the treatment cost in the long run. Food in hospital settings should be adjusted to the pathological condition of the patient. For example a the diet prepared for patient with first degree burn or high fever should be different from the food prepared for patients with age related morbidities since the physiological needs of the patient may be altered by the pathological condition. This alteration could be in the texture, size and nutritional composition of the diet. In nutrition education for clinicians, capacity building in in clinical nutrition and functional foods should be included.
Main component in improving institutional food services is capacity building, and awareness raising to improve knowledge in nutrition sensitive food production of the producers, purchasers, caterers and those serving the food in educational and other services as well as through advocacy to create enabling environment through integrated and holistic approach o nutrition.
Inclusive and fair procurement strategy and promoting healthy food environment for production of nutritious and safe foods
By carefully preparing nutrition and price optimised diet plans, the nutritional value of the diet in institutional settings can be improved with out increasing the price.