Christina Kent ECC participates in the Federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), providing two meals and a snack each day that meet national nutritional guidelines for young children.
As a childcare center, we play a critical role in supporting the wellness, health, and development of children through the provision of nutritious foods. We have a powerful opportunity to instill healthy habits in young children that serve as a foundation for healthy choices in life. Under the CACFP nutrition standards, meals and snacks served include a greater variety of vegetables and fruit, more whole grains, and less added sugar and saturated fat.
The standards for meals and snacks served in the CACFP are based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, science-based recommendations made by the National Academy of Medicine, cost and practical considerations, and stakeholder’s input. These standards are expected to enhance the quality of meals served to help young children learn healthy eating habits early on in their lives.
CKECC was invited to speak at the CACFP annual training about best practices due to the success of our Farm to Preschool program and our Living Wall project. We were granted awards for Local Food and Creative Gardening.
For more information on the CACFP, visit their website.
Healthy Kids Healthy Preschool
Since 2023, Christina Kent has partnered with Healthy Kids Healthy Preschool to become more health conscious for children and our staff. This initiative was developed by the New Mexico Department of Health to extend their Healthy Kids Healthy Communities program. Healthy Kids Healthy Preschool helped us create and implement a Staff Wellness Policy to support our staff with their well-being, and it has also encouraged us to find creative ways to apply more health conscious practices in our program. One of those practices include a Movement Challenge. Each October our classrooms are challenged to provide children with more activities involving movement, totaling 120 minutes per day! During this challenge we invite our families to join us and provide them with different resources to incorporate more movement at home, limit screen time, and spread awareness of health habits. Each year we've successfully completed the challenge, awarding us as a Gold Award Winner with the initiative!
Click here to learn more about Healthy Kids Healthy Preschool
Click here to learn more about Healthy Kids Healthy Communities
Non-Discrimination Policy
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
-
mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or -
fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or -
email:
program.intake@usda.gov
