Available for no cost but registration is required.
Start Strong: Cooking, Feeding, and More is a hands-on culinary nutrition education curriculum designed to help family childcare providers increase their knowledge and skills in providing healthy foods for children. Start Strong is made up of four 2-hour lessons. The lessons can be taught individually or in a series.
- Lesson One - Ready, Set, Cook
- Lesson Two - Savor the Flavor
- Lesson Three - Exploring New Choices
- Lesson Four - New Meal Ideas
Each lesson includes objectives, facilitated discussions, learning activities, cooking activities, supply lists, recipes, evaluation tools and participant materials.
Participant handouts and teaching materials are available in English and Spanish.
Get Start Strong
By participating in Start Strong: Cooking Feeding and More, family child care providers will:
- Increase their knowledge and skills to prepare healthy foods for children in their care.
- Increase their knowledge and understanding of Federal food programs (SNAP, WIC, CACFP, and School Meals) they can share with families experiencing food insecurity.
Skills taught include:
- Using a chef knife to cut fresh vegetables and fruits.
- Adding flavor to foods while reducing sodium.
- Preparing whole grain foods.
- Cooking with low-cost protein foods such as eggs, beans and canned fish.
- Planning menus to save time.
- Preparing foods to reinforce skills learned.
- Sharing information about food assistance programs with families experiencing food insecurity.
Start Strong was developed in collaboration with family child care providers. Family child care providers enjoy learning from other child care providers. Start Strong includes facilitated discussions and opportunities for child care providers to share ideas with each other.
Start Strong uses The Learning Task Model for a framework. As part of each training, providers “Anchor” their learning in what they already know. The trainer “Adds” new information such as knife skills, cooking techniques to use less salt, preparing whole grains and low-cost protein foods, and menu planning. Providers “Apply” the information by practicing the skills and preparing recipes that can be served at their child care businesses. Providers then set goals on how they will take “Away” the information and apply it to their child care business.
Start Strong is now featured in the SNAP-Ed toolkit.
Reviewed in 2023