Hello.
The people at Organix and the Soil Association have been reading your comments and have asked us to post this from Pamela Brunton, Nursery Food Campaign Manager for the Soil Association...
"Thanks all for your comments - they're really valuable to us, and it's great to see so many joining in such an important debate.
"We worded a definition for each of the terms 'excellent' 'good' and 'poor' because we all have such different opinions on what each of these mean, and, when we use the results of the survey, we want to know that we can accurately represent your thoughts.
"As we're trying to push for the best food we can get for children in daycare, though, it seemed reasonable to have a fairly decent standard at 'good'.
"I do agree, though, with BorntoFolk and Cyteen - question 3 needs a level between 'good' and 'poor'; something like 'okay' or 'acceptable'.
"We'll bear this in mind when we are considering your responses, and will always show the definitions we used.
"In terms of the word "excellent" as raised on this thread by theyoungvisiter, excellent food for us consists of a variety of freshly prepared food, with lots of fruit and vegetables, and where possible organic, seasonal and locally sourced.
"Organic food (grown without the use of chemicals and pesticides, and working with nature rather than against it) is better for your health, for the farmers and growers, for the environment, and for the animals we grow to eat. It also creates less of the harmful 'greenhouse' gases that are warming
up the planet, so can help combat climate change - which impacts our children's future too.
"Any nursery that chooses - even occasionally - to serve food that is better for kids' health and their future we think 'excels'!
"We are trying to gather your views with the intention of taking them to the government and pushing for change. So there is an end goal in mind but, as I mentioned, we also genuinely want to hear your views and create debate.
"Thank you all so much for your help in securing better food for children in all nurseries.
"If you are interested in helping us and if you haven't done so, you can also sign our petition at nurseryfood.org"