The Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) is convening an intimate virtual influencer event to satisfy the strong desire for meaningful, memorable connectivity among industry and those that inspire consumers’ fruit and vegetable consumption behaviors. PBH’s Have A Plant® Nation Ambassador Event offers stimulating education and actionable solutions to activate across three points of influence: point-of-sale (retail), point-of-flavor (culinary & foodservice), and point-of-inspiration (digital & social media lifestyle & nutrition communicators). The event will be held September 28-29, 2021, and serves as the celebratory finale to PBH’s 3rd annual National Fruits & Veggies Month (NFVM) celebration.
“As we continue to adapt to the new rules of engagement in a virtual world, PBH wanted to ensure a moment of meaningful connectivity, so that industry leaders could maintain momentum without risk, flight or mask,” says Sharese Roper, Member Engagement Director at PBH. “Despite the so-called “Zoom fatigue,” this event filled a resounding void felt by our members and our incredibly passionate Have A Plant® Ambassadors who are inspiring consumers, shoppers and diners to eat and enjoy more fruits and veggies throughout their daily lives.”
“As Americans continue to seek information and inspiration regarding their health and well-being, and fruits and veggies are the number one way people can achieve better health and happiness, we wanted to generate at a meaningful touch-point to not only educate and arm our Have A Plant® Ambassadors with new science-based information, but also find a platform for our members to communicate, and essentially move product through the supply chain,” says Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN, President and CEO of PBH. “With new PBH State of The Plate consumption research at our fingertips as well as new behavioral studies underway, what better time than National Fruits & Veggies Month to convene as thought-leaders in an attempt to elevate consumption as a national priority. The PBH Have a Plant Nation® Ambassador Event unites important retail and foodservice professionals as well as healthy lifestyle influencers with fruit and vegetable industry leaders to inspire actionable solutions that can positively impact consumers’ consumption habits.”
THE PBH HAVE A PLANT® NATION AMBASSADOR EVENT AGENDA
During the two-day event, attendees will engage in education sessions, virtual tasting experiences, and small group virtual visits – Zoom-inspired two-way, video-to-video sessions for individual sponsors to meet intimately with 10-12 Ambassadors at once. Attendees will be the first to hear select topline insights from PBH’s upcoming behavioral study, as well as key components from its signature 2020 State of The Plate: Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in America research. They’ll also gain insights on agricultural innovation and sustainability as well as celebrate their collective “fruit and veggie love” during a Party for Produce to close out the event.
“While we had hoped to see everyone in person again, we are looking forward to this opportunity to engage and inspire consumers along the path to purchase, and we are grateful that PBH has continued to offer a unique platform for us to connect directly with this powerful group,” says Lorinda Oscarson, Marketing Coordinator for Chelan Fresh and PBH Marketing & Communications Committee Co-Chair. “We applaud the efforts put forth by PBH to encourage consumers to eat more fruits and vegetables in all forms.”
THE PBH HAVE A PLANT® NATION AMBASSADOR EVENT ATTENDEES
To create a truly intimate and exclusive environment, PBH issued invites to 50 strategically-selected Ambassadors from retail, foodservice and lifestyle and nutrition communicators, as well as a limited number of sponsors.
Confirmed attendees include the following representatives:
Retail:
- Big Y Foods, Inc.
- Coborn’s Inc.
- Fresh Thyme Farmers Market
- Giant Food
- Hannaford Supermarkets
- H-E-B
- Hy-Vee, Inc.
- The Kroger Company
- Redner’s Markets
- Rouses Markets
- Skogen’s Festival Foods
- SpartanNash
- Walmart
- Wegmans
Culinary/Foodservice:
- Judy Barbe, LiveBest
- Rebecca Cave, Subway
- Kim Galeaz, Galeaz Food & Nutrition Communications
- Chris Martone, CulinaryDNA
- Robin Plotkin, RDPC, Inc.
