Pilot Information

Give ECE programs in your county a boost by highlighting their excellence in nutrition and Farm to ECE!

The goals of the current pilot are to:

  • give ECE programs a morale boost in these uncertain times, 
  • help technical assistant (TA) professionals stay connected with ECE programs given disruptions in other work, 
  • raise awareness of the important role that ECE programs play in putting young children on a path to a healthy life, and in creating healthy, more equitable communities
  • understand how REACH can best serve TA professional’s, ECE programs, and communities moving forward

How can TA professionals help?

From August to October 2020, participating TA professionals will nominate eligible ECE programs for a bronze-level REACH recognition in Child Nutrition or Farm to ECE. No experience in nutrition or Farm to ECE is needed to participate, just the ability to connect with eligible ECE programs and complete nomination applications.

What TA Professionals will do:

  • Participate in an introductory webinar on REACH on August 6th from 1-2. Participants may attend this live session or view a recording.
  • Reach out to eligible ECE programs about working together on a nomination for a REACH recognition in Farm to ECE or Child Nutrition. (You will be e-mailed a list of eligible ECE programs in your county. Eligible programs have taken an online Go NAPSACC self-assessment in Farm to ECE or Child Nutrition in the past two fiscal years and scored in the “Leading the Way” category. )
  • Complete the REACH recognition application for no more than five interested ECE programs (per TA) with their help. On the application, you will be asked to provide basic facility information, documentation (like photos or menus) that shows the program is meeting 1-2 key Go NAPSACC best practices, and a summary of their accomplishments to be included on recognized programs’ profiles on the REACH website. 
  • Log time needed to complete the application and respond to a brief survey about your experience and suggested improvements.
  • Communicate about recognized programs through social media, newsletters, etc. (You will receive a marketing toolkit to help with this.)

What ECE programs will receive for participating and being recognized:

  • Gift package (after completion of short survey about experience with recognition). Gift available to the first 60 programs that complete their surveys.
  • Certificate of recognition from REACH
  • Profile on the REACH website, highlighting their achievements
  • Marketing toolkit (to help ECE programs and TA’s/local organizations communicate about recognized programs and the importance of high quality child care)

We hope this pilot can help you celebrate the great work of local ECE programs, and that it provides a good learning opportunity for TA’s new to nutrition and Farm to ECE quality improvement.

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