Margaret Oberg and Food for Kids Team Up for the New CACFP Meal Standards and Share Light Bulbs and Lessons Learned

Reno, Nevada
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Light bulbs and lessons learned in CACFP and Child Care

A colleague of mine sent over a news video and asked if this was good to put on our CACFP Forum Facebook page. I reviewed it and got extremely excited. This video should be on all CACFP Facebook pages I told my colleague, it certainly tells the family child care and CACFP story in a very short amount of time. We need to find out how Food for Kids got this type of news coverage for CACFP, her program and the family child care provider.

So, I called Alix Melillio and asked her how she got the news to come out and do this piece on CACFP and family child care. What she told me was a surprise; on January 9, 2018, Alix, the Food for Kids Director, received a phone call from  KTVN reporter Ryan Canady asking about the Child and Adult Care Food Program being renewed. This gave Alix an opportunity to talk about the CACFP and she took it. The next thing she knew she had gotten this reporter interested in the CACFP New Meal Pattern Standards in family child care.  He asked if they could do a visit with a family child care provider on CACFP. Now there was only a bit of time to find a child care provider that would let them come visit a meal which is not a problem in CACFP but this time with a reporter.

Enters Margaret Oberg, family child care provider, who said sure come on over. Between the three of them they agreed on a visit at lunch time which was to be served early at the request of the reporter as he had to move fast to get the story on KTVN's evenings news show today. TODAY, Alix thought with excitement.

As you can see by the video here, they did the interview, and the rest is history. Or is it? During my conversation with Alix she said something that really hit home with me. "This experience got me to thinking, must have been a slow day the news; we all just assume the news is not interested in CACFP and Family Child Care maybe because they turned us down once or we never see anything about us. After this experience I know better,” Alix said.

Of course, this also got ME thinking. I asked if Alix if she would ask Margaret Oberg if I could give her a call. Margaret agreed. I had a few questions but I also wanted to congratulate Margaret on the interview. After a few moments into our conversation I found out why she was so wonderful in the interview. She has been licensed as a home child care provider for over 40 years and has belonged to the Northern Nevada Child Care Association since it was formed in 1978, serving on the Board as Secretary, Vice President and President.  She has been:

• accredited through NAFCC since 1998,
• a member of the UNR Family Child Care Network since 1996
• on the Board of the Reno Association for the Education of Young Children for six years. 

 
Margaret is also a member of the Nevada Registry and serves on both the Washoe Co. Child Care and TEACH Advisory boards.  As you heard in the interview Margaret is a strong advocate of the Child and Adult Care Food Program and thinks of it as a major contributor to her successful family child care business. 

Before our chat was over, this busy professional family child care provider turned the conversation over to a topic near and dear to her heart; the UNR Family Child Care Network and its value to the business of taking care of children.  Margaret told me that she credited the University of Nevada Reno's Family Child Care Network and Michelle Gehlert; Program Coordinator for the amount of child care quality and professionalism in the area. She was concerned about losing the UNR Family Child Care Network because of the QRIS getting support from the state instead of the UNR Network. She referred me to  Michelle Gehlert of the UNR Campus Child Care Connections which led us to a new blog indeed. Stay tuned for part 2 about how QRIS is affecting the overall child care industry and CACFP.

This brings us to the light bulbs and lessons learned of this event. What were they?

1.  Not too assume that the media is not interested in reporting on the business of child care and CACFP
2.  That the press has slow news days and sometimes will call you, but don't wait keep them informed
3.  That different news departments (Health Watch) might be interested in different things about CACFP and ChildCare
4. That Margaret Oberg and Food for Kids are teaming up to have success in implementing the New CACFP Meal Patterns
5. That while you are listening to one story, keep your mind open for the next story. Its there, let’s learn from them. 
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