Farm to Preschool (F2P)

Farm to Preschool (F2P)

Farm to Preschool (F2P) is a component of the larger SNAP-Ed funded program Eat Well Play Hard in Child Care Settings. This initiative is administered by the New York State Department of Health, Child and Adult Care Food

Program (CACFP) and targets families in New York with children ages 3-5 who participate or are eligible for SNAP. Eat Well Play Hard and Farm to Preschool work with child care centers in both Nassau and Suffolk County that participate in CACFP and provide the program at no cost. Read more about Eat Well Play Hard here. 

Farm to Preschool specifically aims to increase access to healthy environments for improved eating habits in early care and education. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that early childhood education settings are one of the best places to help young children build a foundation for healthy living. Children build on these skills as they transition into adulthood, providing them with the necessary tools to live a healthy and active life.

F2P coordinators work with 3-4 child care centers per year to facilitate education, gardening activities, local produce sales, and local produce procurement.

 

Farm to Preschool Program Components

• Education:

• F2P coordinators use the USDA curriculum Grow It, Try it, Like It! in classrooms to give children six weekly hands-on experiences with in-season fruits and vegetables. Children learn about how food grows and engage in experimental activities like tasting seasonal produce and planting seeds.
• Farm to Preschool coordinators offer weekly recipe demonstrations for parents, staff, and community members at the designated produce sales locations.

• Gardening: Farm to Preschool coordinators work with child care centers to provide gardening supplies and offer hands on gardening opportunities that allow children to learn about how food grows and where it comes from. Gardening also serves as physical activity.
• Local produce sales: For each participating child care center, the F2P coordinator works with a farmer or mobile market to offer a local produce purchasing opportunity in the area with the intent to make local produce available to parents, staff, and community members.
• Local food purchasing: F2P coordinators work with child care centers to purchase local food to serve at meals and snacks.

If have any questions or you would like to participate in this program, please contact Farm to Preschool Coordinator Claudia Hall.

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