The Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) invites the produce industry to join the Have A Plant® Movement this September as the nonprofit organization kicks off its fourth annual National Fruits & Veggies Month (NFVM) – a celebration of everyone’s favorite and flavorful plants – fruits and veggies! With its successful track record reaching more than 100 million social media impressions each year during the month of September since NFVM’s 2019 launch, PBH also marks this month as an opportunity to elevate fruit and vegetable consumption to a national priority. Given this week’s White House announcement that the upcoming White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health will take place on Wednesday, September 28th, it is imperative, now more than ever, to raise national awareness for fruits and vegetables and the important role they play for America’s health and happiness.
The 2022 NFVM Theme is “Celebrating The Roots Of Our Food.” Fruits and vegetables are at the “root” of our health and well-being. Fruits and vegetables also serve as a deeply-rooted connection point with consumers – whether that is a connection with the farmers and growers who care for our food from the ground up or our cultural connections to food and our loved ones. National Fruits & Veggies Month is a time to celebrate all the goodness that fruits and veggies bring to our tables, our minds, our souls as well as our health and happiness.
“September is a pivotal moment to elevate fruits and vegetables to a national priority and celebrate all of the hard-working individuals across the supply chain who work tirelessly to deliver America’s favorite and flavorful plants to our stores, our restaurants and our tables,” said Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN, PBH President & CEO. “It is a unique year given the efforts surrounding the second White House Conference, and we need our voices to be heard in order to close the fruit and vegetable consumption gap. The time is NOW to join together, and PBH’s digital assets as well as the Have A Plant® Movement provide the platform for which we can all unite and deliver consistent fruit and vegetable messaging to key stakeholders, and provide inspiration directly to consumers, encouraging new fruit and vegetable consumption behaviors.”
This September, PBH will also release new consumer research that unveils specific fruit and vegetable hacks to break through common consumption barriers as well as behavioral insights that can lead to lifelong habits. Rooted in behavioral science, the PBH team has taken insights from this research to create consumer-facing promotional content and activation ideas that can help unify messaging and prompt new and creative ways to communicate about fruits and vegetables with consumers across four key pillars: Make It Easy; Back To Basics; Fruit & Veggie Hacks; and Fruit & Veggie Care. Integrated into this year’s campaign, are new GIF’s for fun social sharing, encouraging the message “Every time you EAT, Have A Plant®,” “Every time you SHOP, Have A Plant®,” etc.
Here is an overview of what to expect this September as part of PBH’s 2022 NFVM campaign:
Have A Plant® Influencer Network Activations: PBH’s vast influencer network is comprised of 300+ retail RDs, foodservice and culinary leaders, as well as nutrition, lifestyle and agriculture communicators. This includes 50 Have A Plant® Ambassadors who contribute recipes, videos/reels, hacks, Expert Advice Q&As, blog posts, etc. to PBH’s digital ecosystem as committed volunteers who believe in the PBH mission. To follow along with all their amazing easy-to-share content, visit our 2022 NFVM Editorial Calendar HERE.
Have A Plant® Cook Alongs & Facebook Lives: PBH events on Facebook present a FREE opportunity for produce companies to engage with PBH’s followers on social media in real time. Join the fun on our events page and save the following dates:
- September 1 – NFVM #thirstythursday Kick-Off Celebration with Mandy Enright, MS, RDN, RYT
- September 14 – Celebrate NFVM & National Family Meals Month with Liz Weis, MS, RDN
- September 21 – Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month this NFVM with Manuel Villacorta, MS, RD
Local TV Media: Various Have A Plant® Ambassadors have pitched their local TV stations and will be doing live segments featuring NFVM, including Kristen Carli, RD and Kelly Jones, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN to name a few. Follow along as more segments get secured!
Podcasts: Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN, President & CEO of PBH has also participated in a multitude of produce industry trade as well as lifestyle and nutrition podcasts that will air during the month of September including:
- The Produce Moms
- Produce Buzz
- Dan The Produce Man
- Todd Linskey’s “Todd-versations”
- Anne Elizabeth Cundiff, RD, LD, FAND – Conversations With Anne Elizabeth
Retail Activations Across Various Markets:
- Powerful Produce Pairings promotion with Egg Nutrition Center & Veggies at H-E-B.
