Dole and Action for Healthy Kids

Dole partners to make teaching about fruits and vegetables easy!

Kids are back to school and teachers are back in full education mode.  And at Dole, we believe that’s the perfect timing to bring the power of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables to the forefront.  For well over a decade, we’ve been delivering health tips, nutrition research and delicious fruit and veggie packed recipes through the Dole Nutrition Newsletter, and now we’re teaming up with the non-profit organization Action for Healthy Kids to bring this information to a school near you! 

According to CDC data, nearly 23% of Americans eat vegetables less than once per day while over 37% lack a daily dose of fruit. The national average for adults is just 1.6 servings of vegetables and 1.1 cups of fruit per day – about half of the recommended amount. Americans are specifically falling short on dark green, red and orange vegetables, like spinach, bell peppers and tomatoes, getting just 50% of what they need.

Even more concerning, for children, snacks are providing as much as 42% of their daily calories, usually in the form of calorie-rich but nutrient-poor processed foods. Kids are averaging a whopping 12 to 18 teaspoons of sugar per day – just picture 18 sugar cubes! And while kids are filling up on added sugar, more than 36% of them eat fruit and vegetables less than once a day.

The most alarming fact about this is the toll poor diet is taking on the nation’s health. In 2014, in just one year, the obesity rate for adults in the United States increased from 27.6% to 29.4%, and more than a third of children are considered overweight or obese. Nearly 10% of adults have diabetes, and heart disease remains the number one killer in the U.S. Both diseases can often be avoided through healthy diet and exercise.

So, how does Dole plan to help? Dole and Action for Healthy Kids are proud to partner together to bring you brand new, interactive digital healthy eating toolkits for both parents and schools. Chock full of recipes and resources on topics such as nutrition education, eating healthy on a budget, school gardens, healthy fundraising, healthy school meals, and more, the toolkit is a one-stop shop for all things nutrition. We’re out to show you that eating produce can be healthy, delicious and enormously fun.  Together, we can build a healthier, happier world, one bite of fresh produce at a time!  Get started today at actionforhealthykids.org/nutrition-toolkit.

Published October 1st 2019