Areas of Inquiry : Guiding FSSD practitioners at the beginning of a change initiative towards sustainability

This research aims to support sustainability practitioners at the beginning of a change initiative towards sustainability to increase the success of the change. Moving towards sustainability is a complex journey and requires radical and structural transformational change in companies. Mutual understanding of the company and the practitioner is required to design a suitable change process. Existing tools related to sustainability, change management, corporate analysis and assessment were analyzed. In addition, practitioners in organizational change and sustainability were interviewed. Identified were eight Areas of Inquiry for the practitioner to focus on at the initial stage of an engagement: Vision; Purpose and Commitment; Urgency, Importance and Business Case; Level of Integration of Sustainability; Business Goals and Strategy; Culture and Capacities; Communication and Stakeholder Engagement; Measurement and Reporting. These areas form a platform for dialogue to guide sustainability practitioners in gaining understanding of the organizational change capacities and sustainability within the company and, in doing so, contributes to addressing the sustainability challenge at large

Evaluation of snacks consumed by young children in child care and home settings

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the effectiveness of food and nutrition regulations in developing healthy behaviors of young children, this study profiled the food and nutrient contribution of snacks, the foods and drinks consumed outside of main meals, in the diets of a sample of children between the ages of 3–5 years overall and in regulated child care (RCC) and home settings. Methods From a purposive sample of 44 RCC settings from across Nova Scotia, Canada, 19 agreed to participate in this study and with RCC directors’ approvals, invitations were sent to parents of enrolled children. Using a 4-day food record, foods and drinks consumed by 79 preschool aged children, were recorded by parents at home and by trained research assistants at RCC. The foods and drinks consumed during morning, afternoon and evening snack occasions coded by the What We Eat in America (WWEIA) categories and the provision of energy, sodium, fats, sugar and fiber were calculated. Descriptive statistics and independent t tests were used to determined differences between the foods and nutrients by where and when the snacks were consumed. Results On average, children consumed 2.3 snacks per day. Fruit, salty/sweet items and dairy items were predominately consumed as snacks. Average daily contributions from snacks were 29% of energy, 22.6% sodium, 27.6% saturated fat, 39.9% sugar and 31.3% dietary fiber. Significantly more variety of food categories and higher sodium and fiber snacks were consumed at RCC than home. Home morning snacks had significantly more sugar than RCC morning snacks. Conclusions The findings provide insight into the influences from RCC and home settings on snack intakes and the important role RCC food and nutrition regulations play in supporting healthy eating behaviors. Suggested recommendations are to de-emphasize the requirement for two food group servings for each snack at RCC, focus more on variety and nutrient dense snacks and encourage knowledge sharing between RCC and home environments to promote healthy children’s snacking behaviors