Panera Bread began offering its new kids’ menu May 24. The new menu will feature healthier versions of the favorites kids love, the company said.

For example, all of the sandwiches will be on new whole grain bread that has the soft “white bread” texture and taste that appeal to kids.

Organic choices include the American cheese, squeezable yogurt, milk choices and apple juice. Both the white and chocolate milk are low fat. The peanut butter is all natural, unsalted and contains no hydrogenated oils or trans fats.

“We made great taste and nutritional options our first priority,” said Joe Bastian, owner of the area Panera Bread locations. “We have been able to take the foods that are popular with kids, and make them healthier so that parents can feel good about what their children are eating.”

Each kid’s meal will include a choice of sandwich on whole grain white bread; grilled cheese with organic American cheese, peanut butter and jelly with all natural peanut butter and grape jelly; or turkey, roast beef or ham with organic American cheese.

Each meal will also include Horizon organic squeezable yogurt and a choice of organic white milk, chocolate milk, or apple juice.

The new kids’ menu is the most recent component in Panera Bread’s efforts to offer healthier food choices.

For the past 18 months, Panera Bread has featured all-natural chicken on its sandwiches and salads. As of this March, all products served at Panera Bread are free of trans fats — other than those found in nature.

Panera Bread is the nation’s bread-making leader, creating more freshly baked bread than any other bakery-cafe, it said. More than 20 varieties of bread and bread products, showcasing the art and craft of bread making, serve as the basis for the Panera Bread bakery-cafe menu.

It offers everything from breakfast bagels, warm muffins and the new baked egg soufflés to hand-crafted sandwiches, freshly-tossed salads and soups served in sourdough bread bowls.

The company founders studied the art of bread making extensively, traveling the country to learn directly from some of the best bakers in the world.

All area Panera Bread restaurants are owned and operated by Breadwinners at the Triangle, a franchisee of Panera Bread.

Breadwinners at the Triangle opened its first Panera Bread Bakery Cafe in Raleigh in 1999. It now owns and operates 13 locations in Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Apex, Chapel Hill, Greenville and the Pinehurst area.

With a commitment to local charities and causes, Breadwin-ners at the Triangle has been recognized locally for its community involvement, working with groups, including Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Found-ation NC Triangle Affiliate, Habitat for Humanity, UNC Children’s Hospitals, Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina, PlaySpace and the Race for The Cure.