Posts Categorized ‘Let’s Move, Fighting Childhood Obesity’

Let’s Eat Child Care

    March 30, 2012

The Green Byrne Center in Philadelphia is not only moving, they are eating well too.  As part of their total wellness and Let’s Move Child Care approach they have incorporated fine dining into their day.  Chef Don works every day to put delicious and nutritious meals on the table for the children using local and organic products. 

Chef Don, male at stove

Chef Don, is pictured here, cooking lunch of brown rice, fish, string beans and cantaloupe.

To help fund this change at the center they have started offering families take home meals once a month as a fundraiser. 

When asked about the project Ellen August Booth, the Director,  reported the project was started as a way to help finance the new meal program and full time chef.  They do a monthly “Dinner to Go”  which is a complete meal including homemade dessert for $20.00. It could feed a small family of four.  They usually sell at least 50 dinners and make about $1,000 per fundraiser. The popularity of this fundraiser is growing and now folks in the building are also ordering dinners to go.   “Families are loving these special treats.  Some meals are more geared for the families or children and some are special for “Date Night” said Booth.

 This has really turned into a win win for Green Byrne; support for the center and nutritious, convenient dinners for busy working parents.   Let’s Eat Child Care!  Maybe Green Byrne can start a new trend.

1 Comment

Let’s Move

    December 3, 2010

Now that we are well into the swing of the holiday season it gets harder and harder to keep up our good eating and exercise routines.  I read somewhere that the average person gains 7 pounds over the holidays.  Yowser!    Imagine how much easier that New Year’s weight loss resolution will be if we don’t gain the holiday weight!  

 Any way let’s talk about what’s happening in our centers.  The “Let’s Move ” campaign, headed by the First Lady has a website filled with good ideas to raise a healthier generation of children.   You can find the link to this site on our resources page or at www.letsmove.gov

There is a lot of information and resources available to you on serving healthy foods and incorporating physical activities and limiting screen time for children.  All solid, evidence based practices in fighting childhood obesity.  “Caring for Our Children”,  a publication we use developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association and National Resource Center for  Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education,  has just published new standards for Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs.  These standards will be part of the 3rd edition which is coming out early next year but you can see these standards now.  Check out http://nrckids.org/CFOC3/PREVENTING_OBESITY/index.htm   It is a great resource.  

So with the new year let’s all commit to move.  We’ll have lots more info on this campaign, and actions you can take in your center, stay tuned.

1 Comment

Back to top