Produce Promotions Roll Out in Time for Back to School
As families gear up for the start of the new school year, grocery retailers and their partners are launching campaigns to make sure that kids are consuming enough fresh fruits and vegetables. One such example is the Foundation for Fresh Produce, which has introduced its first-ever month-long campaign, Hacks for Healthy Back-to-School Habits, in collaboration with top U.S. retailers and food industry partners. The campaign, created to promote simple and engaging food, cooking and meal preparation, aims to encourage healthy eating habits in children as they head back to class.
“The foundation’s research underscores the crucial role that early childhood produce consumption plays in establishing lifelong healthy eating patterns,” noted Emily Holdorf, registered dietitian for the Washington, D.C.-based Foundation for Fresh Produce. “With our partners, we are committed to providing practical hacks and promoting consistent produce habits and messaging to ensure children maintain their recommended consumption levels as they grow.”
The campaign will run at nine retail partners nationwide: Coborn’s Inc., Fresh Thyme, Hy-Vee, Inserra Supermarkets, Meijer, Natural Grocers, Schnucks, The United Family of Stores and Weis Markets. Some examples of activations include the following:
- Hy-Vee will feature the Hy-Vee Hacks for Healthy Back-to-School Habits shopper challenge, encouraging families to opt for produce more often.
- Meijer will offer 100 shoppers an individual consultation with a registered dietitian through Have A Plant Scholarships, focusing on the incorporation of fruits and veggies into pre-school meals, lunch boxes and after-school snacks.
- Schnuck’s and Weis Markets will provide shoppers with product hacks via their respective in-store magazines.
Among the campaign’s other elements are cooking demonstrations, virtual classes, in-store displays, social media posts and produce incentive coupons.
Further, any retailer can easily access ideas, including sample social media posts, A 25 Hacks for Healthy Back-to-School Habits Infographic, in-store intercom scripts and other resources through the Hacks to Habits Back-to-School Retail Guide.
“Making it easy and fun for kids to consume more fruits and vegetables is the key to success when it comes to building lifelong healthy eating habits for children,” observed Katie Calligaro, the foundation’s director, marketing and communication. “While we know the majority of children consume meals prepared by their schools’ nutrition programs (which are required to follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans), the meals and snacks prepared at home play a critical role in boosting fruit and vegetable consumption.”
Continued Caligaro: “Providing tools that streamline messaging for retailers can help elevate fruits and vegetables in a way that consistently resonates with consumers. The more they hear it, see it and experience it, the more likely they are to repeat it, which is what creates a habit.”
This inaugural back-to-school promotion is sponsored by the foundation, along with the California Walnut Board, the Egg Nutrition Center and the National Pork Board. These partnerships emphasize the importance of pairing fruits and vegetables with other nutrient-dense foods to instill balanced, nutritious eating habits.
The Foundation for Fresh Produce merged with the Produce For Better Health Foundation (PBH) in January 2023. PBH programming, which includes the Have A Plant Movement, continues under the purview of the foundation.
Similarly, Healthy Family Project is teaming with Coborn’s for a summer Produce for Kids cause marketing campaign in the retailer’s Coborn’s, Cashwise and Marketplace Foods stores. The campaign will provide $6,000 to area Boys & Girls Clubs.
Through Aug. 16, such produce partners as Dole Fresh Vegetables, Envy apple, Kids Choice Watermelon, Samsons Grapes, Shuman Farms RealSweet Onions, and Tasteful Selections will be featured at the Coborn’s banners, along with in-store signs containing a QR code leading shoppers to a free digital cookbook.
Two cookbook recipes will be demonstrated during a Kids Cook at Home Facebook cooking class hosted on Coborn’s Facebook page and led by Coborn’s Registered Dietitian Macey Brickweg. Aiming to inspire kids to take charge in the kitchen, the free “Summer Fun Eats" cooking class is scheduled for July 24 at 1 p.m. ET.
“Our Kids Cook at Home video series is designed to inspire kids to feel confident in the kitchen making healthy recipes,” noted Jessica Talbot, health and nutrition manager at St. Cloud, Minn.-based Coborn’s. “Our partnership with Healthy Family Project aligns with the Coborn’s mission to educate and increase produce consumption in the next generation of shoppers.”
This is the second Produce for Kids campaign with Coborn’s Inc. Last year’s campaign raised $3,000, also for local Boys & Girls Clubs.
A cause marketing organization, Orlando, Fla.-based Healthy Family Project develops such programs as Produce for Kids, that provide easy, fun, and inspiring recipes and healthy ideas. Since its creation in 2002 by Shuman Farms, Healthy Family Project has raised more than $8 million to benefit children and families and provided more than 21 million meals through Feeding America.
St. Cloud, Minn.-based Coborn’s has nearly 10,000 employees and 77 grocery stores across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois under the Coborn’s, Cash Wise Foods, Marketplace Foods, Hornbacher’s, Tadych’s Marketplace Foods and Sullivan’s Foods banners. The company also operates fuel, liquor and pharmacy locations, as well as its own central bakery, dry-cleaning facility and grocery distribution center. The company is No. 84 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Albertsons Cos. (of which United Supermarkets is a banner) is No. 9, Meijer is No. 23, Wakefern Food Corp. (of which Inserra Supermarkets is a member) is No. 31, Hy-Vee is No. 38, Weis Markets is No. 60, Schnucks is No. 65, Fresh Thyme Market is No. 86, and Natural Grocers is No. 95.
