In June 2016, The Food Trust, with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and in partnership with Pennsylvania Head Start Association (PHSA), launched a statewide farm to ECE initiative: Ready, Set, Grow: Linking Pennsylvania Farms to Early Childhood Programs.
The Food Trust and PHSA are working collectively to develop statewide strategies to encourage the advancement of sustained farm to early childhood programs and practices. These strategies support quality access to and the consumption of PA-grown foods in early childhood settings and activities can include local food purchasing for meals and snacks, on-site gardening and agriculture and nutrition education.
The Food Trust is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 with the mission of making healthy food available to all. For over 25 years, The Food Trust has worked with neighborhoods, schools, grocers, farmers, and policymakers to develop a comprehensive approach that combines nutrition education and greater availability of affordable, healthy food. Follow at @thefoodtrust and onFacebook.
The Pennsylvania Head Start Association is an advocacy organization for Head Start programs, families, staff and administrators in Pennsylvania. It works to maximize the cumulative talents of Early Head Start/Head Start parents, staff, administrators and friends to collectively improve the future for economically challenged children, families and communities, by providing quality leadership, training, information and advocacy at the local, state, regional and national levels. Follow at @phsa and on Facebook.