At Food & Supply Source, we know that nutrition is an important part of a child’s growing years. That is why we have distributors that offer whole grain bread, pasta, cereals, and crackers as healthy alternatives. We can help you select cereals with good fiber content and suggest the freshest produce available this season. Recognizing the importance of exposing children to lots of tastes and textures, our distributors carry a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Some of our customers prefer to serve hormone-free milk or USDA approved Organic milk with each meal. Many of our child care centers have to offer whole milk to the toddlers and skim milk...

Purchasing a simple thing like paper towels may seem like a no-brainer, but take a moment to think twice about this product. It gets used every day by almost every person in your organization – which means you go through a lot of it very quickly. As such, you need to select paper towels that are efficient and economical and that serve your organization well. Center pull paper towels are a waste of money. What’s the best paper towel to choose for cost-savings? With the many options available for paper towels, which is the best one for your organization? Which is the most efficient? Which will your consumers prefer? And,...

Improve Early Childhood Education: Get the Parents Involved There has been a lot in the news lately about high-quality preschool education. Last year the Head Start budget cuts that came by way of sequestration nearly crippled the early childhood education program, causing many facilities to shut down, while low-income children and their families across the country suffered. President Obama has called on Congress again and again to help local state governments pay for high-quality preschool education – not just any early learning program, but quality learning that is offered at Head Start programs. This is not a new request. The call for high-quality education for children under the age of...

Healthy Eating: Nutritional Tips for Early Education Programs The nutrition that is given to toddlers under the age of three is more important than most people realize. Early education programs, such as Early Head Start, which caters to babies aged three and under, also provides healthy foods and nutrition as part of their educational services. Studies show that babies grow three inches or so every three months, while toddlers grow at about three to five inches throughout an entire year. However, every baby is different, so their nutritional needs may vary from child to child. Food service supplies for programs like Head Start are very important. Head Start administrators often...

Food Purchasing for Head Start: How to Deal With Picky Eaters When it comes to feeding toddlers and preschoolers, to say that it is an “adventure” is a bit of an understatement. The National Head Start Association provides early childhood education and nutrition opportunities to the children and families who participate in its programs. You might imagine that the teachers and care givers who work for the Head Start Program experience a lot of situations with picky eaters and kids who don’t want to try new things. Quality Nutrition on a Budget Despite the drastic sequester budget cuts that administrators of the Head Start Program were forced to deal with...

Food Purchasing for Head Starts: How to Deal With Picky Eaters When it comes to feeding toddlers and preschoolers, to say that it is an “adventure” is a bit of an understatement. The National Head Start Association provides early childhood education and nutrition opportunities to the children and families who participate in its programs. You might imagine that the teachers and care givers who work for the Head Start Program experience a lot of situations with picky eaters and kids who don’t want to try new things. Quality Nutrition on a Budget Despite the drastic sequester budget cuts that administrators of the Head Start Program were forced to deal with...

Head Start Programs: Parent Tips for Feeding Young Children When it comes to feeding toddlers, it can be very challenging for parents and teachers alike. Part of the success of Head Start Programs is their commitment to nutritional education and exposure to new foods that can help kids to make healthier choices as they grow. With all of the mixed information available to parents these days, it can make knowing what is healthy – and what isn’t – very difficult to understand. Feeding young children, whether at home or in Head Start Programs, can be very challenging. The tips provided here are designed to help parents and teachers provide the...

Head Start Programs: Avoid Food Mistakes for Better Health One of the great things about the Head Start Program is its commitment to early childhood nutrition and building healthy eating habits. They teach kids and parents about improving diet by introducing healthy fresh fruits and vegetables in order to encourage a lifetime of good skills. Children can be picky eaters, but there are ways to help them try new things without making mistakes that could be stumbling blocks throughout their childhood. Bad habits can lead to health problems, such as diabetes, childhood obesity and other issues that could pose as a challenge later in life. Head Start Program administrators know...

The Economic Value of Head Start Programs for Pre-K Education Whenever budget issues are discussed at the federal level, early childhood education and Head Start programs get scrutinized and criticized. Despite the fact that local leaders, like Bill deBlasio, the mayor of New York City, are calling for more funding to be put to use in pre-kindergarten programs, partisan politics can still hurt these important services. Once elected to office, Mayor deBlasio argued with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo about funding for the pre-K program, but they didn’t debate whether or not funding such a program was the right thing to do. Both men, despite their difference in politics, understood...

FoodSource Plus Provides Nutrition and Savings to Head Start One of the core components of running a program under the National Head Start Association is to provide participants with quality nutrition services. The Head Start Nutrition program provides guidelines based on all of the rules and regulations required by the USDA child and adult care food program. In addition to providing the children who participate in Head Start programs with nutritious meals, the goal is to create a social and educational experience at mealtimes to integrate discussion of food, health and daily activities as a means of improving communication and conversational skills. Responsibility and teamwork are also educational benefits from...