Child care providers have a lot on their plates. In the ever- important field of caring for children, there’s always something else to learn! Yours for Children Inc. (YFCI) is dedicated to providing Massachusetts family child care providers with the skills and resources they need to keep their charges safe and healthy. Participating in the Child and Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) is free for family child care providers and along with education, providers get monthly reimbursements funded through the USDA for healthy meals served.
We caught up with Nancy Casten, a Nutrition Education Coordinator/Training Specialist at YFCI to find out how food safety education fit into their host of offerings. Nancy herself is often surprised at how little people know about food safety, so she realizes the depth of its importance for training child care providers.
YFCI presents a food safety training every year that culminates with a home study quiz to ensure the providers have a good understanding of the material. The organization encourages followers to share what they learn to amplify the number of people reached through the messages. Through the power of sharing, 1,000 providers could reach several thousand households with food safety information.
In addition to this training and quiz, YFCI does a newsletter to keep providers up to date between trainings.
At the Partnership for Food Safety Education, we also believe strongly in the power of sharing. This story is a good reminder that by sharing messages and working together, we can achieve a food safe America.