Sponsor Spotlight: Michelle Buchanan of CASEWV
Sponsor of Family Child Care Homes
April 3, 2025
Michelle Buchanan serves as the Food Program Director at the Community Action of Southeastern West Virginia (CASEWV), which is a non-profit organization providing a wide range of services to the community. CASEWV’s offerings include housing assistance, Head Start, Early Head Start, home visitation programs, Project YES, Senior Nutrition, and more.
As a sponsoring organization for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), CASEWV supports approximately 65 family child care homes. Through this program, they ensure that over 950 children across both Head Start and Family Daycare homes receive nutritious meals daily.
Believe it or not, Michelle Buchanan's connection to the Community Action of Southeastern West Virginia (CASEWV) began when she was just five years old. Her parents enrolled her in a Head Start program that was run by CASEWV. Little did she know, this organization would become a cornerstone of her life.
Years later, Michelle participated in a job training program, which serendipitously placed her in a role with CASEWV’s Child and Adult Care Food Program. Her dedication and natural aptitude for the program quickly became evident, earning her a part-time position as a CACFP monitor. Through hard work and perseverance, Michelle steadily advanced within the organization, ultimately becoming the Director of the Food Program.
“The agency that provided me a pathway through Head Start is now the same agency where I have been employed for the past 38 years. My former executive director always told me, ‘Michelle, you started here when you were born."
Michelle’s journey with the CACFP comes full circle—from receiving meals as a participant in a Head Start program to now playing a pivotal role in connecting family child care homes to the program. Drawing from her personal experience, Michelle deeply understands the transformative impact CACFP has on children, families, and communities. Her passion for promoting healthy eating extends beyond child care and into the broader community, recognizing the lasting positive outcomes it can bring.
For Michelle, CACFP is more than a reimbursement program for child care meals. She views it as a vital source of support for children, daycare providers, working families, and the local economy—creating a ripple effect that nurtures growth and well-being in small communities.
“The CACFP impacts our small community by supporting day care providers who care for children while parents work or attend school. These providers offer healthy and nutritious meals and snacks to children, teaching them better eating habits that can lead to better health outcomes and improved readiness for school. Through the financial support providers receive from CACFP helps offset food costs, ensuring that children receive fresh fruits and vegetables and balance meals without the burden falling solely on the providers. This support not only promotes self-sufficiency amongst the providers, but it also benefits the local economy. Providers spend their earnings back into grocery stores, fostering economic growth within the community."
The positive benefits of the program have led many of CASEWV’s sponsored family child care homes to remain active in the program for decades. Remarkably, some providers joined at 18 years old and now, years later, their grandchildren participate in the program as well.
Michelle fondly recalls one provider who joined CACFP at the age of 18 when she first opened a family child care home to care for her own children. Determined to build a better future, this provider earned a bachelor’s degree and now owns and operates two licensed child care centers. These centers have been serving children for over 12 years, ensuring that they remain enrolled in the CACFP and continue to provide nutritious meals to every child in their care.
Michelle is committed to the family child care home providers sponsored by CASEWV. She believes that CASEWV’s success as a sponsoring organization stems from the supportive environment they create for their providers. Michelle ensures that providers feel comfortable and reassured, emphasizing that mistakes can happen—and when they do, she is committed to working together to find solutions and helping them better understand the importance of policies, procedures, rules and regulations.
One of Michelle's most valuable pieces of advice to other sponsors is the importance of clear, consistent, and relatable communication with providers. She advocates for taking the time to understand the program from the providers’ perspective, putting yourself in their shoes. This approach not only fosters mutual respect but also enhances the ability to effectively communicate, ensuring providers can successfully implement the program.
CASEWV is also working to raise awareness about the CACFP in their community. During National CACFP Week, and on CASEWV social media platform, they will be promoting stories of their long-time provider to show the amazing impact that the program and their organization can have. Along with showcasing the impact of their programs for Head Start, Commission on Aging, and CACFP in their community by feeding nutritious well-balance meals and snack to children as well as adults.
In West Virginia, Michelle has worked for the Community Action of Southeastern West Virginia since 1987.