Evaluation of Menus in Three Nursery Schools in Ankara

Objective: This research is carried out on three randomly selected nursery schools in the Province of Çankaya, bound by the Provincial Directorate of National Education in Ankara. Method: In order to evaluate the menus, the proportions of food/drinks included in menus during a week (5 days) in each school to meet energy and nutrient needs of children were calculated. Furthermore, menus also evaluated according to their food group contents. BEBİS software used to calculate foods/drinks energy, macro and micro nutrient ingredients. Results: Study showed that dietary fiber, vitamin C and iron content of the menus were inadequate in all three schools. When menu content evaluated according to food groups, milk and milk products and fruits and vegetables groups was inadequately available. When menus evaluated according to energy from macro nutrients, energy from fat was higher than the reference range in all three schools. Conclusion: As a conclusion, it was determined that the menus given in nursery schools were not adequate and balanced in terms of healthy nutrition.. It is recomended to school menus should constructed under dietitician control.