LiveWell Greenville has recently completed a 2 year pilot project with Early Childhood providers to create a culture of health for Greenville’s youngest citizens by implementing policy, systems, and environmental changes in early childhood childcare centers. The eight EC centers below have documented 34 policy, systems, or environmental changes and are continuing to work with LWG partners to find creative ways to infuse healthy eating and active living into preschoolers’ days:

o A Child’s Haven
o Aldersgate Child Development Center
o Buncombe St. United Methodist CDC
o Christ Church Preschool
o First Baptist Simpsonville Child Enrichment Center
o Park Place Children’s Center
o Pelham Road Baptist Church CDC
o YMCA of Greenville at Judson Community Center

Participating sites used both the GO-NAPSACC and EPAO assessment tools to assess the extent to which their school environments supported healthy choices for 2-5 year-olds. Feedback from these assessments informed providers’ decisions on goal-setting for nutrition and physical activity standards. Early childhood providers chose to make a variety of changes to support healthy choices in preschools, including:
• Prohibiting the use of taking away play-time as punishment
• Including education on physical activity and nutrition in staff professional development
• The use of books, posters, and educational materials that promote healthy eating and active living
• Implementing policies on the appropriate use of screen time

Congratulations to these 8 early childhood providers for their commitment to creating preschool environments where the healthy choice is the easy choice!