T&L Foundation for Child Care Information is proud to work with Wildwood CACFP in Colorado to alleviate food access issues in the state of Colorado for child care providers who participate on the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

What We Learned

Wildwood CACFP and T&L Foundation for Child Care Information put together a guide and conclusion about our experience with this pilot project - partnering child care providers with school districts to increase access to foods at a lower cost and more convenient location.  Please check it out here.

A Bit About the Project

Wildwood CACFP worked with the Colorado Health Foundation to execute a food access scan regarding food access for child care providers on the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).  Based on this scan they found that child care providers have difficulty obtaining access to food for a variety of reasons.  A few examples include:  

1. a 160 mile round trip visit to the grocery store in order to purchase food - weekly.
2. increased prices in rural areas 
3. milk or other regularly used and common items selling out or simply not available in local markets
4. food fatigue
5. difficulty getting access to fresh fruits and vegetables

After this study was completed, the Colorado Health Foundation provided a grant to Wildwood CACFP to explore opportunities to alleviate these issues for child care providers.

Wildwood CACFP brought T&L Foundation for Child Care Information on board in January and we are making great progress exploring partnerships that could help providers get access to healthy foods at lower costs.  Ultimately this gets healthier foods into children's bellies while making it sustainable for child care providers to purchase and serve healthy foods.

Brochure about the project and Wildwood's Child and Adult Care Food Program