Spotlight:
Patricia Crosby, Owner, Patricia’s Day Care, Baltimore, MD
The Problem:
In many U.S. families, parents work long hours, often leaving them without the energy to cook balanced, healthy dinners for their household.
The Solution:
A child care provider who serves up to three nutritious meals and two snacks a day to the children in her home-based program.
How She Did It:
Patricia Crosby’s day begins at 4:30 a.m. She gets up, works out for 30 minutes to keep herself healthy, and hits the kitchen to prepare food for the upcoming day: breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. Most of the eight families she serves are neighbors, and Patricia knows all too well the parents’ struggles to hold down jobs while raising young children. She eases some of the pressure by staying open 12 hours a day, and making sure the children go home with full bellies.
Patricia’s space is not large, so every time she serves a meal she has to clear the room of toys and equipment and set up folding tables and chairs—and then break them down again when the kids are done eating. Her workday ends around 6:30 p.m., which is when Patricia climbs the stairs to the second floor and—her words—sprawls across the bed. “But I love it,” she says. “I love what I do.”
The Results:
Patricia sees herself as the children’s mother-away-from home, teacher, cook, and playmate. She’s satisfied that the kids know she loves them, and that parents put their trust in her. See her video as a part of our series, Provider Snapshots: Leaders in Nutrition and Active Play.
On Patricia’s Wish List:
One day, she’d like to run her own child care center.
