ORLANDO, Fla. – The third annual Power Your Lunchbox Pledge by Produce for Kids encouraged families and classrooms to pack more nutritious lunchboxes and make healthy choices this school year. Between Aug. 8 and Sept. 23, more than 21,600 families and classrooms took the pledge to pack a healthier lunchbox, more than doubling the 2015 final pledge count of 10,000 pledges.
For every pledge, Power Your Lunchbox partners made a collective $1 donation to support Feeding America® programs that benefit families struggling with hunger. Sponsors were featured in kid-friendly and registered dietitian-approved lunchbox, snack and dinner recipes on poweryourlunchbox.com, featured in e-newsletters and included in food blogger outreach. After pledging, consumers received coupons encouraging purchase of sponsored products and more information on how to incorporate fruits and veggies into their family’s diet. A #PowerYourLunchbox Twitter party on Aug. 21 saw 14.7 million impressions.
“With the support of like-minded produce brands, Power Your Lunchbox was able to double our pledges year-over-year and far exceed expectations,” said Trish James, vice president, Produce for Kids. “Being able to supply 238,414 meals to children and families in need while also helping busy families get nutritious meals on their table and in their lunchbox is a huge win.”
Produce partners supporting Power Your Lunchbox Pledge 2016 included: 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™.
The #PowerYourLunchbox hashtag garnered over 46 million impressions and the website, poweryourlunchbox.com, had 45,000 pageviews during the six week program. Teachers were encouraged to pledge for their classrooms and had access to nutrition-focused lesson plans to utilize with their students. Ninety classrooms took the pledge during the 2016 campaign.
New this year, in-store dietitians joined pledge efforts by sharing Power Your Lunchbox Pledge news with shoppers, gathering pledges at in-store and school events. Also new, Power Your Lunchbox partner, Bentology, supplied bento boxes for the Bento-a-Day Giveaway, where one bento box was given away each day during the program.
“The success of Power You Lunchbox Pledge and the evident interest in healthy recipes from families has prompted Produce for Kids to implement another pledge period,” continued James. “Families and classrooms can pledge again Jan. 4 – Feb. 15, 2017 to receive new recipes, resources and tips to kick off the New Year in a healthy way.”
The Power Your Lunchbox Pledge started in 2014 to help families during the often stressful back-to-school season. The 2015 program, which doubled pledges year over year from 2014 was awarded a Marketing Excellence Award from Produce Business in August 2015.
“We are extremely excited to have been awarded with the Produce Business Marketing Excellence Award for our 2015 Power Your Lunchbox Pledge,” said Amanda Keefer Produce for Kids director of marketing communications. “The solid Produce for Kids social media presence has allowed us to naturally be a key player in the digital back-to-school conversation.“
Power Your Lunchbox Pledge program partnership opportunities for 2017 are available for produce and health-conscious brands. Companies interested in participating in the program should email Shannon@produceforkids.com.
* $1 donated helps provide 11 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks. Produce for Kids secured $21,674 (238,414 meals) through the overall Power Your Lunchbox campaign period of August 8, 2016 to September 23, 2016.
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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.
Source: Produce for Kids®
