Parental Control over School Nutrition: Practical Implementation in the Moscow Region

Abstract

Introduction: In the light of current challenges, monitoring of school feeding and its parental control should be considered as effective forms of prompt detection and correction of preventable diet-related health risk factors in schoolchildren. Objective: Methodological elaboration of the regional experience in executing parental control over school catering. Materials and methods: Results of inspections and information about parental control activities were analyzed, the latter including organoleptic evaluation of dishes, filling in a checklist on the quality of nutrition and observed conditions of personal hygiene and eating, a random survey of children on their taste preferences and satisfaction with the range and quality of school food. Results: In January – May 2021, the Parental Control Project was implemented in 1,260 schools of the Moscow Region involving 49,072 parents of first to fourth graders and 41,364 parents of fifth to eleventh graders. Its analytics was regularly published on the official websites of local departments of education and in social media. Conclusion: Parental control helps improve the quality of school nutrition, engage the parent community in promotion of a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating, an increase in the general level of hygienic literacy in issues of healthy nutrition, and the succession of home-cooked to school meals.