About us

Healthy Dining has been at the forefront of restaurant nutrition since 1990. Healthy Dining's team – master’s level health professionals, registered dietitians, marketing professionals and a doctoral level researcher – has worked with hundreds of restaurants and analyzed thousands of menu items for nutritional content.

History

The Healthy Dining Program was launched in 1991. While providing physicians’ patients with nutrition counseling services, Anita Jones, MPH (master’s in public health), discovered the need to help the restaurant industry develop and promote healthier menu options. For almost two decades, the groundbreaking Healthy Dining program has provided restaurants with:
  • Computerized nutrient analysis (calories, fat, etc.)
  • Nutrition guidance and expertise to enable restaurants to increase the healthfulness of a selection of Healthy Dining menu options
  • Dietitian-approved certification of Healthy Dining menu options
  • Promotion and publicity of the participating restaurants and their Healthy Dining options

To help consumers easily find the Healthy Dining options, Jones and the Healthy Dining team published a series of regional books that grew from San Diego to Orange County to Los Angeles. Nineteen editions of the Healthy Dining books have promoted hundreds of participating restaurants and helped Southern California restaurant diners find healthier options.

Milestones

In 2005, Healthy Dining received a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand the Southern California Healthy Dining Program nationwide through an online resource. The National Restaurant Association joined as a founding partner in this groundbreaking restaurant industry initiative. In 2007, HealthyDiningFinder.com was launched with 30,000 participating restaurant locations. Currently more than 60,000 restaurant locations have joined the program to offer a selection of Healthy Dining menu options.

Healthy Dining’s success is built on the support of stakeholder organizations that are committed to helping Americans live healthier lives. These organizations inform the public about HealthyDiningFinder.com and the participating restaurants’ Healthy Dining options. These strategic partner organizations include employers, health organizations, government agencies, health insurance companies, weight control and fitness organizations, and many others. Trade partners include the National Restaurant Association, American Express, Nation’s Restaurant News and Chinese Restaurant News.

The Healthy Dining Program has been featured extensively in the media. Coverage has included The TODAY Show, National Public Radio, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Self, Shape, Prevention, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, Reader’s Digest, Nation’s Restaurant News, QSR Magazine, Restaurant Business, and scores of regional newspapers.

In 2008, Healthy Dining received a second SBIR grant, this one from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This research project, titled, “Nutrition Initiative for Small Chain Restaurants,” will develop strategies and tools to help small chains effectively offer healthier choices and nutrition information.

Vision

Healthy Dining’s vision is that every restaurant in the U.S. join the Healthy Dining Program to offer their customers a selection of delicious Healthy Dining options … so that dining out is a delicious part of a healthy lifestyle!