“It’s not about getting them to clean their plate, it’s about getting them to have a positive experience with food.”
-Child Care Provider
EAT Family Style is an innovative, web-based professional development program for child care staff that was developed in Nebraska.
- The program is comprised of 7 online lessons
- Lessons include short strategy-based videos, interactive activities and lesson plans
- The program highlights responsive feeding practices based on recommendations from USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program and Caring for Our Children standards.
Program Benefits
Promotes children’s healthy eating
Increased consumption of healthy foods
“My three-year-olds were not vegetable eaters, but after EAT Family Style they are trying them. I started using words to describe foods and then theywant to know, ‘Is it hot or cold, crunchy or soft?’ So, then they try it, and they’ve done better with their vegetables.”
-Child Care Provider
“At the end of the EAT Family Style program I asked the kids ‘Why don’t you try to pour the milk yourself and see if you can do it?’ and they did it on their own and the expression on their faces was just a miracle.”
-Child Care Provider
Promotes child development
Improved vocabulary
Building math skills
Helps make mealtimes more pleasant
Teachers and children are more engaged during meals
“We have our days, but most of the time it's not crazy. They sit; they eat. We talk to each other and then we all help clean up and then we go upstairs and it's a lot less chaotic during lunchtime. I used to dread going downstairs for lunchtime and now I don't.”
-Child Care Provider
Even after pandemic health directives put a halt to family style dining, providers are still able to use responsive feeding, sit and eat with students in classrooms, and continue to have positive mealtime conversations.
Relevant during COVID-19
Responsive feeding can be used while complying with CDC guidelines
