Updated 7 August 2026
With us, mealtimes are a natural and valuable part of the children’s day, where food and community create both security and curiosity. Eating together provides energy and fills tummies – but also teaches participation, cultures and habits.
Nutritious – and much more than nutrition
The Swedish Food Agency’s national guidelines for preschool meals (2016) emphasise that preschool meals should be nutritious and based on children’s needs, since breakfast, lunch and snacks at preschool together provide around 65–70 per cent of a child’s daily energy and nutritional needs. But the guidelines also highlight that mealtimes should be pleasant, safe and educational – and according to the Swedish National Agency for Education, food is an integrated part of preschool’s pedagogical work, where children develop both language and cooperation by talking about the food, helping out and exploring different flavours. Three meals carry the day with us:
A calm start together – for the children who arrive early.
The main meal of the day, with teachers sitting at the tables.
New energy for the afternoon’s play, outdoors or in.
It should also be joyful and sustainable. We adapt our menus to the season and work in line with national recommendations on sustainable, climate-smart meals. Vegetables and fruit are always on offer, and we love celebrating the world’s food cultures – a part of our international profile. Our food is not cooked on site but delivered by our meal supplier, who follows the Swedish Food Agency’s guidelines for preschool meals, and we choose as high a share of organic produce as availability allows.
But what makes our mealtimes truly special is not the menu – it is the conversations.
The meal as a language moment
Our international profile shows in the conversations around the table. Swedish and English meet naturally here – we put words to what we eat, count plates and talk about flavours, colours and smells. For the youngest, mealtimes become one of the richest language moments of the day, where new words get a context that makes them easy to remember.
A word for apple or water from home becomes a bridge between home and preschool – and shows that all languages are welcome.
At the same time, children practise things that carry far beyond the dining room – waiting their turn, listening to a friend and asking for help. Our teachers sit at the tables and eat the same food as the children. With adults who show calm and curiosity, mealtimes become something to look forward to, for young and old alike.
We are careful with allergy adaptations and make sure every child can eat at their own pace. The meal is a pause in the day where children can recover but also have a say – by helping to set the table or in our growing projects. By following the recommendations of the Swedish National Agency for Education and the Swedish Food Agency, while inviting mealtime joy, we want to give every child a safe, tasty and enriching food experience – every day.
Further reading
National guidelines for preschool meals – Swedish Food Agency
Food in preschool and school – Swedish National Agency for Education
This article was translated from the Swedish original with the help of AI.
More from the blog: Settling in · Play as the foundation · Our preschool in Hässelby
Would you like to see for yourself?
Come and visit us – we will show you around, introduce our teachers and answer any questions you have.
