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Florida's HEROs
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Florida’s HEROs: Healthy Environments for Reducing Obesity, is focused on recognizing healthy environments for reducing obesity in Florida’s early care and education (ECE) settings. This program was started in 2018 by the Florida Department of Health through funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now this work is continued by the Health Council of Southeast Florida through funding from Nemours Health System.
The goal is to encourage ECE providers to take proactive, voluntary steps to improve their programs’ practices and policies related to encouraging healthy behaviors among the children and families they serve. This is achieved through the integration of best practices for promoting a healthy weight among children ages 0 to 5 years.
Florida’s HEROs promote and encourage the following best practices:
Stakeholder Spotlight
The Child Care Food Program at the Florida Department of Health
Nationally, the program is known as the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), but in Florida the Child Care Food Program (CCFP) and Adult Care Food Program (ACFP) are governed by two different organizations. The CCFP is under the Florida Department of Health and the ACFP is under the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. As of December of 2019, 2,083 contractors and 6,982 sites (including daycare homes and child care centers) participate in the CCFP. In Federal Fiscal Year 2019, the CCFP reimbursed 160,675,882 meals to approximately 317,000 Florida children each day. In addition to meal reimbursement, the CCFP also offers and promotes in-person and web-based education regarding best practices in child care to expand child care providers’ knowledge of healthy eating practices, physical activity, breastfeeding, and reduced screen time.
Stakeholder Committee
Florida’s HEROs Stakeholder Committee is a group of different partners committed to obesity prevention in ECE settings. The goal of the stakeholder committee is to guide the development and expansion of the statewide ECE recognition program, in order to promote a healthy weight among children ages 0-5 in Florida. In addition, they steer our efforts to integrate childhood obesity prevention best practices and supports into Florida’s ECE-system. The foundation for the stakeholder committees’ success is strong partnerships among diverse state stakeholders. We are always looking to build new relationships with organizations doing work across Florida’s ECE-system related to any of the best practice areas. For more information please contact, info@fleceaward.org.
Early Learning Coalition
of Miami-Dade / Monroe
Healthy Kids Healthy Future
Technical Assistance Program
ECDE Program: UCF
The Early Childhood Development and Education Program at the University of Central Florida
UF/IFAS FNP
The University of Florida/ Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Family Nutrition Program