Boston Healthy Childcare Initiative
The Boston Public Health Commission understands the importance that the environment plays in a child’s growth and development.
Many children in Boston attend childcare programs with educators who are dedicated to creating a space for developmental experiences that children need early in life. By providing good nutrition and physical activity in these programs, children begin to develop healthy habits that support growth.
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For more information contact us below:
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1010 Massachusetts Ave
BOSTON, MA 02118
What we do
The Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control works with early childhood educators to promote:
- healthy eating
- physical activity, and
- reduced screen time throughout the City.
We offer learning collaboratives to promote policies for physical activity and nutrition. We also have different training series for early childhood education.
BHCCI Video
Upcoming trainings
Boston Healthy Child Care Initiative:
The Boston Healthy Child Care Initiative (BHCCI) helps childcare programs improve their capacity. We want to help them put in place policies and practices that support healthy eating and physical activity in infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children.
Our goals:The goal of BHCCI is to promote policy, systems, and environmental change strategies in childcare settings. We want to increase the number of child care providers who:
- provide access to healthy foods
- provide access to healthy beverages
- provide access to physical activity opportunities
- decrease access to screen time, and
- increase opportunities for breastfeeding.
Our next training:
Please email chronicdisease@bphc.org for more information.
Resources
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Resource | Cooking Matters |
| Description | Provides resources to help parents and caregivers develop skills when shopping for and cooking healthy foods on a budget. This organization offers cooking and nutrition resources, online professional development for caregivers, food skills education, and lesson plans for schools and community organizations. |
| Resource | Dr. Yum Project |
| Description | Helps families and communities raise children who enjoy nutritious foods and overcome barriers to eating well. Resources include curriculum, recipes and educational material. |
| Resource | SNAP-Ed |
| Description | Run by the USDA, SNAP-Ed provides resources and information to help low-income families make healthier food choices. It offers tips on nutrition, budgeting, and cooking, along with educational programs to support better eating habits and active lifestyles. |
| Resource | CACFP |
| Description | The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal program that reimburses child and adult care centers for serving nutritious meals and snacks. It supports children in child care, afterschool programs, and emergency shelters, as well as adults over 60 or with disabilities in day care. CACFP promotes wellness and healthy development across all ages. |
| Resource | Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics |
| Description | The EatRight.org website offers reliable nutrition information and resources to help individuals make informed food choices. It features expert advice on healthy eating, meal planning, weight management, and disease prevention, along with access to registered dietitians and nutrition professionals. |
| Resource | About |
|---|---|
| Resource | Playgrounds and Parks in Boston |
| About | Explore Boston's parks and playgrounds by neighborhood. |
| Resource | Massachusetts State Parks |
| About | Explore Massachusetts State Parks in the Boston area and across the Commonwealth. |
| Resource | Boston Children's Museum's Power of Play |
| About | Learn how the Museum prioritizes exploration and play as two fundamental processes for learning. The Museum's website also offers recommended resources and 100 ideas for play. |
| Resource | Sesame Workshop |
| About | The Sesame Workshop Physical Activity page offers a variety of engaging resources designed to encourage young children to move and stay active. Through interactive games, dance activities, and movement-based exercises featuring beloved characters like Grover and Elmo, the site provides fun ways for kids to develop healthy habits. |
| Resource | Massachusetts Student Physical Activity Resources |
| About | Mass in Motion’s school physical activity resources help Massachusetts schools promote active, healthy lifestyles with classroom activities, policy guides, after-school programs, and tools for building community partnerships to promote physical activity. |
| Resource | Active Play Books by Dr. Dianna Craft |
| About | Dr. Diane Craft has been working since 1998 to improve the physical activity opportunities for preschool children with and without disabilities. She established Active Play Books in 2007 to provide a platform to make her knowledge and ideas accessible for child care providers and managers of child-focused organizations. |
| Resources | About |
|---|---|
| Resources | Boston Community Gardens |
| About | Trustees manages 56 community gardens across 8 neighborhoods throughout the city of Boston. Gardens range in size from small 10 plot gardens to large 150+ plot gardens with raised beds, sun shelters, fruit trees and native plant-filled perennial borders. These gardens are tended and cared for by local residents and reserved by plot with dues through the Trustees. Together these green oases are a thriving neighborhood asset that benefits everyone in the community and fosters intergenerational learning and respect across cultures. |
| Resources | MassGrown Map |
| About | Massachusetts Grown Map of Farms provides the locations and contact information of CSA farms and farmer's markets in the region. |
| Resources | Boston Food Forrest Coalition |
| About | An organization of neighbors working to transform vacant lots into locally-run, edible, public parks protected by our land trust. Their mission is to build a network of environmental and social resilience across Boston through community collaboration and the protection of local green space, prioritizing neighborhoods with histories of inequitable access to parkland and its critical benefits. |
| Resources | Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary |
| About | A community nature center and wildlife sanctuary with trails that traverse meadows, woods, and wetlands; home to over 150 species of birds, 40 species of butterflies, and more than 350 species of plants. |
| Resources | Eastie Farm |
| About | A place where people relax, enjoy nature, grow food together, share a meal together, make music together, pick up their CSA, or attend a comedy event. Community members learn about gardening, rainwater conservation, food waste management, and other eco-conscious practices, all while getting to know their neighbors and having fun. They offer experiential and informal environmental education programs for school children, train teenagers for green jobs, and bring local fresh food to neighbors of all economic levels. |
| Resources | Urban Farming Institute |
| About | A nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming vacant urban spaces into productive farms while empowering local communities through sustainable agriculture. Based in Mattapan, UFI offers hands-on training programs, community wellness initiatives, and access to urban farming resources. Their mission centers on promoting food justice, creating green jobs, and fostering a resilient, culturally relevant food system in Boston’s neighborhoods. |
- Explore more Farming and Gardening resources from our Farm to ECE Learning Collaborative!
| Resource | About |
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| Resource | Boston Public Libraries: Events Page |
| About | The Boston Public Library (BPL) events website serves as a central hub for discovering a wide range of programs and activities across all BPL locations. From author talks, book clubs, and art exhibitions to tech workshops, story times, and community meetups, the site makes it easy to browse and register for events by date, location, age group, or interest. |
| Resource | Boston Family Days |
| About | Boston Family Days help Boston school-aged children feel at home in places that can expand their learning and show them the world. All students who live in Boston (grades K-12 and Boston Pre-K) and two guests can explore 14 cultural institutions for free on the first and second Sunday of each month until December 2026. Visit their website to learn more details. |
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For more information contact us below:
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1010 Massachusetts Ave
BOSTON, MA 02118
