By Gina Root
The Grant Park Cooperative Preschool, located at 501 Grant Street in Grant Park and 177 Estoria Street in Cabbagetown, is proud to announce their application for sponsorship from the U.S. Department of Agriculture funded Child and Adult Care Food Program. The Grant will allow the Preschool to deliver the same meals to all children enrolled in both GPCP child care centers listed below at no separate charge. In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, GPCP does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.
This USDA grant will supplement the already successful Farm to Table program GPCP has employed since 2011. The Farm to School Program engages the children in the experience of the natural world and healthy eating habits, recognizing that children’s affinity for the natural world is strongest at an early age when they are most alert and impressionable. Being in nature helps develop our empathy, recognizing the interdependence of all living things. The Farm to School program is threefold, where the children are involved with gardening, preparation of the food, and eating healthy, delicious meals. The program began in 2011 with the creation of a Naturalist position and expanded to the addition of a tasty, hearty lunch cooked in our school each day in conjunction with the creation of a Farm to School Coordinator.
Educators and children prepare the food each day. The Farm to School daily lunch consists of a nut free, vegetarian meal that includes organic milk, delivered weekly from a locally sourced farm. They chop and steam the vegetables and grains, and serve the delicious meals to each classroom. Simple, small appliances such as steamers and crock pots are used to cook the food. Each day lunch consists of some type of bean (protein), a grain, one or two vegetables and a fruit. The children also make bread for special occasions and have been known to make pizza dough, pasta, and cheese.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services, Child Nutrition Programs – Income Eligibility Guidelines for Free and ReducedPrice Meals are used to determine the rate that GPCP will be reimbursed for meals served in this program. GPCP’s program is a no pricing program, meaning there are no separate charges for meals served. All children receive lunch as part of the program and the cost is included in tuition.
Please contact Grant Park Cooperative Preschool at (404) 521-0440 or www.gpcp.org for more information. The centers of all sites that will participate on the CACFP are the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool at 501 Grant Street and the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool at 177 Estoria Street.
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