Local Childcare Providers Designated 'Ohio Healthy Programs'

Press release from Lorain County Public Health:

Aug. 18, 2021

Twenty Lorain County childcare providers recently received the Ohio Healthy Programs (OHP) designation. Lorain County Public Health (LCPH) and the Child Care Resource Center helped these childcare providers earn OHP designation because OHP requires centers to take steps to help prevent childhood obesity.

“It’s best to start healthy habits at an early age,” says LCPH Health Commissioner David Covell, MPH, RS. “Childcare providers play an important role in preventing childhood obesity when they promote healthy foods and physical activity. Many children spend the bulk of their time with these providers.”

Steps towards OHP designation include: attending Ohio Approved training for administrators, cooks and teachers; implementing a new wellness policy such as reducing screen time; improving menus to include fruit and vegetables daily; and engaging families by sending home healthy recipes, flyers or information about healthy eating or physical activity.

Since participating in Ohio Healthy Programs, Neighborhood Alliance’s director Sarah Bishop reports, “We’ve changed our menu to have a wider variety of healthier choices and the children are now more interested in the foods we serve.”

As of June 30, 2021, LCPH congratulates the following Lorain County childcare providers on their OHP designation: Kendal Early Learning Center in Oberlin, Horizon South Elyria Wilkes Villa, Horizon Cascade, Horizon Southside Lorain, Horizon East Lorain, Horizon Elyria Dewhurst, All About the Kids in Elyria, Neighborhood Alliance in Lorain and Elyria, Head Start Hopkins Locke, Head Start Cascade, Head Start LaGrange, Park Place Learning Center in Elyria, Dani’s Garden in Elyria, Child Garden in Grafton and Oberlin, Raquel’s Little Learners in Lorain, Sylvia Oliver in Elyria, Diane’s Day Care and Learning Center in Lorain.

This press release was produced by Lorain County Public Health. The views expressed here are the author's own.