DANBURY — After a successful first year, United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut (UWCWC) is expanding its Seedlings to Sprouts initiative in partnership with a $50,000 state Department of Agriculture’s CT Grown for CT Kids grant.
Now entering its second year, Seedlings to Sprouts is increasing access to fresh, local produce and nutrition education for young children, families, and child care providers in Danbury and New Milford.
Launched in April 2024 as part of UWCWC’s Cora’s Kids Family Child Care Network, Seedlings to Sprouts’ innovative farm-to-school approach empowers family child care providers with the tools and support needed to create onsite fruit and vegetable gardens. These gardens serve not only as a source of fresh food but as interactive classrooms where children learn to grow, harvest, and appreciate the importance of nutritious eating.
“In its first year, Seedlings to Sprouts showed us the power of connecting children to their food and their community,” said Elizabeth Quiñonez, senior director of the Early Childhood Initiative at UWCWC. “The program is giving young children, their families, and Cora’s Kids providers in Danbury and New Milford a chance to connect with food, farms, and each other to create meaningful learning experiences and share them as a community.”
In 2024, Seedlings to Sprouts supported six providers with garden beds and 175 providers and families with nutrition education and produce vouchers, impacting an estimated 380 children. In 2025, with renewed funding, the program will establish eight new on-site gardens at provider locations in Danbury and New Milford, serving an additional 60 children.
To improve access to fresh, local fruits and vegetables, the program will transition from a produce voucher system to a food box delivery model, with coordinated drop-offs at 25 provider locations.
The boxes will be supplied by Project FoodBox, a medically tailored grocery initiative from grower-packer-shipper SunTerra. Each box will include approximately 10 pounds of 100% Connecticut-grown produce, designed by Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) using evidence-based practices to meet the nutritional needs of children ages 0 to 5.
Key components of the expanded program include:
• One-on-one coaching to help providers incorporate garden-based nutrition lessons into their curriculum
• Hands-on gardening experiences for children, reinforcing healthy eating habits from an early age
• The biweekly distribution of 1,200 food boxes with 100% CT Grown produce across 25 locations, serving 150 providers/families over four months.
• Continued partnership with UConn Extension’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), delivering six culturally relevant nutrition and cooking classes to providers and families
• Onsite child care offered during nutrition classes to remove barriers to participation.
