Week of the Young Child: Tasty Tuesday

Today’s Week of the Young Child theme is Tasty Tuesday. We’ll take this opportunity to highlight childhood nutrition and the importance of consistent and healthy meals because after all, a hungry child cannot learn. And don’t forget to read below to find out today’s public Pre-K raffle winner!

The state of Maine has a number of programs that support the health and well-being of Maine’s youngest learners. Each of these programs helps fight hunger and obesity by reimbursing organizations such as schools, child care centers, family child care programs, and after-school programs for providing healthy meals to children.

So, how can you encourage healthy habits in your setting? Here are some ideas from Mabel Yu, Associate Editor at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (2017).

Introduce the child to a variety of foods.
Discuss where various foods come from. Grocery shop together. Visit farms, farmers markets, and orchards, if possible, to speak directly to farmers.
Cook together! The child can stir, add ingredients and spices, roll dough, etc. Introduce new or “unusual” foods slowly and in different ways (e.g. raw onions in a salad don’t taste like caramelized onions in a taco).
Show flexibility. Model trying new things and refrain from acting negatively towards foods you don’t prefer.
Read together. Discover how specific foods relate to different cultures, practice funny food rhymes, or learn about nutrients.

Statewide programs that support childhood nutrition:

Maine Department of Education Child Nutrition Team Programs include:
- National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
- Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
- Afterschool Snack Service
- Breakfast Programs
- Culinary Classroom
- Farm & Sea to School
- Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program (FFVP)
- Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
NAPSACC, a FREE online tool to help child care programs give children a healthy start. For programs serving children birth to age 5, the tool provides self-assessments, action planning, a library of tips and materials, and training videos to support children’s healthy habits through practices, policies, and environments. The self-assessment tools are easy to complete and lead to goal setting and action planning. The tool is flexible, can be customized to your programs, and is easy to use. The videos can be watched by all staff and count toward licensing requirements for training hours. Go NAPSACC covers seven topics areas: Child Nutrition, Breastfeeding & Infant Feeding, Farm to ECE, Oral Health, Infant & Child Physical Activity, Outdoor Play & Learning and Screen Time. Additionally, Go NAPSACC’s Self-Assessments and Action Planning can help your program meet Standard 7 of Rising Stars for ME: Health, Safety, Nutrition, and Physical Activity. Want to learn more, visit the Go NAPSACC website. Interested in a Go NAPSACC account? Fill out the Go NAPSACC account request form or contact Karen Bergeron at bergeron@maine.edu or 207-653-5090.
If your program serves older children, check out Let’s Go! 5-2-1-0. Let’s Go! is a community engagement initiative that partners with schools, school nutrition programs, early care and education programs, and out-of-school programs to help create spaces where the healthy choice is the easy choice across Maine and Carroll County, NH. The Let’s Go! program is flexible and can be easily woven into your organization, whether you’re running an in-home day care or part of a large center. Using the Let’s Go! Self-Assessment, we will help you assess your program environment and set a goals to support creating and sustaining a healthy environment. Let’s Go! provides tools, resources and trainings based on your program strengths and areas for growth focused on healthy eating and physical activity. For more information, check out Let’s Go! Maine or email letsgo@mainehealth.org