Celebrating 14 Years of Our Grow Fit Program

We’re excited to celebrate the 14th anniversary of Grow Fit^® this year!

This exclusive Learning Care program was created in 2012 to help children in our schools build healthy, lifelong habits. Since then, Grow Fit has been more than just a healthy menu. It has symbolized a commitment to nourishing children’s growing bodies and minds, encouraging active lifestyles, and cultivating positive relationships with food during some of the most important years of early childhood development.

Over the last 14 years, Grow Fit has helped our school teams focus on providing balanced, nutritious meals and snacks while teaching children that healthy choices can be enjoyable and exciting. Through thoughtfully planned menus, engaging classroom experiences, and daily movement, the Grow Fit program has helped shape a culture of wellness in our schools.

What Is Grow Fit?

Grow Fit is a comprehensive health and wellness program designed to support the overall well-being of young children. It combines nutritious meals, physical activity, wellness education, and healthy lifestyle practices into the daily classroom routine. The program encourages children to explore new foods, enjoy a variety of fruits and vegetables, stay active, and develop habits that support lifelong health.

Over the years, Grow Fit has evolved by introducing initiatives that encourage children to broaden their tastes and appreciate diverse foods.

In 2017, juice was removed from our school menus to decrease the amount of sugar in children’s diets. This change alone eliminated five semi-trucks full of sugar in one year. Now, in 2026, we’ve officially eliminated more than 45 semi-trucks full of sugar!

By 2020, we were able to convert all the grains on our menus to Whole Grain-rich products, giving every child in our care more fiber in their diet on a daily basis.

In 2021, we introduced “Veggie-Fueled Fridays” by featuring two vegetables at lunch as one way to keep vegetables at the center of children’s meals. We’ve continued to focus on sharing a variety of vegetables by adding veggie options during breakfast and snack time, too.

Our hope is that sharing seasonal menus, multicultural recipes, veggie-focused meals, and garden-inspired activities will help children make meaningful connections between food, health, and the world around them for years to come.

The success of Grow Fit would not be possible without the dedication of our school teams, cooks, teachers, directors, families, and children who have embraced the program. Together, we have created environments where healthy choices are encouraged, celebrated, and enjoyed.

As we celebrate this important milestone, we remain committed to our mission of helping children grow strong, stay active, and develop healthy habits that support a lifetime of wellness.