- Jennifer Roberts, Compass Group North America
- Rosanne Rust, Rust Nutrition Communications Services
- Erika Wong, Kaya Health
Lifestyle/Nutrition Communicators In Digital & Social:
- Joan Salge Blake – Dr. Joan Salge Blake – SpotOn! Podcast (Boston, MA)
- Leslie Bonci – Active Eating Advice (Pittsburgh, PA)
- Kristen Carli – Mostly Green (Scottsdale, AZ)
- Neva Cochran – Eating Beyond the Headlines (Dallas, TX)
- Beau Coffron – Lunchbox Dad (Edmund, OK)
- Stephen & Elise Compston – Compston’s Kitchen (Reno, NV)
- Andrew Dole – Body Fuel (New Zealand)
- Mandy Enright – Food + Movement (Jersey Shore, NJ)
- Abbie Gellman – Chef Abbie Gellman (New York, NY)
- Cara Harbstreet – Street Smart Nutrition (Overland Park, KS)
- Dayle Hayes – School Meals that Rock (Bozeman, MT)
- Kelly Jones – Kelly Jones Nutrition (Philadelphia, PA)
- Megan McCarthy – Healthy Eating 101 (Atlanta, GA)
- Tessa Nguyen – Tessa Nguyen (South Korea)
- Natalie Rizzo – Greenletes (New York, NY)
- Nicole Rodriguez – Enjoy Food Enjoy Life (New York, NY)
- Sarah Schlichter – Bucket List Tummy (Washington, DC)
- Kelli Shallal – Hungry Hobby (Phoenix, AZ)
- Lori Taylor – The Produce Moms® (Indianapolis, IN)
- Jonathan Valdez – Genki Nutrition (New York, NY)
- Manuel Villacorta – Manuel Villacorta (San Francisco, CA)
- Elisabeth Watkins – Farm Girl Chef (Reno, NV)
- Liz Weiss – Liz’s Healthy Table (Boston, MA)
THE PBH HAVE A PLANT® NATION AMBASSADOR EVENT SPONSORS
INFORM LEVEL SPONSORS
HZPC Americas Corp./Potato Glory™
Naturipe Farms, LLC
Pacific Coast Producers
Seneca Foods
ENTICE LEVEL SPONSORS
Chelan Fresh™
Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Inc.
The Wonderful Company
INTRIGUE LEVEL SPONSORS
Dole Food Company
Juice Products Association
Kellogg’s
Stemilt
Marie’s from Ventura Foods
ENGAGE LEVEL SPONSORS
Cannedbeans.org
National Pasta Association
Red Sun Farms
ABOUT NATIONAL FRUITS & VEGGIES MONTH
Now in its third year, starting with the launch of the Have A Plant® Movement in 2019, PBH declared September as National Fruits & Veggies Month as part of its comprehensive strategic plan to elevate new fruit and vegetable consumption behaviors as a national priority. Two years later, the organization is broadening the reach and impact of The Have A Plant® Movement with not only this exclusive virtual event, but also a dynamic National Fruits & Veggies Month Toolkit for all plant-passionate advocates, as well as daily social media activations every day from its vast Have A Plant® Ambassador Network – view The NFVM Calendar for more information. Given the UN’s declaration that 2021 is the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, is taking the Have A Plant® Movement for a trip around the globe to celebrate this global effort during #NFVM2021.
The organization also partnered with like-minded collaborators interested in improving under-consumed foods like fruits and vegetables, with consumer-first partnerships, including the FMI Foundation with an emphasis on produce-packed family meals, as well as a joint partnership with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association on behalf of Beef Checkoff and The Watermelon Board to promote powerful produce pairings during a national and local TV and radio Satellite Media Tour on September 1st, as part of its consumer-facing media relations strategy. To date the segment has reached nearly 30 Million Americans, encouraging them to Have A Plant® as a part of America’s favorite pastimes like grilling and the happiness that comes with eating watermelon.
For more information on PBH Events & Education opportunities or how to donate to PBH’s Lead The Change Movement – a commitment to advancing consumption in America – contact Sharese Roper, Member Engagement Director of PBH.
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 Movement – 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 Movement speaks with One Purpose, One Voice and One Call-to-Action. For more information about the Lead The Change Movement visit: www.fruitsandveggies.org/lead-the-change.
