NOVEMBER NEWS
NEMOURS EARLY CHILD CARE PROJECT
EXPANDS IN SECOND YEAR
The National Early Care and Education Learning Collaborative Project (ECELC) has begun in several states. The ECELC aims to spread sustainable policy and practice improvements in early care and education (ECE) programs (e.g., day cares, Head Start, preschools, etcetera) to prevent childhood obesity. The project assists ECE providers to improve the quality of care they provide to young children with respect to nutrition, breastfeeding support, physical activity and screen time.
The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition (GSCN) received funding to conduct the monitoring and evaluation for year two. The project follows a train-the-trainer model, conducting five learning sessions with key staff members from ECE settings (e.g., directors/owners, lead teachers, food service providers, etcetera) who will share the trainings with their programs in order to implement best practices in their classrooms that are in line with Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Child Care campaign.
This five-year project, led by Nemours with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is an expansion of a similar initiative completed in Delaware. Year one of the project, which concluded on September 30, saw national implementation in six states: New Jersey, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Kansas and Indiana. Year two of the project will see growth in the existing states as well as expansion into three new as-yet-undetermined states.
BERTMANN RESPONDS TO “OBESITY LETTER”
A few days prior to Halloween, a woman in North Dakota announced that she would be handing out letters rather than candy to children who she perceived as obese. KETV, Omaha’s ABC affiliate, interviewed the Center’s Dr. Farryl Bertmann about the subject on October 30. Click here to watch the story.
CENTER STAFF RECEIVE FITBITS
Staff at the Center recently received Fitbits as part of its new Wellness Committee’s move to “practice what we preach” and help facilitate staff to become more active and healthy. Fitbit is a tracking tool that is worn on the body to monitor activity levels (steps and calories, for example) and sleep quality. Staff members are able to monitor each other’s steps and embark on some friendly competition. The feedback has been positive and the Fitbits are motivating for the staff to get more steps and participate in walking meetings.
In addition to the Fitbits, the Wellness Committee has issued challenges to staff that allow members to earn points for such activities as sitting on a balance ball at their desk, using the Center’s fitness room, eating lunch away from their desks and participating in monthly staff socials. Monthly prizes are awarded, and October’s challenge was won by Research Associate Marcella Miller who received a bag of healthy goodies from Trader Joe's.
YAROCH ATTENDED SBM MEETING
As a delegate member, Dr. Amy Yaroch attended a Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) Board Meeting on November 2 and 3. SBM’s annual meeting will be held April 23 through 26 in Philadelphia.
YAROCH AND YARMON IN MILWAUKEE FOR SCHOOL FOOD
This week, Dr. Yaroch is in Milwaukee attending the School Food FOCUS Midwest Regional Learning Lab with Tammy Yarmon, nutrition services director for Omaha Public Schools (OPS). School Food FOCUS (SFF) assists the nation’s largest school districts in wielding their high-volume purchasing power, making more healthful, regionally sourced, sustainably produced school food available to kids—supporting student achievement and health while benefiting farmers, regional economies and the environment.
The Center works with OPS and SFF to continue efforts with Farm to School in the metro.
BERTMANN PRESENTED POSTER AT APHA
Last week, Drs. Amy Yaroch and Farryl Bertmann attended the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in Boston. At the meeting, Bertmann presented a poster, “Use of WIC cash value vouchers (CVV) in Arizona: A qualitative study of facilitators and barriers.”
The Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition aids in survey development and evaluation for national organizations and others. If you are interested in finding out more about these services, please contact Dr. Amy Yaroch, executive director, at ayaroch@centerfornutrition.org.
