National Nutrition Month Spotlight: Down East Partnership for Children (DEPC) Addresses Food Procurement through Community Partnerships, Education, and Experiential Learning
Early health and development support is critical towards ensuring children grow into healthy adults. In celebration of National Nutrition Month, Smart Start is celebrating the work of Local Partnerships in promoting healthy eating, increasing healthy behavior patterns, and advancing food security.
Food insecurity is a critical issue in North Carolina with one in six children facing hunger. To address this problem, four Smart Start Local Partnerships have partnered with the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) as part of a 2022 grant from the U.S Department of Agriculture to explore local food procurement. The goal of the CEFS partnership is to strengthen the viability and resilience of regional food economies.
Explore what’s happening in Nash and Edgecombe Counties through the work of the Down East Partnership for Children below:
The Down East Partnership for Children (DEPC) is exploring food procurement in Nash and Edgecombe Counties for child care centers through a combination of education and community partnerships.
Child care centers supported by DEPC tour a shared kitchen to learn more about Farm to ECE.
One way that DEPC supports food procurement is by sharing resources with child care facilities to encourage a shift in buying practices—showing centers that they can buy their food from a centralized location, incorporating fresh, healthy foods from local farmers, farmer’s markets, and mobile markets. DEPC also provides opportunities for child care facilities to tour kitchens first-hand and creates needed space for open dialogue about making this new model a reality.
Through the NC Farm to Early Care and Education partnership, which connects children and families with local food and farms, DEPC links centers to facilitators who conduct food demonstrations for students and teachers. These demonstrations encourage families to increase consumption of healthy foods at home; create exposure to new recipes with healthy foods for families and child care providers; and increase demand for fresh, healthy food in the daily diet of children to improve nutrition and health.
Working with the Community
Foundation Builders Academy and Good Shepherd in Rocky Mount, NC receive a food demonstration
DEPC has also worked collaboratively with others to support healthy eating. DEPC collaborates with the Pinetops Community Garden, Edgecombe County Cooperative Extension, and GW Carver Elementary staff to facilitate a school-based Garden Club for students from PreK to 2nd grade. Through this partnership, DEPC enhances the knowledge of healthy food for children; shares the benefits of healthy eating; and educates families on fruits and vegetables through gardening, physical activity, reading, and tasting activities at targeted schools!
Another community partner is the NC Cooperative Extension which conducts direct education aimed to integrate nutrition with gardening as well as Ripe for Revival Mobile Farmers Market, which provides vouchers for families with young children, increasing access to fresh food.
DEPC is actively addressing challenges that child care facilities face regarding smaller purchase volumes (due to smaller serving sizes and enrollment) and a decentralized delivery system.
Through community partnerships, education, and experiential learning, DEPC will continue to support the health and development of children throughout Nash and Edgecombe Counties.
