The National Restaurant Association has relaunched its Kids LiveWell® program with a new consumer-facing website and a significantly expanded roster of participating brands, a development with direct implications for operators specifying and building out family-oriented dining concepts. The program now counts 37 brands across nearly 75,000 locations nationwide — up 19 brands added in the past year alone — spanning quick-service, fast casual, and full-service segments.
Program Criteria
Kids LiveWell sets a defined nutritional bar: participating operators must offer at least two qualifying meals and two sides, each containing at least two food groups from the categories of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meat or meat alternatives, and dairy. Registered dietitians independently verify each item against benchmarks for calories, saturated fat, trans fat, added sugars, and sodium. Default beverage options must be limited to water, milk, or 100% fruit or vegetable juice. The program's criteria are fully detailed in a publicly available white paper at KidsLiveWell.com.
For operators, the program functions as a structured culinary and menu-development framework — one that effectively shapes back-of-house production requirements. Kitchens serving Kids LiveWell items need prep and cooking workflows capable of consistently delivering to spec: fresh proteins, whole-grain sides, and unprocessed accompaniments that meet the dietitian-verified standard. First Watch, for instance, notes its kitchens operate without deep fryers, microwaves, or heat lamps — a facility posture increasingly common among better-for-you full-service concepts, and one that influences equipment specification decisions from cooking equipment selection to ventilation load calculations.
Operator and Chain Implications
The breadth of the expanded roster — from Burger King and Chick-fil-A to independent regional operators like Anna Maria Oyster Bar and Conchy Joe's Seafood — signals that Kids LiveWell compliance is achievable across a wide range of kitchen configurations. GoTo Foods brought four brands into the program simultaneously: Jamba, McAlister's Deli, Moe's Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky's Deli. Chipotle, already operating a highly customizable, assembly-line kitchen model, also participates, illustrating how make-line equipment layouts can accommodate program requirements without significant operational disruption.
For foodservice consultants and equipment specifiers working on new builds or remodels for family-dining or fast-casual concepts, Kids LiveWell participation is increasingly becoming a menu-development signal that informs kitchen design. Concepts committing to the program may deprioritize or eliminate deep-fat fryer banks in favor of prep and storage capacity for fresh produce and proteins — shifting equipment spend and hood calculations accordingly. Operators replacing legacy frying-heavy line configurations with lighter, fresher menu execution are a growing segment of the commercial kitchen buildout market.
Michelle Korsmo, President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association, framed the website launch as both a consumer tool and an operator value proposition. "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. "Kids LiveWell menu options help participating operators strengthen their value proposition and meet the needs of today's consumers."
Finding the Program
The mobile-ready website at KidsLiveWell.com includes a Good Food Finder search tool that allows families to locate participating restaurants by geography and browse verified menu items by brand. For operators considering participation, the site also outlines the full nutrition criteria and dietitian verification process. Sean Kennedy, Chief Advocacy Officer at the NRA, noted that the voluntary, industry-led model is drawing more brands precisely because it demonstrates measurable, market-driven results without regulatory mandate.
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.
