2026-2027 Springboard Opportunities to Advance Early Care and Education (ECE) Health Promotion Efforts What is the Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Technical Assistance Program (HKHF TAP)? HKHF TAP provides support to early care and education (ECE) organizations to integrate best practices and standards for healthy eating, physical activity, breastfeeding support, and reducing screen time in ECE […]
Farm to ECE Summits as Catalysts for Statewide Momentum Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE) Summits are state or regional gatherings that bring together ECE providers, farmers, food system partners, and agencies to strengthen Farm to ECE efforts. These convenings create shared space for learning, collaboration, and planning—helping states move from isolated activities to […]
2025-2026 Springboard Opportunities Offered by HKHF TAP for States to Advance Early Care and Education Work What is the Healthy Kids, Healthy Future: Technical Assistance Program (HKHF TAP)? HKHF TAP provides support to early care and education (ECE) organizations to integrate best practices and standards for healthy eating, physical activity, breastfeeding support, and reducing screen […]
Nemours Children’s Health and partners hosted a three-part webinar series to share new resources and training materials for Early Care and Education (ECE). These resources can be used by ECE professionals, trainers, and organizations to support healthy eating and physical activity in ECE programs. A description, recording, and presentation slides for each webinar is below. […]
While the Virginia Early Care and Education Learning Collaborative (ECELC) group was filled with stories of positive changes in healthy eating and active play, one story stood out as particularly heartwarming and a testament to collaboration. Valbona (Val) Bytyqi and Ann Marie Ries met at the very first ECELC session in Alexandria, Virginia. Both are […]
Conway Cradle Care located in Conway, Arkansas, serves adolescent parents who are continuing their high school educations. Childcare is provided to enable teen parents to attend school, as well as a mentoring program to teach these young parents valuable parenting and life skills. Some of the young parents they serve were unfamiliar with choosing and/or […]
Maggie Gray, the Director of Brainy Tots Bilingual Preschool in Florissant, Missouri, discovered she and the children in her family child care program were eating the same fruits and vegetables each day. Although they were eating nutritious meals, Maggie felt the menus weren’t adventurous enough. After some reflection, Maggie decided to promote change in her […]
Even though early care and education (ECE) providers in the National Early Care and Education Learning Collaborative (ECELC) were learning about healthy goals, they found it challenging to make connections and build relationships with other providers in their respective areas. Providers felt they had limited time and resources. Through ECELC, providers in Faulkner and Mississippi […]
Little Life Academy located in Conway, Arkansas has been working with children for over 13 years. Most recently, the Director of Little Life Academy, Melissa Gabbard, noticed how unhealthy habits from parents and staff affected the children in her program. Since she was unsure how to promote change in her program, Melissa and staff member […]
“At Farm School, we not only support the children, but we also support their families,” says the director of Farm School located in Hamilton, Virginia. The teachers at Farm School participated in the National Early Care and Education Learning Collaborative (ECELC) in the fall of 2017. After the first learning session, the staff at Farm […]