Reidsville, GA. – This year’s annual Back-to-School campaign by Healthy Family Project saw a record 238 million impressions, as seven partner brands joined forces to make back-to-school easier and healthier for families. Additionally, the campaign is contributing $16,000 to the International Fresh Produce Association’s Foundation for Fresh Produce, supporting initiatives to increase children’s access to fruits and vegetables at school. Now in its tenth year, the Back-to-School program has raised over $180,000 for children’s health and nutrition causes.
This year’s content focused on popular Instagram Reels, new recipe inspiration through blog posts on HealthyFamilyProject.com, and a widely downloaded podcast titled What Teachers Wish Parents Knew. The Healthy Family Project dietitian team contributed several pieces of family focused video content. To kick off the school year, Healthy Family Project hosted a Facebook Live cooking event featuring easy after school snacks and lunch ideas on the company’s Facebook page and drew over 17,000 views.
Trish James, Vice President of Healthy Family Project, noted, “Each year, our Back-to-School campaign gains more momentum as our consumer audience continues to grow. Our team diligently monitors trends and engages with our audience to understand the evolving needs of families, enabling us to present our partner brands in strategically curated content for the back-to-school season.”
Health-conscious brand partners featured through the duration of the campaign include Bee Sweet Citrus, Crispy Green®, JAZZ™ Apples, Lunchbots®, Nature Fresh Farms™, Pero Family Farms®, Shuman Farms, and ¡Yo Quiero!®.
This year, better-for-you brand partners are supporting the Foundation for Fresh Produce, including programs such as their K-12 School Forum at the IFPA Foodservice Conference, and other initiatives that provide schools and community partners with information, resources, and connections to source, serve and promote fresh produce to children and families. Healthy Family Project has donated $76,000 to the Foundation for Fresh Produce since 2020 to increase accessibility to fruits and vegetables in schools.
Andrew Marshall, who leads IFPA’s engagement with the K-12 school nutrition community stated, “Our collaboration with Healthy Family Project brings substantial benefits to school foodservice operators and the students they serve. We value our enduring partnership and look forward to developing new opportunities to empower school menu planners and industry partners, while also continuing efforts to benefit students and families to choose fresh produce at school, at home, and when dining out.”
Additional components of the Back-to-School campaign included communication tools and resources tailored to K-12 school nutrition directors, menu planners and dietitians, utilizing Healthy Family Project’s e-newsletters and nutrition resource center. To continue the messaging, an October Healthy Family Project podcast will feature Jeanne Reilly, NDTR, SNS, School Nutrition Director at the Windham-Raymond School District in Maine, and winner of this year’s IFPA Foodservice Excellence Award for the K-12 school foodservice category. Efforts during the Back-to-School program and year-round serve to bolster how school nutrition can play a pivotal role to enhance the health and well-being of our children.
About Healthy Family Project
Healthy Family Project believes in creating a healthier generation. As a cause marketing organization, Healthy Family Project creates programs, like Produce for Kids, that provide easy, fun, and inspiring recipes and healthy ideas. Since its creation in 2002 by Shuman Farms, Healthy Family Project has raised more than $7.5 million to benefit children and families. To learn more about Healthy Family Project and healthy eating, visit healthyfamilyproject.com.
About the International Fresh Produce Association/Foundation for Fresh Produce
The International Fresh Produce Association represents companies from every segment of the global fresh produce supply chain. IFPA exists to advocate, connect, and guide our members’ prosperity, and through our Foundation for Fresh Produce, our vision is to grow a healthier world by changing the trajectory of human health. We believe the produce industry has the potential to provide solutions for many of the world’s greatest health and economic challenges – especially those surrounding nutrition and hunger. The Foundation focuses on improving the appeal of fruits and vegetables as an integral part of people’s diets, supporting the development of infrastructure and supply chain solutions that provide easier access, and establishing strategic alliances that enable children and families to form healthier eating habits. More information at www.freshproduce.com.
