Posts Tagged “Produce for Kids”
By Organics Unlimited
SAN DIEGO – The GROW Fund, a nonprofit program developed by Organics Unlimited, partnered with Produce for Kids to encourage families to take a pledge to pack healthier lunch items during the back-to-school season. For each pledge, GROW by Organics Unlimited and other sponsor brands collectively donated $1 to Feeding America to provide meals for families in need.
Through its Power Your Lunchbox campaign, Produce for Kids collected 21,674 pledges, surpassing its goal of 20,000. Thanks to the campaign sponsors’ donations, Produce for Kids was able to donate enough funds to Feeding America to provide 238,414 meals.
“As a company that grows and sells organic bananas, we provide healthier eating options for individuals and families,” said Mayra Velazquez de León, president of Organics Unlimited and GROW. “We are proud to partner with Produce for Kids and take part in the Power Your Lunchbox campaign, giving our support to children’s health initiatives.”
This is the third year Organics Unlimited has partnered with Produce for Kids, a company that encourages families to eat healthier by providing recipes, expert advice and tips from other parents. The campaign encourages families, teachers and dietitians to take the pledge to eat a healthier lunch.
The Power Your Lunchbox campaign took place from August 8 to September 23, 2016. The campaign consisted of promotion through social media, parent and food bloggers, e-newsletters, media placements and a NatureFresh Greenhouse Tour visiting 36 grocery stores and nine schools to create awareness and encourage people to sign the pledge. The campaign had a total reach of 145 million impressions.
Organics Unlimited participated directly to the campaign through social media outreach, including a Twitter party promoting healthy recipes and facts. The #PowerYourLunchbox Twitter Party on August 17 gave an opportunity for the organization and sponsors to interact with parents and inform them of healthy lunches and lifestyles. During the Twitter Party, there were over 3,761 tweets and more than 14 million impressions. Organics Unlimited alone earned 2,500 impressions.
“We created the GROW Fund to enrich the lives of our farming communities through various education and health programs,” said Velazquez de León. “Although that is what the GROW Fund strives towards, we think that it is equally important to promote a healthier lifestyle towards people in the United States. We believe growing organic bananas is better for the environment, employees and is the healthier option for consumers.”
GROW shares information about eating and environmental sustainability on Facebook and Twitter. GROW also provides healthy recipes for families and retailers on the Organics Unlimited website.
About Organics Unlimited
Organics Unlimited is a San Diego-based distributor of organic tropical fruit from Mexico and South America, providing its traditional label as well as the GROW label. Its fruits are USDA certified organic for the U.S. and Canada through Organic Certifiers. For more information on Organics Unlimited and GROW, visit OrganicsUnlimited.com, or call 619.710.0658. Check out the latest blog post from Organics Unlimited, or find Organics Unlimited on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
By Produce for Kids
ORLANDO, Fla. – For the third year, Produce for Kids and produce partners are encouraging families nationwide to kick off the school year right by pledging to eat a healthier lunch, Aug. 8 through Sept. 23, at PowerYourLunchbox.com. The Power Your Lunchbox Pledge® website offers tips and recipes to help families and classrooms eat healthier lunches, after-school snacks and weekday dinners this school year. For every online pledge, lunchbox-friendly companies supporting Power Your Lunchbox Pledge will make a collective $1 donation to Feeding America® programs that support families and children.
Produce for Kids’ 11 produce partners are featured in lunchbox-friendly recipes on PowerYourLunchbox.com, in digital communications to more than 25k subscribers, targeted social media efforts and in digital coupons provided to families taking the pledge.
Produce partners supporting Power Your Lunchbox Pledge 2016 include: Avocados from Mexico – Mexican Hass Avocados, Bee Sweet Citrus, Crispy Fruit Freeze-Dried Fruit Snacks from Crispy Green®, Eat Smart® Fresh Cut Vegetables, Earthbound Farm® Baby Kale, GROW Bananas by Organics Unlimited, Marie’s® Dressings, Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice, NatureFresh™ greenhouse tomatoes, Pero Family Farms® Mini Sweet Peppers and Snipped Green Beans, and Sun World® grapes with additional support provided by Bentology™.
During the campaign, Produce for Kids will be generating a healthy lunch buzz by giving away a Bentology™ bento box each day and hosting a #PowerYourLunchbox Twitter party allowing Twitter users to join in an hour-long conversation about back to school and healthy lunches. Additionally, families will be encouraged to use the #PowerYourLunchbox hashtag on social media throughout the campaign to share ideas with each other.
“Back to school is a great time for families to make a healthy resolution they can carry on through the duration of the school year,” said Trish James, vice president, Produce for Kids. “As a mom of two boys, I understand the challenges parents face when packing a healthy, nutritious lunch for their children and for themselves. The Power Your Lunchbox Pledge was designed to help families tackle this universal challenge.”
