Healthy Keiki, Healthy Future
Embedding Physical Activity and Nutrition Supports in Hawaiʻi’s Early Childhood System
The roots of lifelong health and well-being are planted early in childhood. As a result, when we make careful investments in the healthy development of our youngest children, we make a positive, lifelong difference in the wellbeing of our keiki, support high quality early care and education, and reduce disparities in children’s health, nutrition, and overall wellbeing.
With support from Nemours Children’s Health and funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Healthy Keiki, Health Future (HKHF) partnership promotes best practices for healthy eating, physical activity, breastfeeding support, and reduced screen time in ECE (early care and education) systems and settings across Hawai`i.
Under the banner of HKHF, public and non-profit partners across Hawai’i have initiated or expanded a wide range of efforts to increase access to physical activity and nutrition engagement in early childhood settings:
The Hawai`i Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) GIS Mapping Project
Garden to Grindz: Kaua‘i Farm to ECE Local Food Incentive Program
Planting the Profession Community of Practice
Farm to Keiki 101: Asynchronous Online Training
Certification Programs: “Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments” and “Gardening with Young Children”
Hawai`i Physical Activity Learning Sessions (PALS) Professional Learning Community (PLC)
Developing a Healthy Keiki Healthy Future ECE Recognition Program
Culminating more than a year’s worth of activity, HKHF held the “Healthy Keiki, Healthy Future: Physical Activity and Nutrition in ECE Settings Stakeholder Convening” in May 2023 to achieve four goals:
Celebrate the reach and impact of HKHF implementing partners
Establish a shared language
Strengthen relationships
Inspire commitment and collaboration
Attendees were guided through a day of learning, talk story, networking, and critical analysis of Hawai`i’s strengths, opportunities, aspirations, restraints, and equity (SOARE) considerations regarding physical activity and nutrition practices in early childhood.
A Nemours springboard award will support training and technical assistance on equity-focused efforts, and gardening and outdoor learning trainings for ECE practitioners in 2024.
“Healthy Keiki, Healthy Future has been an incredible opportunity to support and empower ECE providers in their trusted role of caring holistically for our youngest keiki and their families. It’s inspiring to see how dedicated the early childhood field is to working together and overcoming systemic barriers to embed culturally appropriate physical activity and nutrition practices that promote lifelong health and wellbeing. Concurrently, the HKHF story also highlights the detrimental limitations of one-time grant funding when it comes to equitably sustaining and expanding community-informed, evidence-based initiatives of this type in early childhood. We are eager to identify sustainable funding streams and develop meaningful partnerships to continue to embed these practices and support ECE providers in their critical role of nurturing healthy keiki for a healthy future.”
Jordan Smith, public health consultant and HKHF project coordinator