How Farm to ECE Programs Help Grow Healthy Kids: Meet Dr. Emia Oppenheim Artwork

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Community Possibilities

How Farm to ECE Programs Help Grow Healthy Kids: Meet Dr. Emia Oppenheim

June 18, 2025 • Ann Price

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Dr. Emia Oppenheim shares the powerful impact of Farm to Early Care and Education programs that connect young children with local food systems through gardening, hands-on learning, and fresh local foods.

• Public health nutrition focuses on population-level changes rather than individual interventions
• Children's food preferences often develop before age three, making early exposure to fruits and vegetables critical
• Farm to ECE uses three core strategies: buying local foods, teaching about agriculture, and hands-on learning
• Purchasing local foods creates ripple effects by supporting farmers and strengthening community food systems
• ASPHN's FarmWise initiative brings states together through collaborative learning to develop Farm to ECE programs
• Strong coalitions with diverse stakeholders drive innovation and sustainability in public health initiatives
• Despite funding challenges, states have found creative ways to implement local food purchasing incentives
• The next generation of public health professionals brings systems thinking and compassion to food system work

Visit asphn.org to learn more about ASPHN's Farm to ECE work, sign up for their newsletter, or join their upcoming webinars and training opportunities.

Guest Bio
Emia Oppenheim, PhD, MPhil, RD, Public Health Consultant and Farm to ECE Programs Director, Association of State Public Health Nutritionists,

Dr. Emia Oppenheim is a seasoned public health nutritionist and consultant currently working with the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN) on federal public health initiatives. With a career spanning several decades, she has extensive expertise in nutrition, early childhood health and development, chronic disease prevention and population health. Dr. Oppenheim completed her PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry in 2001, at Cornell University, following an MPhil in Immunology from the University of Sheffield (UK) and a clinical internship for a dietetic registration at the University of Virginia. Dr. Oppenheim was an adjunct lecturer at Cornell and has presented widely on nutrition and child development in the US and UK. Dr. Oppenheim’s career has shifted over the years from nutritional biochemistry to public health nutrition with a focus on transforming policies, systems and programs to support healthier environments for children. She began working on public health programs in school districts, later serving as the lead for early childhood obesity prevention programs at the Ohio Department of Health. She now leads ASPHN’s national efforts with Federal partners to expand and strengthen Farm to Child initiatives, helping states create healthier food sys

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