BUSINESS BRIEFS: Winn Corp.; Farmers Market vendor training; Chamber awards banquet; Lunch and Learn focus on child care

Winn Corp. receives safety awards at convention

The employees of Winn Corp. received recognition at the Iowa Limestone Producers Association's 74th Annual Convention held recently in Iowa City.

Wapello County Sand, Keokuk County Rock and Jefferson County Quarry employees were honored for working the entire year of 2018 without a lost-time accident.

Iowa Limestone Producers Association sponsors a safety contest each year to give recognition to those member companies and employees who strive, as part of their every day activities, to work safely. This increased emphasis on safety has been a major factor in changing quarry work from a dangerous occupation to where it is one of the safest places to be employed in Iowa.

FMNP training Thursday for Farmers Market vendors

In cooperation with the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will provide viewing for the Farmers Market Nutrition Program 2019 webinar training for new and returning farmers market vendors 10-11 a.m. Thursday at the Jefferson County ISU Extension office.

The Iowa Farmers Market Nutrition Program consists of the Women, Infants and Children FMNP and the Senior FMNP. The FMNPs are Congressionally-authorized programs that provide fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits, vegetables and herbs from farmers markets and farm stands to nutritionally at-risk women, infants, children and low-income seniors.

The Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship does not limit the number of vendors who can become certified under FMNP.

For more information and eligibility, visit www.iowaagriculture.gov, Marketing, Horticulture and Farmers Markets.

To attend, simply show up at the training. For information, contact tru@iastate.edu.

Chamber awards banquet Thursday evening

​The Annual Awards Banquet presented by MidWestOne Bank, the premier annual celebration event for the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce, chamber members and the Fairfield community, will be Thursday at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.

Contact the chamber for reservations.

Every award the Chamber gives recognizes outstanding investment and innovation achieved by Fairfield business and community institutions. Honored achievements include capital improvements, community investment, innovation, and lifelong accomplishment. The Annual Awards Banquet evening culminated with the announcement of the Citizen of the Year Award. These honorees are selected by previous winners and are recognized for their outstanding volunteer service which significantly contributed to the betterment of community life in Fairfield. The Chamber's Annual Awards Banquet celebrates progress in the community.

The 2019 Annual Awards Banquet theme is Black & White! Attendees are asked to match their attire accordingly.

Child Care Lunch & Learn Friday in Mt. Pleasant

MT. PLEASANT -- A Child Care Lunch and Learn is planned from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday at Iowa Wesleyan University's social hall in the student activity center in Mt. Pleasant.

Josh Laraby, executive director of the Fairfield Economic Development Association, will share how they are working with the local Early Childhood Iowa Board and area business leaders to expand quality childcare options including public-private partnerships.

Child care experts will be available in person to answer questions about starting a child care business and making it successful. Talk directly with:

' CCR&R - Child Care Resource and Referral

' CACFP - Child Adult Care Food Program

' Child Care Business Consultants

' DHS - Iowa DHS Child Care Regulations

' T.E.A.C.H. - Scholarship program for child care staff

' WAGE$ - Salary stipends for child care staff

' ECI - Early Childhood Iowa, local area boards funding child care activities.

Total child care businesses in Southeast Iowa declined by 39 percent from 2014-2018.

IOWA lost 40 percent of its child care businesses over the past five years. Estimates show there is currently a shortfall of more than 350,000 child care slots.

Research shows Iowa is in a child care crisis. The crisis is not just a family issue, but a business, workforce, and community issue.

To register, email Tasha Beghtol at tbeghtol@dhlw.org.