Here are a few ways to get involved in the campaign:
- Take the pledge. Pledge to eat healthier this school year at PowerYourLunchbox.com. Companies supporting the program will make a collective $1 donation for every pledge taken to Feeding America programs that support families and children.
- Show off healthy lunchboxes on social media. Produce for Kids’ Instagram and Twitter followers can use the #PowerYourLunchbox hashtag to show off their healthy lunchboxes to have their lunchboxes featured on the Produce for Kids Facebook page. Follow along on the hashtag to see great ideas from fellow parents.
- Party with Produce for Kids on Twitter. Parents looking for even more tips and resources for healthy lunchboxes are invited to join Produce for Kids and partner companies at the #PowerYourLunchbox Twitter party at 9 pm ET on August 17.
This month’s back-to-school themed Produce for Kids “We Heart RDs” kit, sent to retail dietitians, included pledge sheets, “I Pledged” stickers, lunchbox recipes and more. There is a dedicated retail dietitian section on PowerYourLunchbox.com.
“Retail dietitians are in a position where they can support families during the back-to-school timeframe while they are in the store making decisions,” said James. “It made sense to bring the Power Your Lunchbox message to our more than 300 retail dietitians so that they can share healthy back-to-school recipes with shoppers.”
In addition to outreach in the grocery store, classrooms can get involved in the pledge by visiting the PowerYourLunchbox.com teacher resource page that provides teachers in grades K-5 with fun, free nutrition-focused downloadable lesson plans, certificates for their students, take home materials for families, and the ability to take the pledge as a classroom.
Since 2014, the campaign raised more than $15,000 for kid’s health and wellness programs across the country.
For more information visit poweryourlunchbox.com.
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About Produce for Kids®
Produce for Kids® is a philanthropically based organization that brings the produce industry together to educate consumers about healthy eating with fresh produce and raises funds for local children’s non-profit organizations. Since its creation in 2002 by Shuman Produce Inc., Produce for Kids has raised more than $5.7 million to benefit kids. To learn more about Produce for Kids and healthy eating, visit www.produceforkids.com, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram.
About Feeding America
Feeding America is the nationwide network of 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. Together, we provide food to more than 46 million people through 60,000 food pantries and meal programs in communities across America. Feeding America also supports programs that improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
By Produce for Kids
ORLANDO, Fla. – After the close of the 2014 Produce for Kids campaigns, the organization reached a milestone donation of more than $5 million raised to support local children’s charities. Through in-store campaigns, the digital Power Your Lunchbox Pledge, and with the help of retail and produce partners, Produce for Kids is making a substantial impact in local communities.
During Produce for Kids’ 12th year, campaigns were supported by 17 grocery store chains and more than 40 fresh produce companies, raising $453,000 to support children’s charities in retail partners’ local markets.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce that Produce for Kids has surpassed the $5 million mark in total donations raised,” said John Shuman, president, Produce for Kids. “When we started Produce for Kids 12 years ago, we never imagined that it would turn into such a year-round healthy eating resource for families or make the impact it has had in local communities throughout the country.”
New in 2014, Produce for Kids launched the first Power Your Lunchbox Pledge, a digital campaign encouraging families to pack healthier lunchboxes. Through a dedicated microsite, media and blogger outreach, and social media efforts, more than $5,000 was raised to support health and wellness classroom projects through DonorsChoose.org. The campaign resulted in nearly 15 million media impressions and more than 20 million social media impressions. The second annual Power Your Lunchbox Pledge will run from August 3 to September 18, 2015.
Moving into its 13th year, Produce for Kids’ flagship in-store campaign welcomes on several new retail partners. Partnership opportunities are open for produce companies at the following retailers: ACME Markets, Ahold’s GIANT and Martin’s Food Stores, Giant Landover, and Stop & Shop divisions; Associated Wholesale Grocers’ Major Savings, Advantage, Independent, Country Mart, Homeland and United divisions; Meijer Stores; Price Chopper; Publix Super Markets; and Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc.’s Pick n’ Save, Copps Food Center and Metro Market divisions.
In addition, Produce for Kids will be launching a new longer-term kids club loyalty program at Associated Wholesalers, Inc. and Niemann Foods. The full marketing program will include in-store signage, shopper coupon booklets and promo item shipments.
If you’re interested in finding out more about a campaign or how Produce for Kids can support you with your healthy eating initiatives, please contact Mallory Hartz at mallory@produceforkids.com.
About Produce for Kids®
Produce for Kids® is a philanthropically based organization that brings the produce industry together to educate consumers about healthy eating with fresh produce and raises funds for local children’s non-profit organizations. Since its creation in 2002 by Shuman Produce Inc., Produce for Kids has raised more than $5 million to benefit kids. To learn more about Produce for Kids and healthy eating, visit www.produceforkids.com, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram.