The Milwaukee County FoodWIse program has continued a partnership with 4C for Children to offer Eating Smart, Being Active (ESBA) lessons for childcare providers. 4C’s connects childcare providers with resources to cultivate accessible and high-quality early care and education for the benefit of children, families, and communities.

In each series of eight to ten ESBA lessons, childcare providers learned everything from shopping on a budget and to food safety, to the value of eating more whole grains and creating healthier meals and snacks for the children they serve. At the end of the series, participants receive credits from Childcare Registry that count towards maintaining their childcare certification.

From October 2016 to July 2017, we held seven series of ESBA lessons for 44 childcare providers. Classes were available in both English and Spanish.

Graduates commented that they learned lots of valuable information that they will apply not only to their own eating habits, but to the meals they prepare for the children in their childcare. One provider shared, “I have learned to eat healthier. I have cut back on to only an occasional soda and am eating more veggies with all meals.”

Two more participants commented, “I really care about what and how I eat now. I have a young child and I want her to eat healthy as well as the children I care for,” and “Gracias al programa de Nutrición, aprendi a comer mas saludable. Estoy comiendo menos carne y más vegetales. Antes de esta clase no comia saludable.”