Crashing Tailgate Parties – A Unique Way to Promote More Family Meals

By: Allison Febrey, Assistant, Health & Wellness/FMI Foundation/Food & Product Safety, Food Marketing Institute

Every September, National Family Meals Month™ is celebrated throughout the US, and in the upper Midwest of America, many families also enjoy meals together at tailgate parties in the parking lots of college and NFL football games throughout the month.

Hy-Vee saw this as a tremendous opportunity to promote even more family meals and created the Hy-Vee Tailgate Crashers tour in partnership with state beef industry councils.  The Hy-Vee dietitian team traveled to 16 tailgate parties across eight Midwestern states and gave away Hy-Vee Beef Mealtime Kits to families caught cooking beef at their tailgate.

They were able to give away 30 kits to families at each game, totaling $10,000 worth of vouchers.  This resulted in many more family meals after the tailgate party, along with hundreds of families trying and enjoying a Hy-Vee Mealtime Kit experience.

This innovative program was just one many reasons why Hy-Vee received the coveted “Gold Plate Award” for best-in-class National Family Meal Month programing last September.

To see more terrific examples National Family Meals Month being celebrated throughout the United States, take a look at this video.  Now is the perfect time to start planning for National Family Meals Month September 2019. There is no fee to participate. Go to www.FMIFamilyMeals.com for ideas on how your company can join the movement.