Healthy Kids, Early Start | Extension | University of Nevada, Reno

Discover the power of nutrition

Nutrition has the power to help people and communities thrive. A person's relationship with nutrition and physical activity begins in infancy and is molded during childhood.

Extension's health and nutrition professionals partner with national, regional and local organizations to build healthy communities from an early age through nutrition education, promotion of physical activity and public health initiatives.

We encourage Nevadans to join us in March for National Nutrition Month® and all year long to build healthier relationships with food and physical activity.

Explore our childcare provider programs
Join our family programs
Celebrate National Nutrition Month®

National Nutrition Month®

Extension is excited to celebrate this year’s National Nutrition Month® theme, “Discover the Power of Nutrition,” in partnership with local early childcare centers, through book readings and classroom activities.

Want to get involved? National Nutrition Month® is an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Each year during the month of March, everyone is invited to learn about nutrition and develop healthy eating and physical activity habits. To learn more, visit the National Nutrition Month® website.

Joining in the celebration? Post your nutrition activities online using the event's hashtags:

#NationalNutritionMonth
#DiscoverThePowerOfNutrition
#NNM2026

Discover the Power of Nutrition. National Nutrition Month 2026. A campaign by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Our programs for early childcare providers and facilities

Our whole child approach includes site-based goal-setting, resources, evidence-based curriculum and activities, teacher trainings, and family engagement. Want to know more?

Complete the interest form

Smiling nutrition experts in the office surrounded by helpful tools and resources.

Goal setting

With long-term success in mind, we use nationally recognized assessments and tools to:

Determine baseline capacity.
Identify areas of opportunity.
Develop attainable short-term, multi-year and long-term goals.

Resources

We offer free resources that promote wellness messaging, practices, protocols and policies at childcare facilities and elementary schools.

Examples include books with health messages, physical activity supplies, lunchroom posters and produce market experiences.

A teacher leading a physical activity toolkit activity for a classroom of young children.

Curriculum and activities

We provide fun, engaging and interactive, child-centered train-the-trainer curriculum and activities to empower children to make healthy choices at a young age.

Activity examples include produce market and garden experiences and Healthy Kids Festivals.

A group of child care educators sitting at a table.

Teacher trainings

We specialize in providing Child Care Licensing professional development and training hours on wellness topics, such as those related to:

Nutrition.
Obesity prevention.
Physical activity.

Visit our Healthy Kids Resource Center

For evidence-based research, resources, curricula, activities and materials for teachers and parents.

Visit the Resource Center

Discover the nutrition toolkit

Dive into the physical activity toolkit

Explore the publication library

Get recommendations and best practices

Our programs for children, youth and families

Our goal is to help children and their families develop healthy eating and activity habits.

Maternal and child health support

We partner with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Early Responsive Nurturing Care for Food Security (EARN-FS) team to reduce food insecurity for pregnant women and children under three years of age in the West Las Vegas Promise Neighborhood community.

Learn about EARN-FS

Families at an Extension Healthy Kids Festival booth.

Community engagement

Through our All 4 Kids Program and its Healthy Kids Festival, we provide free family resources, such as:

Workshops.
Newsletters.
Message boards.
Events.

Learn about All 4 Kids

A youth athlete and an adult coach practicing football skills on an indoor field.

Youth athlete education

Through the RUSH Program, we partner with the UNLV School of Public Health and Las Vegas Raiders to provide nutrition education for middle school-aged youth.

The program helps youth learn the skills and knowledge needed to play sports in high school.

Rush into sports