What’s at stake when a child has their first meal in a new home?

For children entering care, especially those who have faced food insecurity, that first plate of food can be a big moment.

In this programme, Ruth Alexander explores how food and mealtimes can help children feel safe and give them a sense of belonging.

She meets Jessica-Rae Williamson, a 21 year old care leaver from Manchester, England, who still remembers the first meal she ate with her foster family, aged 13.

In Wrexham, Wales, Ruth meets long-term foster carers John and Viv, Cath and Neil and Rosemary, who have opened their homes to dozens of children through Foster Wales. They discuss their strategies for dealing with picky eating and hoarding.

Dr Katja Rowell, feeding expert and author of the book “Love Me, Feed Me: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Ending the Worry About Weight, Picky Eating, Power Struggles and More”, gives her counter-intuitive tips for avoiding mealtimes becoming a battleground.

And Melissa Guida-Richards, author of the book “What White Parents Should Know About Transracial Adoption”, shares her experience of being adopted from Colombia by Italian and Portuguese parents living in the US and her subsequent search for her Colombian heritage through food.

This programme contains discussion of food poverty and insecurity, and disordered eating. If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised and need support, speak to a health professional.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

(Image: a partly eaten plate of spaghetti bolognese sat on a child's knee.Credit: Getty Images/BBC)