Nourishing Connection Program Participant Evaluation 2023

Thank you for participating in the Nourishing Connection Program! Your child care center was 1 of 11 centers in Weakley County that participated in this year’s program.

Farm to School programs have three elements: growing food, education and local food procurement.

Your feedback is VITAL to provide important information on your center’s experience and offer input to improve next year's program. Additionally, we share the accumulated data (anonymous) with grant funders to report results, and seek additional funding to keep the program funded and growing at your childcare center.

Thanks for taking the time to provide this important feedback to us.

Sincerely,

Samantha Goyret

Nourishing Connection Program Manager

Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network Team

nwtnfoodguide@gmail.com

(731) 332-9071

Program Partner Information

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* 1. Childcare Center

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* 2. Primary Contact Name

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* 3. Position at Childcare Center

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* 4. Telephone Number

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* 5. Email Address

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* 6. Would you like to participate in the Nourishing Connection Program next year?

Yes

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* 7. On average, how many children attend your childcare center?

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* 8. Please estimate what percentage of students are from low-income families.

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* 9. Please help us better understand the race and ethnic diversity of the community served by your center. If an individual identifies as more than one race, such as Black and Hispanic, please include this in "Two or More Races." Total percentages should not exceed 100%. As these are all required fields, a minimum value of 0 needs to be entered in order to continue. Please refer to NCES race and ethnicity definitions if further guidance is needed.

American Indian / Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander

Hispanic or Latinx

Two or More Races

White

Unknown

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* 10. How many youth from each age group participate directly in the garden program?

Ages 2-5 (preschool to k)

Ages 6-8 (grades 1-3)

Ages 9-11 (grades 4-6)

Ages 12-13 (grades 7-8)

Ages 14-18 (grades 9-12)

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* 11. How many employees work at your childcare center?

Farm to School: Education

Students participate in education activities related to agriculture, food, health, nutrition and the environment.

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* 12. What percentage of employees participated in the gardening program?

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* 13. How beneficial did you find the educator informational sheets?

We did not use this information.

Not Useful

N/A

Useful

Very Useful

We did not use this information.

Not Useful

N/A

Useful

Very Useful

Comments

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* 14. How beneficial were the 4 Seasonal Nourishing Connection "Grow Kits" to your center's education program?

Not beneficial, we didn't use the materials provided

Somewhat beneficial, we used some of the materials provided

Beneficial, the materials provided were useful

Very Beneficial, we used all of the materials provided

Not beneficial, we didn't use the materials provided

Somewhat beneficial, we used some of the materials provided

Beneficial, the materials provided were useful

Very Beneficial, we used all of the materials provided

Comments:

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* 15. How useful were the Grow Kit Materials?

	Not at all useful	Useful	Very Useful
Themed Books	Themed Books Not at all useful	Themed Books Useful	Themed Books Very Useful
Educator Handouts	Educator Handouts Not at all useful	Educator Handouts Useful	Educator Handouts Very Useful
Parent Newsletters	Parent Newsletters Not at all useful	Parent Newsletters Useful	Parent Newsletters Very Useful
Watering Elements	Watering Elements Not at all useful	Watering Elements Useful	Watering Elements Very Useful
Mushroom Kit	Mushroom Kit Not at all useful	Mushroom Kit Useful	Mushroom Kit Very Useful
Seed packets	Seed packets Not at all useful	Seed packets Useful	Seed packets Very Useful
Plant Markers	Plant Markers Not at all useful	Plant Markers Useful	Plant Markers Very Useful
Miracle Gro Packets	Miracle Gro Packets Not at all useful	Miracle Gro Packets Useful	Miracle Gro Packets Very Useful
Harvest of the Month Posters	Harvest of the Month Posters Not at all useful	Harvest of the Month Posters Useful	Harvest of the Month Posters Very Useful
Live plants	Live plants Not at all useful	Live plants Useful	Live plants Very Useful
Seed Exploration Activities	Seed Exploration Activities Not at all useful	Seed Exploration Activities Useful	Seed Exploration Activities Very Useful

Please share additional comments here:

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* 16. Did you share the monthly Nourishing Connection Parent/Guardian Newsletters with your students and their families?

Yes, I printed them and distributed them.

