Healthy Food, Adventurous Kids

When you enter Mona Green’s family child care home, you might smell fresh bread baking or gumbo cooking on the stove.

Mona and her helper prepare lunch for the group.

Mona came to Children’s Council 15 years ago to get help starting her own family child care business. Caring for children is in Mona’s blood — she was one of 10 kids. As a young adult, Mona taught young children at her church and was inspired to open Green Family Child Care for children ages three months to three years.

Over the years, Mona has taken advantage of most of Children’s Council early education and business management programs for child care providers. But one program that captured her imagination was our Child Care Food Program, which offers nutrition education as well as financial support to family child care providers serving nutritious meals.

Mona understands that children in her care eat between 50 and 75 percent of their weekly calories under her watch. Which means that she plays a key role in helping them develop healthy eating habits. Motivated by what she learned through Children’s Council, Mona changed her approach to the food she serves. She now serves lots of fruits and vegetables. She also cooks everything from scratch, grows her own herbs, and uses only organic ingredients. Mona even lets the kids help in the kitchen. “Food is critical at a young age,” said Mona. “Kids can’t learn and explore if they are hungry. And if they try new, healthy foods, it will be a habit they keep.”

Mona knows that parents also appreciate her approach to food. She recalls one surprised mother who told her, “We took the kids out to eat and they asked for salad and green beans!”

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