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Gardens and Children: Nurture Them to Flourish

Children love to play in dirt, so let’s make it purposeful! Gardening helps children learn about food origins, science, bugs, weather, exploration and more. As they nurture plants, they also learn to nurture themselves and enjoy the fruits of their work. By turning play into learning, we help children grow healthy habits and a lifelong love for nature.

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Fresh Picks: A Deep Dive into Farm to ECE Resources

Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE) increases young children’s access to local produce, food and agriculture education, and hands-on learning. Dive into engaging, easy-to-use resources for each of the Farm to ECE pillars, plus support offered by national partners. Learn how Farm to ECE sparks lifelong healthy habits and get the tools you need to kickstart or grow your program!

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The Children’s Farmers Market: Growing Healthy Futures

The Children’s Farmers Market connects young children and families to fresh, local foods through hands-on learning. This model promotes nutrition, cultural identity and wellness while engaging families and strengthening community partnerships. Explore how to implement or adapt this program in your own setting.

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Mornings Made Easy: Breakfast Solutions for Early Eaters

The first meal of the day should be enticing, nourishing and satisfying to give children the best possible start. Learn how to create a balanced and flexible three-week cycle menu that keeps breakfast exciting and stress-free. Explore simple substitution ideas for choosy eaters or changing schedules, plus smart strategies for those unpredictable mornings when nothing goes as planned.

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Power Up Your Meal Program: Tools to Boost Nutrition Education

If you’ve always wanted to introduce nutrition education to the children you serve, but felt overwhelmed by too many resources, you’re not alone. Level up your efforts with Power Up Your Program, developed with support from USDA’s FY23 Team Nutrition Grant. Learn practical strategies and tools for launching program enhancements that engage participants and boost support for your program.

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Succession Planning & Organizational Viability Roundtable

Are you looking to find a way to share your institutional knowledge and create a pathway for the success of the organization once you retire or move on? If you’ve been managing operations for a considerable amount of time and want to learn how to exit or grow into a new role while protecting the food program and those you serve, learn about strategies you can use while contributing to the conversation.

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CN Labels & PFS Made Simple

Understanding CN Labels and Product Formulation Statements (PFS) is essential for meeting CACFP meal pattern requirements. We’ll equip you with practical tools to determine when and how to request documentation and sharpen your skills to identify discrepancies and ensure compliance. You’ll also learn how to navigate crediting documentation confidently and sidestep those common pitfalls.

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Food Explorers: Growing Adventurous Eaters

Learn to create positive and supportive mealtimes that help children develop healthy relationships with food. Discuss the benefits of maintaining the division of responsibility in feeding in child care settings and how to grow confident and adventurous eaters through supportive language, modeling and consistency. Help even the most reluctant eaters grow into competent eaters who enjoy a variety of foods!

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Navigating Special Diets

Allergies, intolerances and sensitivities. What is the difference between the three? Learn how to navigate proper documentation, communication and compliance to foster a safe environment for children with special dietary needs and requests. 

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Addressing Feeding Concerns & Approaches to Nutrition Therapy

Do you struggle with picky and selective eaters? Learn to navigate feeding concerns for picky, selective, or avoidant eaters. Understand the root causes and work with your children to support their eating by focusing on the environment and the reasons behind their struggle. Help the children in your care feel confident, rather than scared and anxious, to fuel their body!

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