Child Care Now- November 2015

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November 2015

In the news:

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Farm

Serving local food in meals and snacks is rewarding, but there can be a learning curve.  The National Farm to School Network offers these tips for Child Care Centers:

  • Start small! Begin by deciding which local foods you want to serve.
  • Define “local.” You get to decide. Local can mean from in your county, in your state or in your region. Consider your area’s growing season and the types of foods that grow near you.
  • Ask questions. It’s okay to ask farmers questions about their products. Things you might want to ask about include pricing, available quantities, delivery, food safety and liability insurance.
  • Fruits and vegetables are an easy place to start. Purchasing local milk can be easy, too. Other options for local foods include: flour, meat, eggs, beans or seafood.
  • Make a monthly calendar. It’s helpful to decide in advance which foods you want to serve in which months since different foods are available at different times of the year. Prioritize serving fresh items when they are available.
  • Start by purchasing items that can be used in their whole form or that can be easily cut up and prepared. 
  • Farmers are often willing to offer discounts on large purchases. If you have room for storage, think about buying larger quantities of foods that keeps well, such as: apples, carrots, winter squash, sweet potatoes, frozen berries, beans and grains.
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Quote of the Month: 

You oughta to be thankful, a whole heaping lot.  For the people and places you're lucky you're not.

- Dr. Seuss

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Consumer Products Information

Would you like to learn more about consumer product recalls? Sign up for alerts by clicking the Consumer Product Safety Commission logo.

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Helping Others this Holiday Season

Thanksgiving
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Throughout the year, GSA child care centers find special ways to give back to their local communities. No matter how big or small the gesture, teaching children to give back is a life long lesson they can carry with them forever.  

Little Eagle Child Care Center in Martinsburg, WV makes it a practice to help others in need by adopting a different organization each month, at the national and local level. Recently, families and teachers of the center collected non-perishable food for the local BackPack Program.  The program which supports school children who qualify for reduced price lunch, also provides backpacks with needed food to the children who would otherwise not have adequate access to food during the weekends or school breaks.

Hunger exists in every community.  To locate a backpack program in your area visit http://qa.feedingamerica.org/about-us/we-feed-children/

 

Center Spotlight: Region 6

Giving Back to Others

Bake
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The Centennial Mall Child Care Center practiced the art of giving by hosting a bake sale to help the Bright Space Foundation.  Children of the center, located in Lincoln, NE raised over $280 for the Bright Horizons Foundation which provides warm, safe, enriching places in homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, and other agencies for children and youth experiencing homelessness.

We learned to demonstrate compassion and empathy for familiar and unfamiliar people and intentionally impact the world and/or others by helping raise money” stated center director, Tammi Brenn.  “The children were excited in knowing the money they raised will help supply new materials like toys, books, and art supplies.”

For more information visit http://www.brighthorizonsfoundation.org/what-we-do/bright-spaces/#sthash.QS7OZoqT.dpuf

Board Business: Boards Matter!

 

This month BoardSource, an organization dedicated to advancing the public good by building exceptional nonprofit boards and inspiring board service, held it's Board Leadership Forum hosting more than 900 people from various Boards and Foundations across the country. Speakers at the Forum discussed the future of the nonprofit sector, the importance of advocacy, how to drive change, and many other issues affecting nonprofit board leaders.


The Impact of Nonprofit Boards was a key talking point.  Boards really do matter!  

Would you like to learn more?  GSA Child Care is pleased to announce that we are starting a new Board Networking Group after many requests for both formal and informal Board training.  This will be a quarterly Meeting Space call. The first conference call will be on Tuesday, December 8th from 1:00 to 2:00 pm EST.  We will begin the agenda with a quick look at the key sessions from the BoardSource Conference.  Then we will open up the call for your issues and questions. 

Look for more information from your Regional Child Care Coordinator the week of December 1 and please plan to join us!