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“Doing Good, Works” – How Frontier Co-op’s Onsite Child Care and School Bus Transportation Drives Business Success

Organizational Snapshot

At Frontier Co-op, we believe that we have a responsibility to people and planet. Because of this, our Purpose Statement and our Corporate Social Responsibility Policy can be boiled down to one overarching mindset: that doing good, works. We break this approach down into three focus areas: doing good within our walls, in our communities, and at source.

Policy

Onsite Child Care

Region

Iowa

Offices in North Liberty, Belle Plaine, and Urbana, IA; and Boulder, CO

Industry

Food, Retail, & Hospitality

Size

Medium

Over 600 Employees

Male/Female

43% / 57%

Founded

1976

"Investments in the holistic wellbeing of your team help maintain a healthy culture, improve retention rates, and support the overall resilience of your workforce, especially during periods of economic uncertainty. I would challenge other employers to ask how they can be part of the solution to the challenges that their communities are facing."

Megan Schulte

VP of Human Resources, Frontier Co-Op

Family Friendly Policy Overview

Since opening in the 1970s, Frontier Co-op has offered family-friendly benefits that were often unheard of at the time. Why? Because “Doing Good” as a business extends to family. Over the years, the company has met employees where they are, adding more support and instilling a culture that team members are excited to be a part of each day.

Onsite Child Care: A staple of the Frontier Co-op culture, employees are encouraged to bring their children to work utilizing their onsite child care benefit. Only steps away from the main conference room, working parents can visit their kids throughout the day and eat lunch with them in the cafeteria. It costs a little over $100 a week, and employees are only charged for hours their children are there, making it cost effective and convenient. Frontier Co-op utilizes the federal employer-provided child care credit, an incentive for companies to provide child care services to their employees. While this tax credit wasn’t the initial reason for implementing onsite child care, company leaders say it’s a huge benefit that has helped them expand and enhance its services.

Child Care Reimbursement: If team members have alternative child care arrangements, Frontier Co-op will reimburse employees 50% of the cost, up to $90 per week, per child. They know child care isn’t one-size-fits-all, so this support is their way of having employees’ backs, no matter where they are.

School Transportation: Frontier Co-op understands that getting kids to and from school can be a logistical challenge, especially with barriers like transportation and weather. That’s why the company has partnered with the local school district to offer employees’ children a bus ride to and from school, bringing them to Frontier for after school care. It alleviates stress, saves employees time, and reassures team members that child care is always available, no matter what.

Parental Leave: Frontier recognizes that becoming a new parent and returning to work is a critical time in their employees’ lives. New parents enjoy four weeks paid maternity leave or two weeks paid paternity leave. Additionally, the company offers flexible schedules for all employees, a benefit that new parents can use to nurse or visit their children in the child care center.

529 Match: Because the company is committed to supporting families at every stage, they match up to $1,000 a year in contributions to a child or grandchild’s 529 plan, which can be used to pay for K-12 and post-secondary education expenses, such as tuition, fees, room and board, and educational materials.

Policy Implementation Overview

Recruiting Skilled Workers: With child care facility wait times spanning up to nine months in the Norway area, family-friendly benefits like onsite child care appeal to job candidates who have children or are planning to start a family. Offering this benefit attracts skilled candidates who value support for their personal and professional lives.

Fewer Absences: Iowa’s unpredictable weather and frequent school system disruptions often impact workdays for working parents. Providing reliable transportation and a dedicated space for employees’ children has significantly reduced absenteeism, ensuring greater workforce stability.

Choosing to Stay: Frontier Co-op provides its employees with comprehensive benefits that support them both professionally and personally. Their work culture emphasizes the importance of not having to miss life’s big moments. This has resulted in long-term loyalty to the organization, especially for employees who utilize the child care center. In 2024 and 2025, 100% of Frontier employees who took time off for the birth of a child returned to work.
Tax Advantages: By utilizing the federal employer-provided child care tax credit, Frontier Co-op has saved around $140,000 per year to support its child care costs. The credit allows employers like Frontier Co-op to claim 25% of qualified child care facility expenditures, including costs to acquire, construct, rehabilitate, or expand a licensed child care facility, and operating expenses such as training child care workers, scholarships, and increased compensation. This financial incentive has helped boost business performance by saving costs and allowing those dollars to be invested back into the business.
Quality Child Care: In our most recent Parent survey, parents rated the child care at Frontier Co-op a 4 out of 5 in all categories, making Frontier a great place for both working parents and their children.

The Impact

When companies provide thoughtful solutions that meet their employees where they’re at, whether that’s helping resolve child care or school transportation issues, employees feel valued and are ready to work, resulting in a more motivated, engaged workforce. These appealing family-friendly benefits show that Frontier Co-op walks the walk, proving to its team members that they can have both a career and a family and be successful at both. This reflects the company’s dedication to Doing Good.