1. Starting and Sustaining a Farm to Childcare program

3. By: Mylinda Zapata Nutrition/Health Coordinator
Assisted by Alicia Olivarez, Nutrition/Health Specialist

4. “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.”
….Samuel Smiles

5. A little bit about us…. Head Start Program, Ages Birth to 5 4 kitchens
Serving 7 centers
274 children and 52 staff
Breakfast, lunch and PM snack

6. BENEFITS OF EATING LOCALLY GROWN FOOD
Locally grown food is full of flavor
Eating local food is eating seasonally
Local food has more nutrients
Local food supports the local economy
Local food benefits the environment
Local foods promote a safer food supply
Local growers can tell you how the food was grown

7. MY GOAL
…Is to walk you through both grants our program has had in this area; and highlight our strengths and challenges.
AND
….To inspire you to start similar initiatives at your program/center.

8. HOW IT STARTED….
We saw the RFA for the Farm to Childcare grant in the Spring
Was fortunate to have an intern working with our agency who had grant writing experience.

9. Healthier cacfp grant
We just completed participating in the Healthier CACFP Establishing 3 E’s Nutrition grant that started last Fall and ended this past October 31st. This Grant was funded by the Texas Department of Agriculture.
We were able to pick up where we left off.

10. MEET KEVIN

11. OUR BASIC PLAN We brought Kevin on as a consultant.
He represented about 10 farmers in the San Marcos area.
They were all participating in the San Marcos Farmer’s Market held every Tuesday and Saturday.

12. OUR BASIC PLAN He would put together a “basket” of produce weekly.
He set our weekly pick up day.
The price was set so that I could have a check ready when we made the pick up.
Alicia then picked it up and distributed it to our kitchen.

13. THEN AND NOW….
NOW
We have expanded to purchasing from the Farmer’s Market in New Braunfels.
We are also just purchasing directly from the farmers.
Most Farmers are willing to work out a payment system with you.
We also don’t necessarily get the same item for each kitchen.

14. CHALLENGES
What Kevin would put in our boxes wasn’t always something our cooks or even myself knew how to prepare
Then:
When delivering, we would discuss with our kitchen staff ways to prepare the vegetable, decided what day was best to serve it and in some cases, myself or Alicia would prepare it.

15. Not so familiar Veggies…

16. Not so familiar Veggies…

17. NOW
With this new grant, we developed a stipend system for our kitchen staff.
They are now more motivated to be involved.
* Taste testing activities with the children
* Cooking new vegetable.

18. INSTRUCTION SHEETS
We now also put together “Instruction” sheets for kitchen staff and it is taken to them when we deliver the produce.
CHALLENGE
*Not knowing what you would get, it was hard to follow the menu.
We now send out a “local Feature” page each Monday.

19. Beets
Beets get their deep red color from the “betalains” they contain. These are substances that the plant makes naturally, but they benefit people too. Betalains protect the cells in your body from damage. This is why beets are said to contain antioxidants.
Beets are also anti-inflammatory, meaning that they keep the immune system from over-reacting like it does in diseases like asthma or arthritis. This may also help with preventing chronic diseases such as heart disease.
Beets are high in folate, which is important for growth. Folate is especially important for children and during pregnancy.
Beets may also help prevent cancer. Specifically, they help fight against colon cancer. They also keep your colon healthy because they are high in fiber.
To prepare beets, clean and peel them, and chop off the roots and leaves. Try steaming them or dice one and add it to a salad. You can also chop them into small cubes or slices, toss them in olive or canola oil, and roast them in the oven (425°F for minutes).

20. Taste testing activities

21. DISCUSSING NEW WAYS…

22. CHALLENGE
Children weren’t familiar with a lot of the produce that we were getting.
THEN
We did have an intern that would periodically do taste testing activities.
NOW
The taste testing activities that our kitchen staff are doing, have helped tremendously.

23. MORE CHALLENGES
A WORM!!!
There was a few times that our kitchens found green worms in the broccoli…
STORAGE
Then: we picked up our produce on a Tuesday, which was not good because, the kitchens had just had their milk for the week delivered. Now: We pick up our orders on Saturdays. This gives us until Tuesday to get it out to sites.

24. Still to accomplish… Sustain our gardens at our sites.
Get our parents more involved.
Field Trips.
More education with both staff and parents on the importance of eating local and eating what is in season.

25. GROW GARDENS, NOT LAWNS

26. ….AND NOW FOR OUR SLIDE SHOW….