Today, as National Nutrition Month commences, Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) announced that hundreds of veggie-forward options have been introduced to the marketplace to help children learn to love vegetables from an early age.
In the last year, seven baby food companies have partnered with PHA to make a difference in children's nutrition and challenge the industry to raise the bar by offering parents and caregivers 148 products that meet PHA's highest Veggies Early & Often icon requirements. Products approved to use PHA's icon contain over half vegetables and help parents and caregivers identify products that deliver on their veggie promise.
"The introduction of these better foods is disrupting the status quo in the baby food market in order to pave the way for a healthier and more equitable food environment for our littlest eaters," said Nancy E. Roman, President and CEO of Partnership for a Healthier America. "Research shows that a baby's first bites can set a foundation for a healthy life, and our Veggies Early & Often partners are unlocking growth in the market by producing and selling veggie-forward products."
Only 10% of young children meet recommendations for vegetable intake, a regrettable fact given evidence analyzed by PHA in the white paper, Yes, Kids CAN Learn to Love Veggies suggesting that the early years are a unique window of opportunity to cultivate healthy taste preferences and dietary patterns.
Parent and caregiver efforts to provide veggie-forward diets to young children can either be supported or hampered by offerings in the baby and toddler food marketplace. The introduction of hundreds of veggie-forward products by PHA's Veggies Early & Often partners reinforces the power of industry collaboration to accelerate consumer awareness about the latest recommendations for children's health and nutrition.
The baby and toddler food manufacturers with products that currently meet PHA's Veggies Early & Often icon requirements are Happy Family Organics, lil'gourmets, Nurture Life, Serenity Kids, Square Baby, Tiny Organics, and Yumi.
Other partners in the Veggies Early & Often campaign include KinderCare and Learning Care Group who have collectively reformulated 39 of their menu items to meet the icon's requirements, and health professionals from across the country who are committed to giving all children a healthy and equitable start by driving awareness of the importance of vegetable consumption for infants and toddlers.
PHA will continue to add new commitments from baby and toddler food manufacturers as well as early childhood education providers to increase access to veggie-forward options in the marketplace and in child care centers.
For more information:
info@ahealthieramerica.org.
www.ahealthieramerica.org