Farm to ECE

What is Farm to ECE?

Farm to Early Childhood Education (ECE) is a movement to increase healthy and sustainable dietary practices during early childcare years (0-5yrs) by providing access to healthy food options and nutritional education to Head Start and early childhood centers. 

FPAC works at a local and statewide level to increase the Farm to ECE activities. 

After assessing the wants and needs regarding Farm to ECE within Early Care Centers in New Orleans, we created the Farm to Early Care and Education Enrichment Activity Guide. This guide is designed to help centers to easily implement Farm to ECE on a monthly basis. It is catered to students aged 0-5, but can be easily adapted to be used with a wide range of students. Please use this tool as you see fit.

  • Included in the guide:

    • 12 modules- each a different fruit or vegetable

    • 4 classroom activities per module

    • 4 taste test recipe suggestions per module

    • 4 cafeteria recipe suggestions per module 

    • Gardening tips (based on Zone 9 climate)

    • Send home recipes and materials

FPAC works at both a local and statewide level to increase Farm to ECE in access for children in Louisiana.

New Orleans

In New Orleans, we work with Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans to bring Farm to ECE programming to area centers. This includes nutrition education, gardening, healthy menu changes and a new local food procurement pilot.

Louisiana

FPAC also co-leads the Louisiana Farm to ECE work group with Well-Ahead Louisiana. This group consists of early childhood educators, leaders and policymakers as well as food system experts to expand the reach of Farm to ECE in Louisiana through policy change and outreach.

View the 2023-2025 NOLA Farm to ECE Strategic Plan here.

Farm to ECE Spotlight

In Louisiana, F2ECE efforts have gained momentum the last few years and have been supported by the Louisiana Farm to ECE Workgroup. As part of the Louisiana Farm to ECE Workgroup 2023 Strategic Plan, they identified a collective goal to uplift paradigms of successful F2ECE programs. This brief is the first in this series and spotlights the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana and their leadership on F2ECE.