‘Talking is Teaching’ arriving with fun giveaways in local grocery stores June 18, 2022

Families with children ages birth through five who bring their children grocery shopping are encouraged to stop by Louie’s Fresh Market locations on Saturday, June 18, 2022, for new “Talking is Teaching” campaign celebrations.

Talking is Teaching is an initiative of the Great Start Collaborative and Parent Coalition of Charlevoix, Emmet, and Northern Antrim Counties. It is a national public awareness and action campaign from Too Small to Fail that helps parents and caregivers recognize their power to boost their children’s early brain and vocabulary development through simple, everyday activities like talking, reading, and singing.

Great Start Collaborative staff will be on hand at the Louie’s markets listed below to connect with families, distribute FreeCycle books, and offer free giveaways:

• Boyne City Louie’s – 9-11 a.m. Address: 1231 M-75, Boyne City.
• Petoskey Louie’s – 12:30-2:30 p.m. Address: 2394 E. Mitchell St., Petoskey.
• Alanson Louie’s – 4-6 p.m. Address: 6977 M-68, Alanson.

“The Great Start Collaborative has teamed up with Louie’s Fresh Market stores to create safe and welcoming spaces that encourage all families to talk, read, and sing while grocery shopping,” said Savanah Cool, Great Start Collaborative Director.

“Louie’s has been a great partner in this new initiative to bring Talking is Teaching to local grocery stores,” added Crissy Napont, Great Start Collaborative Project Coordinator. “The materials have been customized for each store to meet the needs of our local community. Working with Louie’s Fresh Markets allowed us to create additional access points to engage youth and families in everyday learning opportunities.”

All families with children 0-5 can enter to win a $50 gift card to help pay for groceries. The first 25 families with children 0-5 will receive a FREE giveaway that includes a child’s apron, a chef’s hat, a gift card to purchase ingredients for a healthy recipe, and a bag to carry it all.

Families can find additional Talking is Teaching materials in a variety of regional settings, including laundromats, nature trails, playgrounds, during parent networking nights, and additional locations. Learn more about the campaign at www.greatstarttalkingisteaching.org.

The project was supported by the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Initiative (PDG B-5), Grant Number 90TP0055-01-0090TP0002, from the Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of Child Care, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Pictured: The first Talking is Teaching grocery store partner was Merrie’s Village Market in Central Lake. Pictured are Aubrey and Everly Walkowiak, from Central Lake, exploring the store in 2021.