KinderCare Learning Companies
KinderCare’s Current Commitment
Leaving your child in someone else’s care is never an easy decision to make. Parents look long and hard to find just the right environment, where they’re sure their kids will be not only safe, but as healthy as possible. According to a survey developed by PHA, 91 percent of parents choose a childcare center based on its commitment to providing a healthy environment.
KinderCare has pledged to double the servings of vegetables to over 40,000 school-aged children through 800 before- and after-school programs hosted by the company’s Champions sites in 300 cities nationwide by 2025.
Additionally, KinderCare will leverage its purchasing power and food delivery model to improve the affordability of fruits and vegetables for other early childhood education providers, pilot an innovative food insecurity screening program for KinderCare families and give employees the tools they need to help families have increased access to nutritious foods in their communities, and increase nutrition education provided to families with the goal of reaching more than 100,000 children a minimum of 3 times per year.
KinderCare’s commitment will support PHA’s goal of adding 100 million additional servings of vegetables, fruits, and beans to the marketplace by 2025, which was announced alongside the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on September 28, 2022.
KinderCare’s Completed Commitments
KinderCare was one of five PHA childcare partners that committed to providing a healthier environment for the children under its care, based on the Yale Wellness Child Care Assessment Tool (WellCCAT).
KinderCare’s commitment reflected WellCCAT best practices such as limiting screen time, increasing opportunities for physical activity, providing healthy food and beverage choices, making it easier for moms to breastfeed if they wished and offering nutrition education for parents.
KinderCare implemented these practices at 95 percent of its facilities, where kids find fruits and vegetables with every meal, family-style eating, and healthier beverage choices such as water and low-fat milk. They get at least an hour of physical activity each day and as much time outside as the weather allows.
In 2018, KinderCare signed on for a second commitment with PHA. This time, KinderCare committed to a number of changes involving center menus and nutrition programs, including removing all grain-based desserts from 100 percent of their centers, incorporating at least one culturally diverse dish each week, a vegetarian entrée twice per week on their standard menu, ensuring healthy options are offered during all holiday events and celebrations, integrating parent education into the KinderCare Cooking Academy and developing a nutrition training curriculum for Center Directors and Cooks.
Additionally, KinderCare assessed current garden offerings at centers, developed a package of new scalable indoor and outdoor gardening options, and shared best practices for gardening initiatives in early childhood education.
About KinderCare Learning Companies
A leading provider of early childhood and school-age education and care, KinderCare builds confidence for life in children and families from all backgrounds. KinderCare supports hardworking families in 40 states and the District of Columbia with differentiated flexible child care solutions to meet today’s dynamic work environment:
- In neighborhoods, with KinderCare® Learning Centers that offer early learning programs for children six weeks to 12 years old;
- At work, through KinderCare Education at Work™, providing customized family benefits for employers across the country, including employer-supported child care benefits, on-site and near-site early learning centers and back-up care for last-minute child care, and
- In local schools, with Champions® before and after-school programs.
Headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, KinderCare operates more than 2,000 early learning centers and sites. In 2022, KinderCare earned its sixth Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award – one of only four organizations worldwide to achieve this milestone for six consecutive years. To learn more, visit KC-Learning.com.
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