NFRA to Show Kids Frozen Is Cool

For this October's annual "Cool Food for Kids" promotion, the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) and a variety of brands are joining forces once more with curriculum specialists Young Minds Inspired for an education program targeting consumer science teachers and students in sixth through 12th grades. The program features a classroom poster and activities relating the farm-to-fork story and encouraging the creation of chef-inspired, balanced meals.

"We're educating the next generation about the benefits of frozen and refrigerated foods," noted Skip Shaw, president and CEO of Harrisburg, Pa.-based NFRA. "These kids are our future shoppers, and they're already invested in learning to cook. This program focuses on telling the farm-to-fork story, showing how frozen food is real food … just frozen, which supports NFRA's overall PR messaging."

Sweepstakes, HWCF Partnership Add Reach

The Cool Food for Kids education curriculum will go out to more than 20,000 middle and high schools across the United States, with the potential to reach 8 million students. Further extending the initiative are in-store retailer promotions and community efforts, as well as NFRA's "Real Food. Frozen" and "The Dairy Aisle … Beyond Cool" public relations efforts. Additionally, a Cool Food for Kids consumer sweepstakes will appear on NFRA's consumer website and the Easy Home Meals social media channels, with cash prizes totaling $10,000.

Also enhancing the program is NFRA's partnership with the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF), a Washington, D.C.-based coalition of organizations dedicated to fighting the U.S. obesity issue. The relationship allows for easy collaboration with likeminded companies, many of them NFRA members, and consistent messaging across all Cool Food for Kids marketing plans.

NFRA, a nonprofit trade association representing all segments of the frozen and refrigerated food industry, also sponsors March National Frozen Food Month, June Dairy Month, and the June/July Ice Cream & Novelties promotion.