Our Impact
The Nursing Nest improves infant care access at community events by creating dedicated, supportive areas where families can feed, pump, change, soothe and care for their babies.
Our work helps reduce practical barriers that can make attending community events difficult for families with infants. By bringing infant care support directly into the places where communities gather, families can meet their babies’ needs with greater comfort and remain connected to the experience around them.
2026 Impact So Far
Data current through July 10, 2026
The Nursing Nest began serving Central Ohio families in May 2026. Throughout our inaugural season, we are collecting service-use data, caregiver feedback and field observations to understand how dedicated infant care access affects families’ ability to participate in community events.
3 community events served
26 caregiver encounters
46 infant care service uses
16 Central Ohio ZIP codes represented
6 volunteers engaged
What Families Use The Nursing Nest For
Families may visit The Nursing Nest for:
Breastfeeding or pumping
Bottle-feeding and bottle preparation
Diaper changes
Soothing or calming an infant
A quieter place to pause while caring for their baby
Each caregiver encounter may include more than one type of support.
ComFest 2026
ComFest demonstrated what can happen when infant care access is intentionally included in a large community festival.
Over the three-day event, The Nursing Nest documented:
21 caregiver encounters
33 infant care service uses
14 ZIP codes represented
Caregivers used the area for feeding, diaper changes, soothing and quiet moments with their babies.
Among 6 caregivers who completed the follow-up survey:
100% reported that The Nursing Nest reduced stress or overwhelm
100% reported feeling more comfortable participating in the event
100% said they would use The Nursing Nest again
Weather affected attendance throughout the weekend. Storms on Friday and high temperatures on Sunday resulted in most caregiver visits occurring on Saturday. These conditions also reinforced the importance of bringing dependable infant care infrastructure into outdoor community settings.
What We Are Learning
Our early program data shows that families use The Nursing Nest for more than one type of care. Feeding, diapering and soothing often happen during the same visit.
We are also learning that advance communication and visible wayfinding are essential. Families are more likely to use the service when they know it will be available before arriving and can easily locate it once they are at the event.
These findings are helping us strengthen event planning, signage, outreach and future mobile program development.
Building the Evidence
The Nursing Nest collects information at each activation to measure reach, service use and caregiver experience. Our evaluation includes:
Caregiver encounters and infant care service uses
Geographic reach
Types of care provided
Caregiver-reported stress reduction
Comfort participating in the event
Likelihood of using the service again
Volunteer and event-organizer feedback
Operational observations and opportunities for improvement
We will use this information to publish a comprehensive report following the 2026 event season.
Help Expand Infant Care Access
Community support allows The Nursing Nest to transport, staff and equip dedicated infant care areas while keeping the service available to families at no cost.