Let’s Be Healthy Program

Child care centers play an important role in establishing healthy behaviors in our youngest residents. Children who have proper nutrition and physical activity from birth are better prepared for success when they begin school. One way to do this is to nurture healthy habits by getting kids involved in growing food in an edible garden!

The Let’s Be Healthy program provides technical assistance and resources to child care center owners to install an edible garden in their center’s outdoor learning environment. By participating in the Let’s Be Healthy program, child care centers have the opportunity to receive up to $2,500 in resources and materials to support their edible gardens. Child care centers can also request small kitchen equipment required to enroll into the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

This year’s program cohort is open to centers located in food deserts—areas with limited access to grocery stores or supermarkets. Centers must be eligible to enroll in Child and Adult Care Food Program, but cannot already be participating. The deadline to apply is May 26, 2025. 

Making an Impact

The goal of the Let’s Be Healthy program is to increase Louisiana child care providers’ access to local, fresh food through farm to early care and education strategies.  Farm to early care and education is a set of strategies that offers increased access to healthy, local foods through procurement, gardening opportunities and food and agriculture education. These strategies could include:

• Weekly menus that include local, fresh food
• Staff professional development on gardening, food, nutrition and agriculture education
• Ongoing communication with families about local foods included in meals and snacks
• Gardening opportunities that teach children how to plant, maintain, observe, harvest, wash and taste fresh produce

Facilities will also support their staff in making healthy choices by implementing specific, evidence-based benchmarks found in the Child Care Center WellSpot Designation program.

Get Inspired!

Chan’s Scholar Toddlers used the Let’s Be Healthy program funding to build a vegetable garden! Their director, Chante Buchanan said, “It’s been a good way to get the children excited to eat more vegetables. This has sparked their curiosity and encouraged them to try it even if they don’t think they’ll like it.”

Read the Story

Become a WellSpot

By becoming a WellSpot, you will make a lasting change by implementing policy, systems and environmental strategies that make the healthy choice, the easy choice!

Program participants will complete steps to become a Child Care Center WellSpot! WellSpots are places and spaces in Louisiana that voluntarily implement healthy initiatives in their environment to help their employees and community live well. Organizations that meet certain wellness benchmarks are designated as a Level 1, 2 or 3 WellSpot—with Level 1 being the highest. By implementing changes to improve the health of employees and children through WellSpot Designation, child care centers are equipped to model healthy behaviors to guide children in building healthy habits that last for a lifetime.

Let’s Be Healthy participants will receive technical assistance from one of our Well-Ahead Regional Representatives to become a WellSpot, which will include the following benchmarks:

• Implement a tobacco-free policy
• Completing a Go NAPSACC self-assessment and action plan in the Farm to ECE module
• Implement one additional benchmark of choice

About the Let’s Be Healthy Program

Applications will be accepted until May 26, 2025. Notifications of awards will be made no later than June 6, 2025.

Program participants will work with two designated Well-Ahead team members who will provide technical assistance and resources to assist with implementation of Let’s Be Healthy program requirements and WellSpot benchmarks. For any portion of the application, implementation and evaluation, Well-Ahead will provide technical assistance to make your effort a success.