Growing Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies with Grow Fit®
Building Healthy Habits for Life
Healthy choices made in early childhood can last a lifetime. Through our Grow Fit program, we help children develop positive habits by encouraging nutritious eating, daily physical activity, and healthy routines. By creating these strong foundations early, we're helping children grow, thrive, and build lifelong wellness habits.
Our program has the following goals:
- Physical activity: 1-2 hours every day, particularly outside play if possible.
- Limited screen time: At school, a maximum of 30 minutes weekly. At home, a maximum of 1-2 hours/day of quality, educational screen time. None for kids ages two or younger.
- Food: Fruits or vegetables are served at least twice per day. All meals are eaten family style, and contain no fried foods.
- Beverages: Water is available whenever. There are no sugar-sweetened drinks. For ages 2+: low- or nonfat milk.
- Infant feeding: We support parents’ choices. Breastfeeding moms can provide milk and are welcome to breastfeed during school time.
Veggies Early and Often
Helping children enjoy vegetables starts with early exposure. Through our partnership with the Veggies Early and Often campaign, we're introducing children to a wide variety of vegetables in fun and engaging ways. As part of this initiative, we:
- Feature more vegetables throughout our menus.
- Offer two vegetable choices every Friday at lunch.
- Include vegetables for infants during breakfast and snack times.
- Encourage children to try new foods repeatedly, helping build familiarity and confidence.
- Serve 26 different varieties of vegetables throughout our menus
Our educators create positive mealtime experiences that encourage children to explore new flavors without pressure. Families are always welcome to learn more about our menu offerings by speaking with their school director. All meals and snacks are planned with guidance from a registered dietitian nutritionist and meet USDA nutrition and portion requirements.
