More Healthful Kids Meals? Panera CEO Dishes Out A Challenge

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

More Healthful Kids Meals? Panera CEO Dishes Out A Challenge

Chicken nuggets. French fries. Pizza. Repeat.

This repertoire of kids menu items may seem familiar to many families, but one fast-casual chain aims to put a lot more options in front of its young customers.

Beginning this month, there's a kid-sized version of almost everything on Panera's regular menu. The portion shrinks, as does the price. "Kids now have the choice of 250 different combinations," Panera CEO Ron Shaich told NPR.

So, how about a Greek salad with greens and quinoa? Squash soup or a whole-grain flatbread with turkey and cranberries? Maybe these could expand kids' palates.

Shaich announced these changes in a video in which he also challenged the CEOs of fast-food chains to re-examine their kids meal options, which he says can be "nutritional nightmares." He says kids meals at many chains almost always come with french fries, promotional toys and often sugary drinks, too. . .