Summary
Martha Friendly from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit and Carolyn Ferns from the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care delivered this presentation at Food Secure Canada's 9th National Assembly entitled "Good Food Policy and a National Child Care Program. What Are the Links?" in Toronto on October 14, 2016. Friendly and Ferns examine how food and nutrition intersect with early learning and child care, asserting that good food policy must be a core element of a strong national child care system. They discuss the inconsistencies across provincial and territorial regulations related to food in child care, and highlight how exemplary programs treat food as an educational, cultural, and social experience—not just a regulatory requirement.