Which Grocers Have the Best Family Meal Programs?

The FMI Foundation revealed the 2023 Gold Plate Awards recipients during a live-streamed ceremony on Nov. 28, highlighting outstanding family meal programs implemented by the food industry and community organizations. 

"The Gold Plate Awards are a vivid celebration of the food industry's dedication to promoting family meals,” said David Fikes, executive director of the FMI Foundation. “Through diverse initiatives like healthy family meals, celebrating cultural cuisines, and more, this award highlights the industry's unwavering commitment to fostering family togetherness at home.”  

[Read more: “How Parents’ Grocery Shopping Habits Differ”]

This year's Gold Plate Award winners are as follows: 

Category A: Retailer 1 – 49 Stores

Skogen’s Festival Foods 

The More Meals Together campaign increased awareness and motivation for family meals by partnering with supplier vendors to expand digital marketing opportunities through recipe content, social media videos of meal trends, a themed landing page with weekly meal plans and ad items, and promotional email blasts. Festival Foods’ Food for Neighbors donation efforts added a community engagement component to the campaign. 

Category B: Retailer 50 – 199 Stores 

K-VA-T Food Stores Inc. (Food City) 

The Stay Strong with Family Meals: Meals Made for Sharing campaign encouraged families to eat together and connected shoppers with sustainable solutions for family meal planning. As a USDA MyPlate National Strategic Partner, the company included the promotion of USDA’s MyPlate for meal planning. Registered dietitians led the initiative with TV segments and social media channel videos promoting the benefits of family meals. 

Category C: Retailer 200+ Stores 

Hy-Vee Inc. 

This expansive campaign, tied into National Hispanic Heritage Month, focused on helping families find quality time together at meals. Incentives for Hy-Vee Kids Club members included a way to track family meals throughout the month. A free cookbook received more than 1,000 downloads and featured kid-friendly and dietitian-approved recipes, along with digital family cooking guides for budget-friendly and multicultural-themed recipes. 

Grocers who received Honorable Mentions were: 

• Rouses Markets  
• SpartanNash  
• Tops Markets LLC  
• Weis Markets Inc.
• Coborn’s Inc.  
• Brookshire Grocery Co.  
• Associated Wholesale Grocers 

Meanwhile, Pure Flavor received a Gold Plate Award in the Manufacturer category for connecting the importance of family meals to the consumption of greenhouse-grown fruits and vegetables for healthy lifestyles. 

The Foundation for Fresh Produce also won a Gold Plate Award in the Community Collaborator category for its Have A Plant at Family Meals initiative, which embraces the connection between National Family Meals Month and National Fruits and Veggies Month.

“We are honored to spotlight the outstanding efforts of food retailers, manufacturers and community organizations who have played a pivotal role in encouraging families to gather around the table more often, which we know has a tremendous impact on societal health and well-being,” noted Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of Arlington, Va.-based FMI.