Child Care Services Association Receives Donation from Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation

Grant will support Shape NC, a project to increase the number of children entering kindergarten at a healthy weight.

Chapel Hill, N.C., January 22, 2020: Child Care Services Association (CCSA) received $2,000 from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation to continue Shape NC, a project aimed at increasing the number of children in Durham and Orange counties that start kindergarten at a healthy weight and ready to learn. 

“Thank you to Food Lion for this supportive grant that will help us continue offering young children participating in Shape NC the physical activity and nutritional education they need for a healthy life,” said Marsha Basloe, president of CCSA.

Children enrolled in child care may consume between 50% and 100% of their Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) while in care. Therefore, child care programs have a chance to provide the foundation for a healthy life for even the youngest children. Shape NC, implemented by CCSA, promotes healthy eating and active play for children from birth-5 years old by working with child care programs to serve healthy food and increase physical activity in young children.

Established in 2001, the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation provides financial support for programs and organizations dedicated to feeding the hungry in the communities it serves. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded more than $12 million in grants.

Child Care Services Association
Founded in 1974, Child Care Services Association’s mission is to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality child care for all young children and their families. Using a holistic approach, CCSA supports children and families, helps child care professionals improve the quality of early education children receive and ensures all families can afford and access the high-quality early care and education that is so important for a child’s early development. Through its Meal Services Program, CCSA also provides nutritious meals to children at child care centers, where they may eat 50-100 percent of their meals. Our T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood^®, Child Care WAGE$^® and Infant-Toddler Educator AWARD$® Plus programs give child care professionals the means to obtain an education and supplement their salary based on that education. CCSA also licenses T.E.A.C.H. and WAGE$ across the U.S. and conducts early childhood systems research and policy development statewide and nationally. For more information, visit www.childcareservices.org.

The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation
The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Food Lion, based in Salisbury, N.C. Established in 2001, the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation provides financial support for programs and organizations dedicated to eliminating hunger. The charitable foundation has provided more than $12 million in grant funding helping to nourish communities with fresh food for backpack programs, Kids Café’s, and other hunger-relief programs as well as funding for long-term programs to help shorten the lines at food banks. The charitable foundation partners with Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief agency, in addition to local food agencies serving the 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states in which Food Lion operates.  For more information, visit www.foodlion.com/in-our-community.

Food Lion
Food Lion, based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, has more than 1,000 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 63,000 associates. By leveraging its longstanding heritage of low prices and convenient locations, Food Lion is working to own the easiest full shop grocery experience in the Southeast, anchored by a strong commitment to affordability, freshness and the communities it serves. Through Food Lion Feeds, the company has donated more than 500 million meals to individuals and families since 2014, and has committed to donate 1 billion more meals by 2025. Food Lion is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam-based Royal Ahold Delhaize Group. For more information, visit www.foodlion.com.

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