Yes, I posted the newsletter on the wall where parents/guardians sign out their children.

Yes, I shared them via our social media.

No, I did not share them.

Please send me more information

N/A

Other (please specify)

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* 17. Did you access program information from our website at nwtnlfn.org/nourishing-connection

Yes

I didn't know about this resource

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* 18. Are there any additional program materials or supports that would help aid your Nourishing Connection program at your center during the 2024 growing season?

Farm to School: Growing Food

Students engage in hands-on experiential learning through gardening.

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* 19. Please check the box that best fits your response for each of the following:

	YES	NO
Was the hanging garden placed in a good location?	Was the hanging garden placed in a good location? YES menu	Was the hanging garden placed in a good location? NO menu
Is the hanging garden accessible to the children?	Is the hanging garden accessible to the children? YES menu	Is the hanging garden accessible to the children? NO menu
Were the "Nourishing Connection" plant markers effective?	Were the "Nourishing Connection" plant markers effective? YES menu	Were the "Nourishing Connection" plant markers effective? NO menu
Did you like having multiple plantings of differing plants during the growing season?	Did you like having multiple plantings of differing plants during the growing season? YES menu	Did you like having multiple plantings of differing plants during the growing season? NO menu
Were the children allowed to water the plants?	Were the children allowed to water the plants? YES menu	Were the children allowed to water the plants? NO menu
Were the children allowed to pick the plants?	Were the children allowed to pick the plants? YES menu	Were the children allowed to pick the plants? NO menu
Did you harvest anything from your garden?	Did you harvest anything from your garden? YES menu	Did you harvest anything from your garden? NO menu
Were insects a problem for your plants?	Were insects a problem for your plants? YES menu	Were insects a problem for your plants? NO menu
Did the teachers incorporate what was growing in the garden into lessons?	Did the teachers incorporate what was growing in the garden into lessons? YES menu	Did the teachers incorporate what was growing in the garden into lessons? NO menu
Did the parents receive monthly newsletters?	Did the parents receive monthly newsletters? YES menu	Did the parents receive monthly newsletters? NO menu

Other (please comment)

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* 20. Which plants you would be interested in growing at your childcare center in 2024 (please check all that apply)

Lettuce

Kale

Green Onions

Parsley

Flowers

Mustard Greens/Turnip

Sweet Peppers

Tomatoes

Radish

Spinach

Strawberries

Summer Squash (yellow squash)

Swiss Chard

Herbs

Cucumbers

Other (please specify)

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* 21. Were there any plants the children particularly enjoyed growing? If yes, then please list them.

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* 22. Would you like to expand your center's garden?

Yes

Maybe

Comments:

Farm to School: Local Food Procurement

Procurement is the purchasing of goods and services that are locally sourced. Local food growing efforts are already helping families gain better access to healthy, quality food, creating value-added food system-related jobs, and supporting local entrepreneurship. We would like to understand your interest and efforts in procuring local foods into your center.

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* 23. Is your center a Child and Adult Care Food Program sponsor?

Yes

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* 24. Is your center a sponsor for the SFSP Summer Meals or NSLP Seamless Summer program?

Yes

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* 25. Did you use any of your garden produce/herbs as a taste test at your center? If yes, please share what kind of school grown produce in the comments box.

Yes

Comments (please specify)

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* 26. Did you invite a farmer or source any local produce, fruit, milk products or meat into your childcare cafeteria program? If so, what products and from who?

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* 27. Would you be interested in receiving a Community Supported Agriculture Share (CSA) - a box of locally grown vegetables on a weekly basis for use in your snacks/school lunch?

What is a CSA? Community Supported Agriculture or cropsharing is a system that connects the producer and consumers within the food system more closely by allowing the consumer to subscribe to the harvest of a certain farm or group of farms.

Yes

Other (please specify)

Additional feedback and information

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* 28. What would you change to improve this program?

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* 29. If there were a small fee for this program, would you still want to participate?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 30. If no to the question above, then would you be willing to purchase needed materials?

Yes

Please upload up to 5 best photos from this year's 2021 Nourishing Connection gardens. All photos must be photo release approved by your center's participants. Please add a description in the comment box below the file upload. Thank you!