Farm to Early Care and Education Coalition

WHO WE ARE

Our newly formed Ohio Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE) Coalition seeks to support processes that get more nutritious, local foods to young children in early care settings, while supporting more local farmers. We especially want to increase opportunities for children of color and farmers from underrepresented populations, and we recognize that we need more voices at our table to do this well.

The coalition includes representation from state agencies, non-profits, local health departments, and Ohio State University Extension. We are seeking representation from around the state.

OUR VISION

Equity will be achieved when all children 0-5 have access to healthy and nutritious food in their childcare settings and at home and this is not disproportionately determined by race, income level, education level and knowledge about nutritious food and how to prepare food, childcare type, or home address in the state of Ohio.

MEETING DATES AND TIMES

Monthly Farm to ECE Coalition meetings on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 1-2:30pm, via zoom.

2023 meeting dates:

• January 17
• February 21
• March 21
• April 18
• May 16
• June 20
• July 18
• August 15
• September 19
• October 17
• November 21
• December 19

PURPOSE

The Ohio Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE) Coalition aims to increase nutritious, local foods to young children in early care settings, while supporting more local farmers. We especially want to increase access to more local and nutritious foods to children of color and support farmers from underrepresented populations, and we recognize that we need more voices in the coalition to do this well.

FARM TO EARLY CARE EDUCATION (ECE) INCLUDES:

• Purchasing and serving locally grown and processed foods
• Teaching children about food including how food grows (inviting farmers in the classroom, taste tests with local foods, reading and learning about nutrition and agriculture, etc.);
• Creating and tending gardens or edible plants

CURRENT MEMBERS, WORKPLAN AND GUIDING DOCUMENT

• 2023 Farm to ECE Member list(PDF)Links to a PDF document.
• Year 3 Deliverables(PDF)Links to a PDF document.
• Farm to ECE Coalition guiding document(PDF)Links to a PDF document.

BECOME A MEMBER

Benefits of Being a Member

• Opportunities for networking at the Ohio Farm to School Quarterly Network Meetings the 2^nd Thursday on June 9, Sept 8 and Dec 8, 2022.
• ASPHN professional development webinars will be held the 2^nd Tuesday of every month from 2-3:30 pm through October 2022.
• Opportunities for leadership

Member Responsibilities

• Attend monthly coalition meetings
• Must participate in chosen subgroup activities

If interested, complete the Farm to ECE Interest Form. The Coalition will review and follow-up with you to ensure we are a good fit.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON FARM TO EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION 

• Ohio Farm to School osu.edu
• Farm to Early Care and Education, the National Farm to School Network (NFSN) https://www.farmtoschool.org/
• Farm to Preschool from USDA https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs/farm-preschool
• The Benefits of Farm to School from NFSN(PDF)Links to a PDF document.

This grant is managed by the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN)The ASPHN 2020-21Farm to ECE Implementation Grant (FIG) is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of cooperative agreement number NU38OT000279-03. This specific project, along with many other projects, is funded through this cooperative agreement that totals $3,960,000. One hundred percent of this meeting and project are funded by the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity/National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion/CDC/HHS. The contents of this application are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, DNPAO/NCCDPHP/CDC/HHS, or the U.S.