The National Restaurant Association expanded its Kids LiveWell® program to 37 participating brands covering nearly 75,000 U.S. restaurant locations, the trade group announced Thursday, alongside the debut of a dedicated consumer-facing website that lets families search for certified children's menu options by geography.
Program Scale
The program added 19 brands over the past 12 months — roughly doubling its roster — bringing in operators including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Jimmy John's, First Watch, and four GoTo Foods concepts: Jamba, McAlister's Deli, Moe's Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky's Deli. Other long-standing participants include Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Denny's, IHOP, Applebee's, Wendy's, Whataburger, Subway, and Panda Express, spanning every major foodservice segment from quickservice through full-service dining.
To qualify, operators must offer at least two meals and two sides that pass dietitian review against thresholds for calories, saturated fat, trans fat, added sugars, and sodium. Items must incorporate at least two food groups — fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meat or meat alternatives, or dairy — and restaurants must set default kids' beverage options to water, milk, or 100% fruit or vegetable juice.
Why Operators Are Joining
The expansion arrives as nutritional scrutiny of foodservice menus intensifies at the federal and state level, and as value-conscious families increasingly factor health credentials into dining decisions. Sean Kennedy, Chief Advocacy Officer at the National Restaurant Association, framed the growth in explicitly political terms: "Policymakers at every level are paying closer attention to the food options available to families, and the restaurant industry is meeting the moment head-on. Kids LiveWell illustrates that voluntary industry leadership works."
For multi-brand operators, participation can function as a differentiation lever. GoTo Foods Director of Nutrition Sarah Marjoram cited the program as a means to align "with evolving nutrition guidance" while preserving flavor, a tension that has historically limited kids' menu reformulation across the fast-casual and quickservice segments. Bloomin' Brands — whose Bonefish Grill, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, and Outback Steakhouse all participate — has been in the program since its early days.
The Digital Layer
The new kidslivewell.com site introduces a "Good Food Finder" that surfaces participating locations by area, displays approved meals per brand, and publishes the program's full nutrition criteria alongside a white paper. The mobile-optimized tool represents a shift in how the NRA markets the initiative — moving from B2B credentialing toward direct-to-consumer discoverability, a strategy that trade observers note could meaningfully lift awareness among the millennial and Gen Z parents who now drive the bulk of family dining decisions.
NRA President and CEO Michelle Korsmo said the site strengthens operators' value proposition at a moment when dining-out frequency remains under pressure from household budget constraints. "Dining out remains an important part of daily life and families are paying closer attention to what they order and the value they receive," she said.
The Kids LiveWell program, which has run for more than a decade, is one of the more durable voluntary nutrition initiatives in the foodservice industry, surviving where mandatory menu-labeling debates have repeatedly stalled. With participation now crossing the 75,000-location threshold, it represents a meaningful share of the more than 1 million U.S. restaurant and foodservice outlets the NRA counts in its membership base.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
