If you were to ask 100 early years teachers how many of them are “food educators”, I think only a few would raise their hands. In truth, all Early Years teachers are food educators.

Now, I know what you’re all thinking. “The EYFS is somewhat unclear when it comes to food education and only really states that food provisions should be healthy, balanced and nutritious”. Whilst this is true, we all know that early years teachers are superstars, great at planning and go above and beyond for the children in their care.

So what do we mean when we say “food education”?

Food education covers a wide range of learning, looking at nutrition, cultural and social aspects involving food and mealtimes.

When you sit with the children at mealtimes, that’s food education. When you make fruit smoothies with the children, that’s food education. When you support a child who has food anxieties or insecurity, you guessed it – that’s food education!

Planning and carrying out food related activities with the children has a plethora of benefits. Consider a simple baking activity. The children will learn new vocabulary, work their fine motor skills, use maths and science to weigh, measure and mix, learn where food comes from, and also your sensory seekers will be in their element!

At mealtimes, the children will learn about sharing, turn taking, socialising and social cues, where food comes from, their likes, and their dislikes. We see both adult-child role modelling and peer-peer role modelling – children eating what their friends are eating goes right through to school age! A teacher simply sitting at the same table with the same food and talking about their food (what they like about it, where it comes from, etc) is food education in its simplest and purest form!

This all leads me back to my original question. Why is food education important in early years settings?

Food is a basic, physiological requirement. When we look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it’s right there at the base alongside air, sleep and water. We tend to take these needs for granted and not as opportunities for learning, however mealtimes aren’t just moments in the day to fulfil those needs. Take a moment to step back and observe the children at mealtimes. Are the teachers role modelling good eating behaviours? Are the children interacting and socialising? Are they taking turns in serving and sharing with their friends?

So the next time someone asks you if you are a food educator, I want you to reply “Yes, of course. I work in early years.”