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Farm to Child

Connecting communities with healthy food

Farm to Child enriches communities' connection with fresh, healthy food by changing food purchasing and education practices in early care and education settings. The three core elements of Farm to Child are:

 

Local food purchasing

Local foods are purchased, promoted, and served.

 

Gardening

Children engage in hands-on learning through local gardens.

 

Education

Children and staff participate in education activities related to agriculture, food, health, and nutrition.

Farm to Child Success Stories

We're proud of our work in communities throughout Colorado and we invite you to take some time to preview our Farm to Child Success Story videos. The videos are available in English and Spanish with subtitles. 

Want to learn more? Visit the Farm to Child YouTube Channel to access the full videos.

Resources

Harvest of the Month Newsletters focus on a specific vegetable or fruit and includes recipes and information. Newsletters are available in several languages. 

Who was the Farm to Child Guide designed for?

The Farm to Child Guide guide was designed for:

  • early care and education administrators
  • teachers
  • chefs
  • support staff
  • parents
  • farmers
  • community members.
What is the Farm to Child Guide?

The Farm to Child Guide provides a wealth of information including:

  • Farm to Child Program Overview
  • Exploring gardening with young children
  • Procuring local foods for the child and adult care food program
  • Engaging families, staff, and communities

The guide is available in several languages:

Local food purchasing 

Purchasing local foods not only supports the community and local economy, but also provides centers and homes with fresh, nutritious, and seasonally produced foods. Farm to Child empowers children and their families to make informed food choices while strengthening the local economy and contributing to vibrant communities.

Farm to Child research is beginning to show positive results for children and their families. Meals in centers that focus on serving local food are more nutritious than non-local meal services, especially in fruits and vegetables.

Best practices

Using local food is considered a best practice under Colorado Food Program Meal Patterns. Institutions should maintain receipts for items purchased at farmer's markets. If donations are received from local gardens or farms, make sure the donations are documented using the donation receipt form.

The Colorado Food Program offers individualized match-making services for farmers/producers and Colorado Food Program child care centers and homes.

Farmers and producers
  • Farmers or producers seeking a child care center can complete a Farm to Early Care and Education Match-making Survey to be matched with a Colorado Food Program Child Care Center or Daycare Home. 
Child care centers

What is a CSA share?

A Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share is an investment in a local farm at the beginning of the growing season. This investment ensures that our local farmers have funding to begin the season with full fields. As a shareholder, you will receive up to 13 weeks of produce. Each week's shares will consist of the produce that is ready for harvest during that season. Children in care will have the opportunity to try seasonal local produce.

Find a CSA in Colorado

Gardening

The benefits of green spaces in early childhood care centers are endless. Gardens create positive learning environments, increase children's willingness to try new fruits and vegetables, and serve as a valuable tool for engaging students in many academic subjects. Gardens empower everyone, even little ones, to contribute to the process of growing food from seed to harvest.

Did you know that Colorado Food Program funds can be used to purchase items to grow a garden? 

For more information:

What is the Cooking Up Healthy Options with Plants (CHOP) Program?

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Team Colorado CHOP program, or Cooking Up Healthy Options with Plants, was a three-year grant program that provided nutrition assistance and education to child and adult care programs serving low-income Coloradans. CHOP’s goal was to get kids in care eating more seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables and/or on-site garden produce. Though the CHOP grant ended in September 2018, the resources are still informative, fun, and full of great ideas.

Learn more
For providers

Archived CHOP Newsletters are available upon request. Please email requests for access to emily.bash@state.co.us.

2019 Archived Newsletters

  • October: Let's talk about Squash and Snow!
  • September CHOP Newsletter
  • August: CHOP Newsletter
  • July: CHOP & LiveWell Colorado Present: Quickbite Videos
  • July: CHOP Newsletter, Quick Bite Video Release!
  • June: CHOP Newsletter 2019
  • May: CHOP Newsletter
  • April: CHOP Newsletter
  • March: CHOP Newsletter
For parents

Archived 2018 CHOP Newsletters are available upon request. Please email requests for access to emily.bash@state.co.us:

  • September is the last month of the Grant! Let's wrap it up with some fun family time.
  • August: Let's learn about Peaches and Tomatoes!
  • July: CHOP Family Newsletter
  • June: CHOP Grant Family Newsletter, June is all about Carrots!
  • May: CHOP Family Newsletter
  • April: Welcome to the CHOP Parent Newsletter

Colorado Farm to Child Collaborative logo (a bee landing on a flower)

Colorado's Farm to Child initiative envisions a state where fresh produce and other nutritious foods from local farms are an essential component of strong and just local and regional food systems.

New member orientation

Learn about the Farm to Child Collaborative and how to get involved: 

Listening sessions

The Farm to Child Roadmap includes over 150 listening sessions around the state with diverse groups and audiences. It is a living document that outlines five strategic initiatives:

  1. Advance and support agency coordination, policy, and funding related to Farm to Child
  2. Racial, economic, and linguistic justice
  3. Capacity building and systems coordination to bolster Farm to Child implementation
  4. Increase the purchasing power of early care and education providers
  5. Support supply chain partnerships, innovation and technology

The Farm to Child Roadmap is available in:

Gathering feedback

The Farm to Child Collaborative convened twice in September 2023. The meetings included both in-person and virtual feedback platforms to provide updates to the Farm to Child Roadmap. The recommendations and proposed activities are in the Roadmap 2.0.

