Belle is crate trained but she only goes in at night or on the rare occasion that no one is at the house. I don't feed her in the crate...mainly because it's in the guest bedroom and she slobbers when she eats She eats in the kitchen where I can quickly mop it up LOL.
If you are going to feed in crate, make sure you supervise just like others suggested We don't leave food down for Tyson, he has designated breakfast/dinner times, and eats all his food at those times.
We have fed Harlea in her crate since we got her with no issues and always takes a nap right after. It gives her a break from the other animals and gives us a short break to eat ourselves.
What I don't advice is free-feeding... putting food down at all times and have the dog decide when to eat. So, my suggestion is - if you prefer to feed in the crate, put the food in when it's time to eat then take it out after the allotted feed time - even if the dog has not finished. There are lots of advantages to this, like - This reminds the dog that you own the food which is crucial in behavior training, this also gives you more control of potty breaks, and this also helps in signaling health problems with the dog. Also, it helps with sanitation and pest control, etc.
I began feeding Winnie in her crate to get her to not pee and poop in the crate, which end worked great. I am still feeding her in the crate. If I don't, she runs over to Jack's dish and gobbles his food. I've had this issue with all 3 of my past bullies as well! Winnie gulps her food so fast, I only have to supervise for a minute or two. I also recommend taking up the food after 10 minutes or so. Archie will learn to eat all his food at once.
My dogs have always been fed at specific times 2x a day. But now that I have a very young puppy who needs to eat 3 to 4x daily I do leave a little food in her crate so that she can eat while I am at work. Once she is older I will transition her to twice a day feedings.
I feed my becky outside the create but both mj and austin eat in there creates but I don't leave food dishes in create both eat quite well and quite quickly