An early childhood health initiative by the Michigan State University Extension is working to improve the nutritional intake and nutritional knowledge of Michigan childcare providers and young children.
And after a two-year study, the program is delivering positive results. The Growing Healthy Eaters program, which started in 2023, aims to help home childcare providers serve healthy foods while teaching kids about community agriculture and gardening with a concept of “farm to early childhood education.”
“It’s always important to try to encourage a variety of vitamins and minerals being offered to young children,” said Dawn Earnesty, who started the program. “Childcare environments are that first opportunity to really expose children to different nutritious options that can be [sustainable] throughout their life.”
Earnesty, who is also a licensed dietician, said the program focuses on low-income populations or areas that were considered to be in “food deserts,” with limited access to affordable or nutritious food. She said 125 childcare providers and 21 farmers participated in 32 counties throughout the state for the study.
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The research concluded in December and found that 81 percent of childcare providers reported an improved knowledge in planning meals with local or seasonal fruits and vegetables.
The study also found 76 percent of childcare providers reported an improved knowledge in purchasing locally grown fruits and vegetables from a local farmer or farmer’s market, and 74 percent reported an improved knowledge in preparing or cooking locally grown fruits or vegetables. Eighty percent also reported an improved knowledge in serving locally grown fruits and vegetables in snacks or meals in childcare.
Although the program focuses on fruits and vegetables, Earnesty said the research found other dietary improvements served to children, including a reduction in sugar sweetened beverages and an increase in whole grains, which wasn’t surprising.
“We know that when you assess people’s food that they serve or that they consume, they then potentially make changes,” she said.
Earnesty created the program based on her PhD dissertation research at MSU. She observed the food served to children in home-based early childcare providers and discovered a lack of fruits and vegetables in the meals provided.
While Michigan licensing requires these childcare providers to serve fruits and vegetables with their meals, Earnesty found a lack of variety, with canned green beans, corn and some form of potato as the most common vegetables. She said most of the food was also packaged, not fresh.
The program began with funding from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Education initiative and the Allen Foundation, providing childcare providers with multiple resources to improve their nutritional knowledge and food quality, beginning with individual assessments.
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This included tools for childcare providers to create their own gardens and kitchen supplies for preparing healthy meals, as well as funds to purchase fruits and vegetables from local farmers. Childcare providers were also paired with a nutrition coach, who worked with them on healthy food prep education and recipes.
“The main focus that we found was that, of course, the nutritional quality of what the childcare providers were serving to the kids has improved dramatically,” she said.
Gaylord childcare provider Sheri Peterson was excited to join the program and offer her kids more farm fresh foods, which are expensive, she said. Prior to joining Growing Healthy Eaters, Peterson said she often served cheap food from Walmart, usually chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, with crackers and fruit for snacks.
Working with a monthly nutrition coach, Peterson expanded her garden and began buying vegetables at the farmers' market in Boyne City, trying new vegetables with her kids, including a rainbow variety of cauliflowers, carrots, green beans, tomatoes and squash.
She also learned new ways to prepare vegetables and new recipes. Her favorites were baked squash with simple spices, and cucumbers and tomatoes with oil, seasoning and parmesan. She also enjoyed making pizza from scratch with the kids with the ingredients from the garden.
“The food definitely changed,” she said. “I became a lot more health conscious.”
The nutritional program has also benefited Peterson personally. A self-proclaimed meat-and-potatoes farmer girl, she said she’s lost 70 pounds since she joined the program in 2023, discovering new vegetables and learning different ways to prepare them. Now she buys significantly more fresh produce for herself.
“I can’t stand [canned food] now,” she said. “Canned green beans, gross.”
Doresa Walton-Mack, who runs Reading Rainbow Early Childhood Development in Baldwin, said one of her biggest challenges before participating in the program was getting her kids to try new foods. She said processed food like chicken nuggets, fish sticks, canned pastas and green beans were her staples. Through Growing Healthy Eaters, the kids learned to grow and prepare food, which got them excited about trying it.
“When kids are involved, and they actually help to make a meal, they’re more apt to eat it,” she said.
When growing, preparing and trying new foods, Walton-Mack encourages the children to use their five senses and learn the difference in textures and flavors, like distinguishing among sweet, salty and sour foods. They also learn about the growing process from seed to vegetable, identifying the different parts of plants and helping to water them.
“The enrichment classes that you teach them are so important to their overall growth,” she said. “If they get it when they’re young, they’re most likely to carry it on.”
Walton-Mack’s partnered farmer was Paul Avery with the Tiki Hut Farm Stand in Chase. He said a lot of the community is poor with limited access to fresh food.
“I think a lot of these people that are in need don’t eat a lot of vegetables and produce and stuff like they should be, so it’s nice to be able to offer it,” Avery said. “Sometimes they wouldn’t spend a lot of their money on it, so you have to kind of help them get it so they can see the benefits of eating fresh and that it’s good for them.”
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Kafui Okai Adjei “KK” who owns KK’s Farm in Harbor Springs, also participated in Growing Healthy Eaters. He said, in addition to selling produce at the farmers market, he likes to educate people about eating healthy and offers them new foods to try. When it comes to kids, he encourages them to know their farmers like they know their doctors and to understand where their food comes from. He said it’s important for them to learn nutrition now so they can have healthy futures.
“A lot of people have been going to the hospital,” he said. “Their health has not been very well, and most of them come back, and they say, ‘We are not eating healthy…’ these are the consequences.”
Currently, Growing Healthy Eaters continues with support from SNAP, offering initial nutritional assessments and coaching to childcare providers. Although Peterson’s time with Growing Healthy Eater’s has ended, she continues to serve her kids fresh vegetables and buy produce from the farmers market in the summer, although no longer has the budget to buy as wide a variety of vegetables or as much as before.
She loved her involvement in the program and wants to see it restored fully.
“It was a win-win, it really was,” she said. “The farmers markets got more money, because we had more money. The kids got better food, the parents got educated about better food … The kids are excited.”
Erica Hobbs is a writer based in Detroit with a passion for arts and culture and travel. She has reported for numerous news outlets including the Detroit News, Fodors, Business Insider, Reuters, WDET and AnnArbor.com (now the Ann Arbor News), among others.