Actionable steps 

Audience-based guides in English and Spanish were developed using the Farm to Child Roadmap initiatives to help provide actionable steps for participating in Farm to Child. Guides are available in English and in Spanish for ECE providers, farmers/producers, and organizations.

Farm to Child Collaborative Newsletter

Sign up for the Farm to Child Collaborative Newsletter to gain insight and share your Early Childhood Education (ECE) experiences with a growing group of individuals working to enhance Farm to Child efforts in Colorado. You'll receive our newsletter and invitations to our meetings.

Past issues of the Farm to Child Newsletter

English and Spanish versions of the Farm to Child Newsletter are available online in the Newsletter Archive.

Get Connected

From your local health inspector to CSU Master Gardeners or a Family Friend and Neighbor Support Organization near you, this list is your first stop in getting your Farm to Child program questions answered. The Farm to Child State Contact List includes contact information for individuals who can assist in varying areas of Farm to Child. 

Education

Not only is Farm to Child a wonderful way for children to learn about the environment and how food grows, but it also teaches self-reliance, the importance of community, and hands-on STEM concepts. Learning about growth and renewal builds optimism and positivity.

Farm to Child has shown a positive impact in:

  • child engagement and development. 
  • academic achievement. 
  • family, educator, and staff engagement.

October is National Farm to Child Month

CDPHE is committed to increasing access to local, seasonal, and nutritious fruits and vegetables for children in care. Join us each week in October as we discuss the components of Farm to Child and how to introduce these activities into your programs in our Farm to Child Month Newsletter.

Cooking Up Healthy Options with Plants (CHOP) Recipes
Videos

Quick Bites videos
  • Quick Bites Videos are available in English and Spanish in the Google Drive folder. Subjects include:
    • Food Safety
    • Time and Temperature Abuse
    • Flow of Food
    • Environmental Hazards
    • Mise en Place
    • Recipes, Steps, and Conversions
    • Whiteboards
    • Time Management
Knife Skills Training

Nourish Colorado Knife Skills training with Chef Fez is available in English and Spanish.

Course materials

Learn more about deciding to use disposables or not to use disposables.

The USDA Institute of Child Nutrition's guidance on disposable gloves.

How to properly wash your hands

How to properly temp food

Temperature

Good receiving practices

Proper refrigeration storage

Internal cooking temperatures

Contaminants

Mise en place

Recipe conversion tips

Recipe reading

Blank whiteboard

Time management

Cultivating a vegetable-loving culture through farm to ECE
Starting a Sustainable Garden for Child Care Centers and Homes

20 on Tuesdays

20 on Tuesdays are a series of 20-minute videos to help educate people about various Farm to Child components and help ECE professionals better understand the tools, resources, and skills needed to start a Farm to Child program at their site.

What is Farm to ECE?
Early Learning Standard Alignment
Nutrition and Agriculture Education in the Classroom

Colorado data

In the spring of 2023, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released the Statewide Farm to Child survey. This survey examined the participation of different types of child care sites in Colorado, as well as the perceived benefits and challenges associated with the core activities of gardening, local food purchasing, and nutrition and agriculture education.

Key survey takeaways

The 2023 Colorado Farm to Child Statewide Survey examined the participation of different types of sites in Colorado, and the perceived benefits and challenges associated with the core activities of gardening, local food purchasing, and
nutrition and agriculture education. The 2023 Colorado Farm to Child Statewide Survey nfographic illustrates key takeaways from the survey results.

The 2023 Colorado Farm to Child Statewide Survey presentation slides examine:

  • survey results
  • key takeaway information
  • how organizations and child care centers can apply this data to future work

Each map showcases participation in Farm to Child core components of gardening, local food purchasing, and nutrition and agriculture education. These maps do not show all child care sites in Colorado; rather, they showcase those who participated in the survey in 2018 and 2023, where they were located, and what components were implemented.

Resources

Our grant writing resource provides guidelines for including the 2023 data in grant applications, based on the type of site you operate and whether you participate in the Colorado Food Program. It connects the 2023 data to other data resources that help to highlight the need and impact of Farm to Child in your community.

 

Grant resources

Grants are a crucial part of funding the Farm to Child program in Colorado. Writing a grant application takes time, skill, and knowledge of individual grant requirements. Our resources will help you increase access to funding opportunities, improve grant writing skills, and learn how to apply data to showcase the need for your program.

Grant Writing Resources document

The Grant Writing Resources document showcases numerous partners' and organizations’ resources, webinars, and tools to assist you on your grant writing journey.

Open Source Funding and Resource List

There are many ways to fund food systems projects that support Farm to Child creatively. The Open Source Funding and Resource List is a living document where anyone can add new grant information throughout the year.

Using Data in Grant Writing Resource

Colorado-specific data helps to illustrate the need, sustainability, and examples of past success when applying for grants. The Using Data in Grant Writing resource connects the 2023 data to other data resources that help to highlight the need and impact of Farm to Child in your community. It is divided into three sections:

  • key data takeaways from the 2023 Colorado Farm to Child Statewide Survey
  • examples of how to use the data as an Early Care and Education Site for grant writing purposes
  • aditional resources for grant writing

Use the Data in Grant Writing Resource guidelines for including the 2023 data in grant applications, based on the type of site you operate and whether you participate in the Colorado Food Program.