This morning, all across the country children were lacing up their sneakers, strapping on their sandals or pulling on their boots for National Walk to School Day.

National Walk to School Day began in 1997 in Chicago by the Partnership for a Walkable America in order to encourage safer streets, healthy activities and a cleaner environment which would create “a more walkable America - one community at a time.” Today, there are 3,782 schools participating across the nation, likely in your community.

Walking to school is a great way to stay active and enjoy the outdoors, and is a good example for kids on the “calories out” component of living a healthy, balanced and active lifestyle. We also encourage children to think about the “calories in” part of that equation by consuming a variety of foods and beverages in moderation.  When it comes to beverages, through our School Beverage Guidelines, we’ve successfully cut beverage calories shipped to schools by 88 percent since 2004. And we’re providing calorie information at consumers’ fingertips with our Clear on Calories initiative.

So, we hope children across America enjoy National Walk to School Day today - get out there and enjoy the outdoors – and be safe!