Doctor Yum

08/25/2026

💛 Remembering Dolly Parton and her impact on the children.
Dolly Parton was, of course, a prolific songwriter, performer, and cultural icon. But today, we’re remembering another part of her legacy...her extraordinary commitment to the well-being of children.
Through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, she turned her own childhood experience into an incredible gift for children around the world: books, given free to children from birth through age five, inspiring a love of reading and opening doors to possibility. More than 332 million books have been gifted to children through the program.

Six years ago, we had the unexpected honor of grazing the orbit of that work. We were partnering with the Randolph Partnership for Children in North Carolina to bring the Dr. Yum Adventure to local families. They asked us to share our bookmarks to be tucked inside the free Imagination Library books being delivered to young children in Randolph County.
These bookmarks shared five simple ways families could use the Dr. Yum website to find nutrition resources and support healthy eating at home.
It was a small contribution to a much bigger effort, but it meant so much to us to have even a tiny place in something Dolly created for children.
Her music may be the part of her legacy we hear most often. But her work on behalf of children is the part we hope continues to echo for generations.
Thank you, Dolly, for using your remarkable gifts to give children something that belongs to all of us: the opportunity to imagine a bigger, happier world. 📚💛
Photo credit: Shawn Miller / Library of Congress

08/24/2026

🌟 New adventures are beginning! 🌟
We’re thrilled to welcome five new programs to the Dr. Yum Adventure community! 🎉
These incredible organizations are helping children discover that learning to eat can be an adventure—full of curiosity, exploration, confidence, and fun. 🥕🍓🥦
🧭 First Start Partnership for Children and Families — Chambersburg, PA
🧭 Floyd Head Start — New Albany, IN
🧭 Wabash Area Development Inc. — Enfield, IL
🧭 Dover Foundation YMCA — Shelby, NC
🧭 CAP Agency — Rosemount, MN
We’re so excited to have you along for the adventure! Together, we’re helping kids try new things, build healthy habits, and become confident, curious eaters—one food adventure at a time. 🌈🍎
Welcome to the journey! 🚀

06/19/2026

06/11/2026

🫛🫛🫛When Bags first saw the recipe for Dr. Yum Adventure’s “1, 2, 3 Pea Salad,” he was skeptical.
As a food service leader serving more than 1,000 Head Start students every day, he was used to serving peas cooked — not a fresh salad with THREE kinds of peas and fresh herbs. Would kids actually eat it?

But that’s the power of a thoughtfully designed recipe built around how children learn to eat.
When adults model curiosity, openness, and a growth mindset around food, children respond. Food learning isn’t about pressure or perfection — it’s about exploration, repeated exposure, and creating positive experiences together.

This clip is such a great reminder that sometimes the adults are on the food adventure too. Multigenerational change is one of the goals of the Adventure. 💚

06/08/2026

At 6 months, your baby is ready to be a true food explorer! This is the time to introduce many new flavors and textures. With practice, babies will accept these new foods and will ask for more. Simple modifications to family meals are a great way for your baby to build new skills and become an adventurous eater. Our "baby food option" recipes on doctoryum.org have these simple modifications right in the recipe, so you don't have to guess.

Review these tips about which foods to offer your baby and how much. Always contact your pediatrician with any questions or concerns regarding your baby's nutrition. To find tons of baby food recipes and tips, visit the Baby Food Toolbox and our "Raising Adventurous Eaters" series of free feeding guides on doctoryum.org.

06/01/2026

🤔What happens when teachers start seeing food as part of education — not just mealtime?
In this clip from our May 18 webinar, Bagnoli Casamir, Food Service Manager from the Child Development Council of Franklin County shares how Dr. Yum Adventure transformed the mindset of their Head Start team serving more than 1,000 children every day.
Teachers became deeply engaged and excited to bring food learning into the classroom — calling, texting, and emailing to coordinate lessons, ingredients, and activities. 🌟What emerged was something bigger than a curriculum: real partnership between educators and food service professionals, all working together to create joyful, meaningful experiences around food for children.
This is what systems change looks like. ❤️
Thank you to Bags and the incredible team at the Child Development Council of Franklin County for your leadership and passion for children’s health and learning.
CDCHR
👉 Find the full webinar here: https://www.doctoryum.org/en/pages/food-adventure

05/28/2026

Creating meaningful change around children’s health takes leadership, collaboration, and a willingness to try something new.
In this clip from our recent webinar, Maria Villareal, RDN, LD from the Child Development Council of Franklin County shares why her team chose to implement Dr. Yum Adventure across a program serving more than 1,000 Head Start and Early Head Start students.
From coordinating training for more than 200 staff members to helping build excitement across classrooms and food service teams, Maria’s leadership has helped create a culture where food is becoming part of learning, curiosity, and connection.
And they’re already seeing the impact on their students.
What’s especially inspiring is that this is only the beginning. 💚
We’re so grateful to Maria and the entire Child Development Council of Franklin County team for their vision, partnership, and commitment to creating joyful food experiences for children every day.
👉Link to the full webinar is in our bio.

05/26/2026

Still pinching ourselves a little. ❤️

The Dr. Yum Project was recently featured in FForbes and we’re feeling deeply grateful — not just for the recognition, but for what this moment says about the growing movement around children’s health, food education, and prevention.

Huge thanks to Afdhel Aziz for capturing the heart behind our mission so beautifully.

For the past 12 years, our small-but-mighty team has believed that helping children build joyful, curious relationships with food can change lives and communities. What started as a big idea has grown because of educators, families, healthcare partners, Head Start programs, supporters, and advocates who believed in this work alongside us.

This article isn’t just about Dr. Yum. It’s about the possibility of creating a healthier future for kids through connection, cooking, curiosity, and community.

And we’re just getting started.

If this mission resonates with you, help us grow the movement:
✨ Share Dr. Yum Project's work with an educator or parent
✨ Partner with us
✨ Support our work
✨ Help us bring joyful food learning to more children and families

Millions of small dinner-table surrenders are quietly building a public health crisis. Pediatrician Nimali Fernando's Dr. Yum Project is fighting back — one child at a time.

05/25/2026

Thank you to Dr. Alisa Minkin for inviting me into her podcast to talk about the work of The Dr. Yum Project and how this work comes from place of seeing families struggle with barriers to raising curious, confident eaters.  it was a real joy to share this conversation with her!

Podcast Episode · Kids Matter! · May 19 · 47m