Kaiser Permanente, the largest integrated health system in the U.S., donated $3.1 million to a program to promote healthy habits for kids in Los Angeles and throughout the nation.

The grant to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, announced this week, will send nearly $550,000 to expand a Healthy Schools Program in Los Angeles and San Diego.

“We know healthy children are better learners,” said Angela Coron, managing director for community benefit for Kaiser Permanente Southern California, based in Pasadena, in a statement. “Our medical centers have a long history of partnering with local schools to address many needs.”

The Healthy Schools Program, launched in 2006 in 13 states and more than 230 schools, has since reached 40,000 schools and 20 million students, making it the nation’s largest schools-based initiative to prevent childhood obesity.

The new grant from Kaiser, based in Oakland, will allow it to reach another 350 schools, 17,500 staff and 210,000 children in California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and the Mid-Atlantic.

Health business reporter Dana Bartholomew can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @_DanaBart.