The National Restaurant Association today announced that the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) has become the first commodity board sponsor of the Association's award-winning Kids LiveWell program, a voluntary industry-wide initiative designed to help make the healthful choice the easy choice when dining out with children. The National Restaurant Association applauded CMAB for its longstanding efforts to promote the importance of dairy products as part of a balanced diet. "The new partnership between Kids LiveWell and the California Milk Advisory Board offers valuable and exciting opportunities to promote the integral role that low-fat dairy plays in building a healthful meal particularly for growing children," said Joan McGlockton, Vice President, Industry Affairs & Food Policy, National Restaurant Association. "The sponsorship shows the reach of the Kids LiveWell program across the entire food industry and will help current participants and restaurants looking to join the program by identifying low-fat dairy options that provide important nutrients for the youngest of those we serve in restaurants every day."
"We're pleased to be a part of a program that promotes nutritious and wholesome restaurant meals for children," said Jennifer Giambroni, Director of Communications for the CMAB. "Milk and dairy products are an essential part of healthy eating and developing good eating habits early on can help children make their own healthy food choices later in life. In addition to being full of flavor, California milk and other dairy products are an excellent source of calcium and other important nutrients like vitamin D, phosphorus, riboflavin and protein."
The 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines recommend Americans build a healthy plate with nutrient-rich foods, including low-fat or fat-free dairy. Dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt contribute essential nutrients that are important for the good health of both adults and children.
The NRA launched Kids LiveWell in 2011 to help restaurants highlight their better-for-you menu choices for children. To join the program, restaurants agree to offer and promote a selection of healthful menu items that meet nutrition criteria based on leading health organizations' scientific recommendations, including the USDA Dietary Guidelines.
Kids LiveWell was developed in collaboration with Healthy Dining, whose team of registered dietitians works with restaurants to identify and validate the qualifying menu choices. Participating restaurants and their qualifying items can be found on HealthyDiningFinder.com, and also via a free Kids LiveWell app in the Android Market and iTunes app store. Currently, Kids LiveWell includes more than 145 restaurant brands representing more than 42,000 locations nationwide.
About National Restaurant Association
Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 990,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of more than 13.5 million employees. We represent the industry in Washington, D.C., and advocate on its behalf. We operate the industry's largest trade show (NRA Show May 16-19, 2015, in Chicago); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart); as well as the Kids LiveWell program promoting healthful kids' menu options. For more information, visit www.restaurant.org and find us on Twitter @WeRRestaurants, Facebook and YouTube.
About California Milk Advisory BoardThe California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state's more than 1,500 dairy families. With headquarters in South San Francisco and Modesto, the CMAB is one of the largest commodity boards in the United States. The CMAB executes advertising, public relations, research and retail and foodservice promotional programs on behalf of California dairy products, including Real California Milk and Real California Cheese. For more information and to connect with the CMAB through social media, visit RealCaliforniaMilk.com, like at Facebook.com/RealCaliforniaMilk, view videos at YouTube.com/RealCaliforniaMilk, follow at Twitter.com/RealCalifMilk and Instagram.com/RealCalifMilk and pin at Pinterest.com/RealCalifMilk.
7.8.2014