Kroger Health Offers Back-to-School Produce Pairings

Kroger Health has teamed with the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) to unite two nutrient-rich foods – berries and eggs – for easy but healthful meals and snacks. Together with the Chicago-based American Egg Board’s Egg Nutrition Center and Estero, Fla.-based Naturipe Farms, PBH is continuing its Powerful Produce Pairings program through omnichannel retail promotions during the month of August.

“This fall, kids are heading back to school, which often means ‘back to busy’ for many parents,” said Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, president and CEO of Brentwood, Mo.-based PBH. “To ensure the return isn’t overshadowed by worry, parents can proactively take key steps to ensure the safety and health of their children by tapping into the emotional connection kids can have with produce. Plant foods like fruits and vegetables provide important nutrients that help kids do their best in the classroom, whether it’s helping to support their immune system or giving them the needed energy for all their favorite activities. PBH encourages families to have a plan and Have A Plant this fall with this berry eggcellent promotion!” 

A simple way to get children to eat and enjoy fruits and vegetables more often is by pairing produce with other nutrient-dense foods, which also creates nutrition synergies. For instance, eggs and blueberries are a powerful nutrition combination, offering nutrients that support brain health, immune health, bone health and eye health.

Kroger Health, the health care arm of The Kroger Co., oversees more than 2,300 pharmacies and 11 specialty pharmacies nationwide, along with 200 clinics, and its team of 22,000 health care professionals, ranging from pharmacists and nurse practitioners to dietitians and technicians, serves more than 13 million customers. The promotion with PBH features Kroger Health’s registered dietitian teams and includes the following: 

• A PBH Have A Plant Cook Along on PBH’s Facebook Channel @FruitsandVeggies, Wednesday, Aug. 11 at 5:30 p.m. ET, with Kroger’s Ashley Martinez, who will conduct a lesson in batch cooking to make kids’ lunches using recipes from both the Egg Nutrition Center and Naturipe Farms. 
• A PBH Have A Plant for Back-To-School Nutrition Booklet distributed to more than 60,000 Kroger and Little Clinic customers, offering pairings like eggs and blueberries to boost cognition, tips on building DIY lunch-packing stations, and batch cooking for school lunches.
• A chance for all promo partners to present to Kroger’s team of dietitians in a small group setting, providing them with new nutrition information and the science behind the benefits of berries and eggs for cognitive health, with the aim of making these benefits top of mind as kids head back to school this fall.
• Social media promos throughout August that will provide tips and tricks to shoppers and PBH followers on how to create school lunches that are both tasty and nutritious.

“Our philosophy is to bring our shoppers science-based, real life, simple ways to enjoy delicious food that helps them feel great,” said Bridget Wojciak, director of nutrition at Kroger Health. “We believe nutrition for better health does not mean dreading what’s on your plate, and so we’re thrilled to show how great memories can be shared over meals featuring produce.”

Cincinnati-based Kroger employs nearly half a million associates who serve 11 million-plus customers daily through a digital shopping experience and almost 2,800 retail food stores under a variety of banner names. The company is No. 3 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.