By The North Carolina Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services
RALEIGH – The N.C. Sweet Potato Commission and N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will unveil a new retail promotion across the state this February in honor of Sweet Potato Month. The promotion, 52 Ways to Love Sweet Potatoes, will highlight the versatility and nutritional benefits of sweet potatoes. Components of the program include in-store displays, a branded website and a social media contest for consumers. The promotion will take place in February at 155 Lowes Foods, Piggly Wiggly and Ingles stores in North Carolina.
The in-store elements of the promotion will include recipe cards and point-of-purchase signage. In addition, cooking demonstrations will be held at select stores during the month to introduce consumers to new ways of preparing sweet potatoes.
The Sweet Potato Commission has created a branded website for the promotion which includes 52 sweet potato recipes, one for each week of the year. Another aspect of the promotion is a photo contest on the commission’s Facebook page. Consumers can earn a $100 gift card to one of the participating grocery stores by sharing their sweet-potato photos with the hashtag #loveNCSP on the social networking site. The promotion was made possible through funding from the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Sue Johnson-Langdon, executive director of the N.C. Sweet Potato Commission, says she welcomed the opportunity to work with the department to promote sweet potatoes. “North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the nation, and produces nearly half of all sweet potatoes grown in the United States,” said Johnson-Langdon. “The N.C. Department of Agriculture understands the significance of supporting local growers, and we’re happy to partner with them on great retail promotions like this one.”
The North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission is a nonprofit corporation made up of almost 400 sweet potato growers along with the packers, processors and business associates that support them.
The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services provides services that promote and improve agriculture, agribusiness and forests. The department’s Marketing Division creates opportunities for farmers and food businesses to sell their products and be successful.