New Course from CCEI Exploring Nutrition and Food Service

Duluth, GA, Jan. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ChildCare Education Institute® (CCEI), an online child care training provider dedicated exclusively to the early care and education workforce, is proud to introduce NFS101: Nutrition and Food Service in Early Learning Environments to the online child care training course catalog.

Millions of children get a significant portion of their daily nutrition from meals they receive in child care facilities. Many children spend eight hours or more in a child care setting and receive most of their meals while away from home. Unfortunately, current research has documented a number of problems with the nutritional health of children. As a result of poor nutrition and decreased levels of exercise, the occurrence of childhood obesity has doubled in the last 20 years. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control, it is estimated that 15% of children under the age of six are overweight. The problem of obesity is worse for children in day care. The Journal of the American Medical Association estimates 32% of children in government subsidized child care are overweight.

Good nutrition is important for people of all ages, but it is especially important for children. Children need good nutrition for proper growth and development. Proper nutrition contributes to the development of healthy and strong physical bodies as well as optimal brain development. This course is designed to provide information to assist food service staff, caregivers and members of program leadership develop positive, healthy nutritional programs for young children. Participants will also gain a greater understanding of the requirements of the USDA Food Program and meal planning in an early childhood education setting.

“Child care professionals have an important opportunity to improve nutritional policies to support the children in their care,” says Maria C. Taylor, President and CEO of CCEI. “Training for nutrition, food safety, and child development is essential for teachers. Research has shown that teacher training in the area of nutrition has a direct impact on the quality of nutrition and health in environments for children.”

NFS101: Nutrition and Food Service in Early Learning Environments is a two-hour, beginner-level course and grants 0.2 IACET CEU upon successful completion. Current CCEI users with active, unlimited annual subscriptions can register for professional development courses at no additional cost when logged in to their CCEI account. Users without subscriptions can purchase child care training courses as block hours through CCEI online enrollment.

For more information, visit www.cceionline.edu or call 1.800.499.9907, prompt 3, Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST

ChildCare Education Institute, LLC

ChildCare Education Institute® provides high-quality, distance education certificates and child care training programs in an array of child care settings, including preschool centers, family child care, prekindergarten classrooms, nanny care, online daycare training and more. Over 100 English and Spanish child care training courses are available online to meet licensing, recognition program, and Head Start Requirements. CCEI also has online certification programs that provide the coursework requirement for national credentials including the CDA, Director and Early Childhood Credentials. CCEI, a Council for Professional Recognition CDA Gold Standard™ training provider, is nationally accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), and is authorized under the Nonpublic Postsecondary Educational Institutions Act of 1990, license number 837.