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...

Community Service: Food Supply Services & Head Start Program It is kind of hard to believe that the Head Start Program will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. On one hand, it sort of seems as if this program has always been available to help low-income families get their children access to the early learning education and other essential Pre-K programs that they need in order to succeed in school. On the other hand, for many children who were unable to participate in the program due to Head Start budget cuts from the federal government, economic issues that have plagued our country in various regions and as the program...

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...

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...

Why FoodSource Plus Helps the National Head Start Association With a team of professional, experienced and knowledgeable purchase management consultants on staff, a company like FoodSource Plus could do anything it wanted, help any industry and make millions doing it. However, the goal of FoodSource Plus is to be a service to non-profit organizations like the National Head Start Association and other human service programs to help make the world a better place. Studies show continually the benefits that come from early education programs. Many low-income children and families do not have access to quality preschools, making early learning services like Head Start even more valuable and important to help...

Learn to Manage Head Start Purchases and Save Your School It has been over a year since the 2013 sequestration budget cuts hit Head Start administrators with a limited set of choices: lower costs for Head Start by reducing staff and available spots for students or shut down. However, as many schools discovered, there was another option. Many administrators took a look at their existing budgets and decided to take the road less traveled and learn how to better manage Head Start purchases to cut expenses instead of cutting staff or spots for students. Quite a few schools were able to effectively lower costs for Head Start and stay open...

7 Ways to Reduce Administrative Supply Costs in Head Start The costs of running a Head Start Program aren’t always visible for those on the outside looking in, but having the ability to lower supply costs can be a big help for administrators who need to find new ways to work within the Head Start Program budget. Being able to reduce administrative costs can really help when it comes to reducing the overall annual budget. Most administrative and janitorial supply costs are relatively fixed, rarely varying from month-to-month as much as food or manufacturing supplies and costs might be. That makes it even easier to lower supply costs without having...

Why the Right Supply Chain Matters for Head Start Programs As budget cuts, inflation and increases in the number of families who depend on local Head Start Programs continue to rise, administrators continue to look for new ways to cut costs and reduce supply waste in order to keep doors open and services available to the children who need them. Millions of dollars are wasted on inefficient supply purchasing of office and janitorial supplies at early education programs each year. When administrators are able to better manage Head Start purchases they will effectively reduce annual costs and be able to invest those savings into other vital parts of the program...

Resolve to Spend Less on Office Supplies in the New Year! Just about every business or organization across the United States is looking for new ways to reduce spending in response to budget cuts and the fiscal uncertainty seen in today’s economy. This is especially true for Head Start preschool and Early Head Start programs nationwide who are still struggling to recover from the Head Start budget cuts that came as a result of the 2013 sequestration. Sequestration cut more than $86 billion nationwide from just about every federally-funded program, from the military to housing and even including Project Head Start, which provides education, nutrition and healthcare to young children...

How to Overcome Sequester Budget Cuts at Head Start Schools In March 2013, early education programs such as Head Start schools were hit with a mighty blow from the sequester budget cuts. While most Americans would probably ask, “What is sequester cuts?”, the were likely affected by them without even knowing. The Head Start budget, like budgets for other federally funded programs, such as defense, housing and other special education programs, was reduced by over 5-percent. Unfortunately, many Head Start schools were forced to reduce program availability to low-income families, cut staff or, in some cases, shut their doors completely. Fortunately there are some ways for Head Start schools to...