The purpose of this study was to investigate foodservice management practices in the child care centers and kindergartens. Interviews were held from May to July 2008 to understand the current situation concerning foodservices in Seoul and Gyeonggi provinces. Surveys were sent out from August 2008 to April 2009 to 1,478 child care centers and 299 kindergartens via the postal service. Among them, 203 child care centers(13.7%) and 64 kindergartens(21.4%) responded. One of the largest concerns

more »

... preparing the food was nutrition(68.7%, 69.8%, respectively) followed by sanitation(24.4%, 27.0%, respectively). The most frequently referred sources for planning the menu were the Seoul child care information center(55.4%) for child care centers and kindergarten related internet sites(39.0%) for the kindergartens. In general, the child care center principal was in charge of planning the menu(40.1%). Child care centers and kindergartens purchased ingredients mostly from large retailers(55.3% and 44.7%, respectively), whereas 46.0% and 56.3% of those did through foodservice suppliers. Dietitians were rarely employed at these facilities, and this may cause unprofessional foodservice management.