Veggies Early & Often

The Importance of Veggies Early and Often

Through Veggies Early & Often, PHA is convening leaders in industry, health professionals and early childhood education to consolidate evidence and outline an action agenda with the goal to raise a generation of veggie lovers.

Most young children fail to meet recommendations for vegetable intake, a regrettable fact given evidence suggesting that the early years are a unique window of opportunity to cultivate healthy taste preferences and dietary patterns.

PHA designed this nutrition education campaign with a cross-sector group of a dozen inaugural partners to align on the evidence that supports why young eaters need vegetables early in life.

Together with our partners, PHA will:

Disseminate the science behind why “veggies early and often” matters.
Host conversations to discuss innovative approaches to increase and sustain consumption of vegetables among young children.
Showcase companies who adopt PHA’s “Veggies Early & Often" icon as a reliable indicator to parents and caregivers of veggie-forward products and approaches.

Only 10% of children consume the daily recommended amounts of vegetables.

Our Members

Shibani Baluja, Founder & CEO, lil’gourmets
Carolyn (O’Hare) Batyske, Co-founder and President/COO, Tiny Organics
Darlena Birch, MBA, RDN, Senior Public Health Nutritionist, National WIC Association
Jennifer Chow, Co-Founder, Nurture Life
Caree Cotwright, PhD, RDN, LD, Associate Professor, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Department of Foods and Nutrition, University of Georgia
Erin Croom, MS, CEO and Co-founder, Small Bites Adventure Club
Carrie Dooyema, MPH, MSN, RN, Team Lead, Early Care and Education Team, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Heidi DiEugenio, Founding Board Member, The Dr. Yum Project
Scott Drattell, Senior Brand Manager, Happy Family Organics
Kofi Essel, MD, MPH, FAAP, Community Pediatrician at Children’s National Hospital; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Director of GW Culinary Medicine Program, Clinical Public Health Summit on Obesity and Community/Urban Health Scholarly Concentration at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Nimali Fernando, MD, MPH, Founder and Director, The Dr. Yum Project, Owner of Yum Pediatrics
Betsy Fore, Co-CEO & Co-Founder, Tiny Organics
Stephanie K. Goodwin, PhD, MPH, RD, Senior Manager, Government & Industry Affairs at Danone
Kendall Glynn MS, CGC, Co-Founder, COO, Square Baby
Diane Harris, PhD, MPH, CHES, Senior Health Scientist and Team Lead, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Jodi Kuhn, Director of Nutrition & Wellness, KinderCare Education
Lisa Mack, President & CEO, National CACFP Sponsors Association
Rupa Mahadevan, MD, FAAP, ABOIM, Assistant Professor of Medicine at LSU/Ochsner Health System Feist Weiller Cancer Center /Director of Culinary Medicine Integrative Medicine Physician
Lindsey Miller, MPH, Research Analyst, Healthy Eating Research, a National Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University
Michael L. Orenstein, SVP Brand Innovation & Special Projects, Yumi
Donna A. Pomerson, Senior Director Operational Compliance, Learning Care Group
Jennie Shen, Director of Brand Marketing, Serenity Kids
Nicole Spain, MS, LDN, RDN, Registered Dietician Nutritionist, Learning Care Group
Alexia Thex, MEd, Director of Policy and Partnerships, National CACFP Sponsors Association
Katie Thomson, MS, RD, Co-Founder & CEO, Square Baby

Our Work

Partnership for a Healthier America Launches COVID-19 Fresh Food Fund to Help Transform the Food Landscape in Pursuit of Health Equity
Good Feeding: The Start We All Deserve
Tiny Organics Joins Partnership for a Healthier America to Cultivate a Vegetable-Loving Generation
Nurture Life Launches New Branding, Product Offerings, and E-Commerce Initiatives Supporting their Mission to Deliver a Healthier World through Better Nutrition for Kids
Food & Beverage Leaders Call On Industry To Transform Food For Infants & Toddlers
Partnership for a Healthier America Announces New Partner Commitments and Partner of the Year at 2019 Summit
Good Feeding: A journey into the world of flavor
Partnership for a Healthier America Welcomes Square Baby as Newest Shaping Early Palates Partner to Inspire Healthy Eaters for Life

Our Resources

Resource

Yes, Kids CAN Learn to Love Veggies!

A review of evidence to support why young eaters need veggies ‘early and often.’
Resource

Patient Infographic for Medical Professionals (English & Spanish)

A resource for medical professionals who are committed to working with families and caregivers to raise a generation of veggies lovers.
Resource

Raising Adventurous Eaters with First Foods (English & Spanish)

Patient education handouts that offer stage-by-stage guidance on nutrition and infant feeding during pregnancy and from 0-15 months of age.
Resource

Veggies Early & Often Resource List for Early Childhood Educators

A resource for child care centers that provides easy steps to develop an organizational commitment to ‘veggies early & often’ during and outside of mealtime.

The Importance of Veggies Early and Often

Our Members

Our Partners

Our Work

Our Resources