Child and Adult Care Food Program

Kids Eat Smart Move MoreKids Eat Smart Move More

What is Kids Eat Smart Move More (Kids ESMM)?
Kids ESMM is a Child Wellness Grant funded by the United States Department of Agriculture and administered by the North Carolina Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

What is the purpose of the Kids ESMM Grant?
The Kids ESMM mission is to help prevent childhood obesity among young children in CACFP child care settings. All grant activities aim to improve the nutrition and physical activity practices of preschoolers and the adults who care for them.

What are the objectives of Kids ESMM?
Grant activities include:

  • Development of child care nutrition and physical activity standards consistent with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Institute of Medicine recommendations for CACFP.
  • Provide nutrition and physical activity training to CACFP Institutions.
  • Implement a breastfeeding-friendly child care awards program.
  • Partnership with the North Carolina Community College System to train early childhood education majors and provide continuing education credits for child care providers.
  • Development of an online child obesity prevention self-study module. Online module available winter 2012 (PDF, 381 KB)!
  • Initiation of a community outreach campaign to encourage sustainable early childhood obesity prevention efforts in North Carolina.

What can child care institutions do to improve the nutrition practices in their facilities?
Kids ESMM is partnering with the Healthy Futures Starting in the Kitchen Program of Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte to offer a hands on training course to CACFP child care cooks and directors on healthy meal and snack preparation.

How can the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) help with child obesity prevention?
The CACFP of North Carolina is administered by the Nutrition Services Branch of the North Carolina Division of Public Health and has a unique opportunity to make a broad impact on childhood obesity at an early age by improving nutritional quality of meals and encouraging more physical activity among young children in child care settings.

How does North Carolina compare to other states with regard to child obesity rates?
North Carolina is ranked 11th in the nation for childhood obesity with 31 percent of 2-5 year-olds classified as overweight or obese (Trust for America’s Health).

Where can I find nutrition and physical activity resources?

Here are lists of helpful tips for child care providers and families:

Here are four bulletin board themes for introducing healthy foods and discussing the food groups with children:

Need More Information?
If you have questions or would like more information about Kids ESMM, call (919) 707-5799 or email childcare_wellnessgrant@dhhs.nc.gov.