- Retail Registered Dietitian (RD) Roundtable featuring Have A Plant® Retail RD Ambassadors from Big Y, H-E-B and Rouses, who will be talking with Ashley Nickle about their NFVM Plans during the Produce Retail Podcast.
- Various Have A Plant® Ambassador Retail RDs are conducting cooking classes and consumer-facing trainings that will feature fruits and vegetables as the primary focus during NFVM.
PBH Partnerships Customized for NFVM:
- Join the conversation as PBH and Pacific Coast Producers kicked off NFVM on Tuesday, August 30th with a special PBH Expert Webinar Series: Spreading The Sustainability, Operational Efficiency & Innovation Story. View the replay HERE.
- PBH will partner with U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council to highlight blueberries during the week of September 19th through Have A Plant® Ambassador and custom digital and social activations.
- Chelan Fresh has invited PBH as an influencer to attend its experiential field tour, September 21-23. PBH’s new Social Media Community Manager, Emily Holdorf, MS, RDN will attend and amplify the content on our channels.
- PBH will partner with Egg Nutrition Center and Hass Avocado Board to present our monthly Health & Wellness Webinar, September 27th at 2:00pm ET: Managing Scientific Whiplash: The Evolution of Dietary Fat & Cholesterol Research
- PBH will partner with FOODWORKS to launch GREEN by Foodworks to encourage chefs nationwide to create more plant-forward menus in restaurant establishments across America.
“PBH is committed to the produce industry and to communicating to consumers about the greatness fruits and vegetables bring to our tables, our minds and our souls this National Fruits & Veggies Month; but we cannot do it alone,” said Katie Calligaro, PBH Marketing & Communications Director. “We need everyone to join in this September, and so we’ve made it easy for the industry to rally around fruit and vegetable consumption as well as drive momentum for the award-winning Have A Plant® Movement. We create the tools. We activate our networks. We make it cool and fun. Now we look forward to seeing what everyone else will do to get in the game.”
For actionable ways to get involved, as well as access to images, sample social media posts, messaging and more, visit PBH’s National Fruits & Veggies Month Toolkit FREE for download HERE.
For more information about National Fruits & Veggies Month and how to customize your integrated September marketing plans with PBH, contact Katie Calligaro, PBH Marketing & Communications Director.
About the Produce for Better Health Foundation
Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), is the only national organization dedicated to helping consumers live happier, healthy lives by eating more fruits and vegetables, including fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100% juice, every single day.
Since 1991, PBH has invested decades into developing trended insights on attitudes toward all forms of fruit and vegetable consumption, in addition to campaigns and partnerships with government, food industry stakeholders, health professionals and other thought leaders to collaborate, facilitate and advocate for increased intake. Campaigns included first, the 5-A-Day program, and then, the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters public health initiative. While five fruits and vegetables each day is great advice, and more will always matter, PBH’s new behavior-based call-to-action is Have A Plant®. Rooted in behavioral science, PBH’s transformative Have A Plant® Movement is an invitation that will inspire people with compelling reasons to believe in the powerful role fruits and vegetables can play to create happy, healthy and active lives.
Be sure to join the Have A Plant® Movement and get new recipes, snack hacks, meal ideas and other tips from chefs, registered dietitians, as well as food and wellness experts by visiting www.fruitsandveggies.org. Follow us on Facebook @fruitsandveggies; on Twitter @fruits_veggies; on Instagram @fruitsandveggies; on Pinterest @fruits_veggies; and on LinkedIn at Produce for Better Health Foundation. And remember to #haveaplant.
PBH is also responsible for the Lead The Change Collaborative Consumption Campaign– a multi-sector, multi-year initiative designed to maximize the power of PBH’s unique thought leadership position, widespread influencer network, credible scientific and market research, and, most importantly, its innovative members and partners, to lead a call-to-action for addressing the global fruit and vegetable consumption crisis. The initiative includes research, thought leadership and communication platforms to ensure the campaign speaks with One Purpose, One Voice and One Call-to-Action. For more information visit: www.fruitsandveggies.org/leadthechange.
