Abstract
BACKGROUND: Dietary intakes in UK children fail to meet national recommendations, especially in low-income groups. Involving children in food preparation and cooking may enhance acceptability of a wider range of foods, enhance their skills and increase their enjoyment of food. An innovative recipe meal kit scheme, Building Resilience in Today's Environment (BRITE) Box, was developed during the pandemic primarily to address food insecurity (FI). Administered via schools, it offers pre-weighed ingredients sufficient for a meal for a family of five, plus a child-focused recipe, weekly during school termtimes. METHODS: Qualitative and quantitative exploration of BRITE Box using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews among parents/carers of children receiving the boxes was conducted at two timepoints a year apart. RESULTS: A total of 154 parents/carers completed questionnaires and 29 were interviewed. Responses indicated multiple benefits of the scheme, including increased confidence in cooking among both children and parents/carers. Both questionnaire responses and interviews suggested improvements in a range of food-related behaviours, including cooking and eating together and talking more about food. Parents/carers suggested that their children were more willing to eat vegetables and healthy foods and to try new foods and flavours. They also reported greater use of leftovers thereby potentially reducing food waste. Improved behaviours, willingness to try new foods and flavours, reduced food waste and lower stress of trying to think of new and acceptable family meals are likely to have contributed to the positive impact on their mental health reported by BRITE Box parents/carers. CONCLUSIONS: Meal kits for children may improve dietary diversity, enhance enjoyment and skills and impact positively on a range of family food-related behaviours. We argue that BRITE Box has the potential for widespread positive impacts on cooking and food-related behaviours in children and families, meriting wider study and dissemination as a positive approach to healthy eating in children.