Jessica Williams of the UMass Extension Nutrition Education Program met with providers of Family Child Care services on May 5, 2009, to review books for children that can be used to teach good nutrition. Books for the programs were provided through the Children In Balance program which is working to reduce childhood obesity among Fall River children. The Citizens for Citizens Family Child Care program offers a series of provider food training meetings three times a year to ensure that child care providers are serving nutritious meals and snacks to the children in their care. The curriculum includes both food safety and the preparation of nutritious foods for children, much of which comes to providers through the Child & Adult Care Food Program of the USDA.  In addition, following the Dept. of Early Education Care regulations (see page 7), children have at least a half hour of active exercise appropriate for young children. Click here for photos of an earlier session. For more information about the program, contact Citizens for Citizens Family Child Care Coordinator Linda Wheelock at 508-324-7517. For information about Children In Balance, contact Project Manager Marcia Picard at 508-324-2228.
 

(Top row, left) Family Child Care program coordinator Linda Wheelock holds a bag of books provided to each of the directors by the Children In Balance program. (Top row, center and right) Jessica Williams, nutritionist for the UMass Extension Nutrition Education program, goes over Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie DePaola who once lived in Fall River. (Middle row, left) Ana Paula Tavares, Gail Pereira, Donna Martins and Lisa Klein listen as Jessica goes through the book, pointing out the nutrition messages that it contains. (Middle row, center) Linda holds a copy of We Can! Families Finding the Balance, a Parent Handbook, a publication by the federal Department of Health and Human Services that was included in the book bag. (Middle row, right) Cari-Lynn Souza and Melissa Kimball enjoy the story. (Bottom row, left and right) Catherine Poirier, Cari-Lynn Souza and Melissa Kimball received samples of whole grain bread that goes along with the story in I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly by Nikki Smith. (Bottom row, center) Dalia Lopes looks over a quiz about whole grains.