Origins:
This past May through June, AWG Oklahoma participated in the 12th annual Get Healthy, Give Hope campaign with Produce for Kids® to encourage families to eat healthier, give back to local charities and increase sales of partners’ products. Participating fresh fruit and vegetable companies supplying to AWG provided consumption-based donations, helping raise funds for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. The funds raised totaled $11,200 and will help fund 55 backpacks full of food for local school children through the food bank’s Food for Kids Backpack Program. This year marks the fourth consecutive year AWG has participated in a Produce for Kids campaign to benefit its local community. To date, AWG has raised almost $60,000 for charities local to its markets.
Contribution:
AWG provided retail support for the program, including displaying printed in-store shelf cards at point of purchase for participating products and running in-store radio announcing campaign details. The campaign was also promoted in partnership with Produce for Kids through social media channels; top parenting bloggers; produceforkids.com; local, national and trade press outlets; shopper newsletters; and through an in-store character meet-and-greet with Sprout® TV characters.
Objectives:
The campaign has three objectives: help families eat healthier, raise funds for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, and increase the sales of participating fresh fruit and vegetable companies. In-store materials point shoppers to AWG’s campaign page on produceforkids.com; family-tested, registered dietitian-approved recipes; a blog with healthy eating content such as how to stretch produce purchases and creative ways to incorporate produce; produce tips on how to select, store and prep produce; and social media channels with recipes, ideas for the family, and healthy eating news.
Impact:
AWG successfully helped raise funds for 55 schoolchildren’s backpacks. These backpacks are sent home each weekend with children to give them food and nourishment over the weekend. The Food for Kids Backpack Program serves more than 15,000 children per year in 477 different elementary schools across central and western Oklahoma. Media coverage for the campaign resulted in 17.7 million impressions across national, trade and local outlets. The social media reach from bloggers who promoted the campaign was more than 822,000. Sprout, the media partner for Produce for Kids spring campaigns, reached more than 435,000 fans through its social media channels and national TV spots ran on the TV channel four times a day during the campaign timeframe.
Quote:
“Healthy kids and communities are of utmost importance to Homeland. We are honored to continue our partnership with Produce for Kids to not only support such a necessary cause, but to also highlight the significance of healthy living among children.” Alyson Dykstra, registered dietitian at Homeland
Support Statement:
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