Fruits & Veggies—More Matters Logo on Over 1,000 Items

Consumers can now find the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters® brand logo on over 1,000 different food labels in stores nationwide. Moms look for the logo when shopping as a designation that a product is nutritious and to remind them to eat more fruits and vegetables for their better health. Growers, shippers, processors, distributors, and retailers across the country support the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption by including the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters logo prominently on both nationally marketed, brand name products as well as on the private label products of several grocery chains.

Shoppers can find the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters logo throughout the store, on fresh, frozen, canned, 100 percent juice and dried fruit and vegetable products, and more are being submitted for logo certification every week. For more information, see PBH’s press statement. To submit a product for logo consideration, contact PBH Licensing and Partnership Manager Kathleen Ruf.

Fruit is the New #1 Snack for Kids Age Six and Younger

Fruit is now the number one snack item parents give to children under the age of six, according to survey results recently released by the market research firm NPD Group, and discussed in USA Today. In response to these findings, a new page has been added to the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters website, Top 10 Fruit Snacks for Kids. This list includes fresh fruit dipped in low-fat yogurt, canned or fresh cut fruit in single serve cups, and smoothies made with fruit, along with other fun fruit ideas.

Fruits & Veggies—More Matters Website Responds to Requests

The Fruits & Veggies—More Matters website is a great resource for easy-to-use tips designed to help consumers increase their fruit and vegetable consumption. The website continues to evolve as new content is added in response to requests from site visitors and Moms. Some of the newest features include the Top 10 Fruit Snacks for Kids, a meal planning guide, a page with suggestions about proper nutrition for vegetarian kids, and our About the Buzz area which takes on rumors about different fruits and vegetables and separates fact from fiction. Also recently added are several new recipes, including a new page featuring dishes that can be made in 30 minutes or less. Other enhancements are on the way – look for the new video center currently on track to debut later this summer!  Don’t forget to check out the interactive Ask the Expert section and Mom2Mom message board where Moms can seek advice to help them overcome their families’ fruit and veggie eating challenges, like dealing with a picky eater or eating on the run. Donors: feel free to post ideas, hints, and even recipes there too!

Video Production on Schedule

Production has begun on videos for the new Video Streaming area of the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters website. Videos are scheduled to go live on the site by the end of August.  April web statistics analysis continues to indicate that the recipe and fruit and vegetable nutrition sections continue to be the top two visited pages on the site. For more information on sponsoring streaming videos, contact PBH Manager of Development Theresa Kaufmann.

FoodChamps.org Updates

Soon kids will have even more fun activities to enjoy on www.foodchamps.org. The new games are What Color, designed with children ages two through five in mind, and Find It, age appropriate for six- through eight-year-olds. Both offer fruit and vegetable-themed riddles that reveal their humorous answers when kids either select the proper fruits & veggies for the specified color group or find the hidden fruits & veggies. There is also a new Party Planner section that lets kids and their Moms plan for a Fruit and Veggie Color Champions™ themed party. In early August, a Healthy Choices Maze and another new game, called Farm to Fork, will also be added as the kids’ destination for fruit & veggie fun on the Internet just keeps getting better! The Get Kids Involved section of fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org links to the kids’ site and offers a quick preview of what they will find there. For more information about the new website, contact PBH Website Development Manager Sandra Ely.

CDC Grant Winners Announced

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced its 23 grant-winning states for Physical Activity and Obesity Program funding beginning July 1, 2008. These five-year grants are given to state departments of health to be used to prevent and control obesity and other chronic diseases through healthful eating and physical activity. Specifically, state programs will need to develop strategies to leverage resources and coordinate statewide efforts with multiple partners to address six target areas, including increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and reducing the consumption of high energy dense foods. Other target areas include increasing physical activity, decreasing consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, increasing breastfeeding, and decreasing television viewing. The wining states are: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.  As the lead federal partner in the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters public health initiative, CDC continues to encourage states to include Fruits & Veggies—More Matters in their implementation efforts. For more information on these grants and to identify the contact in each state, visit CDC’s website.

Use Toolkit to Help Achieve Role Model Status

PBH is looking for retailers, growers, shippers, and processors to become Role Models. Role models are those companies that exemplify a commitment to the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters national public health initiative in a multitude of ways, from advertising and promotional activities to their support of PBH’s mission. Using the promotional tools provided in the Retailer and Supplier Toolkits is a good start toward achieving Role Model status, and the best place to begin is by adding the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters web button to the company website as a link to www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org.

Brand licensees can help make Fruits and Veggies—More Matters even more successful by carrying the logo on product packaging. The Fruits and Veggies—More Matters logo helps consumers recognize products as nutritious by showing that they meet PBH’s strict nutrition guidelines. Send us pictures of products with labels that feature the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters logo. We are most interested in images of product showing the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters logo, rather than pictures of a flat label. Help PBH generate excitement and increase visibility for Fruits & Veggies—More Matters by contacting PBH Database Associate Allison Kissel to provide more information about your logo-bearing products today.

For more information about becoming a Retail Role Model, view our retail role model criteria, or contact PBH Senior Executive of Retail Marketing Bryant Wynes. For more information about becoming a grower/shipper/processor Role Model, view our criteria for being a grower/shipper/processor role model, or contact PBH Database Associate Allison Kissel. 

Parent Teacher Trade Show Attendees Impressed with Nutrition Education Materials

PBH representatives attended the National Parent Teachers Association (NPTA) trade show in San Diego, Calif., in June. At the NPTA meeting, PBH was able to reach parents and teachers as well as PTA Junior Leaders in 8th and 9th grades. The Fruits and Veggies—More Matters Creative Pockets curriculum drew strong interest from teachers who liked the formatted lesson plans focusing on the importance of eating a variety of fruits and vegetables. 

PBH representatives will attend the School Nutrition Association trade show in Philadelphia, July 21-23, 2008. This gathering will allow us to reach the people who decide what is served in school cafeterias. We look forward to helping them find ways to boost the fruit and vegetable intake in the school community. These events give PBH the opportunity to share the benefits and value-added features of several nutrition education resources. For more information on trade show events, contact PBH Nutrition Catalog Sales Representative Don Schuler.

Research: Social Support May Influence Fruit & Veggie Availability

In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, social support was found to be a primary influence on the availability of fruit, 100 percent juice, and vegetables in the home.  Barnaowski, et al., recruited shoppers at grocery stores to complete a telephone interview that asked about shopping practices, personal expectations of eating fruits and vegetables, and social support.  When weight and demographics were accounted for, only positive social support, such as encouragement and approval for purchasing fruits and vegetables, consistently predicted availability of fruits and vegetables in the home.  Similarly, recent PBH research showed that moms feel good about themselves when they serve fruits and vegetables.  Since availability in the home is associated with consumption, being an ally to moms by encouraging and acknowledging their efforts to have more fruits and vegetables readily available at home is an important step towards increasing consumption. For more information, view the study or contact PBH Nutrition Research Manager Kathy Hoy, Ed.D., R.D.

Fruits & Veggies—More Matters Items Make Summer More Fun

PBH continues to offer a variety of nutrition education resources promoting the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters national public health initiative. Planning a summer event around nutrition? Fruits & Veggies—More Matters bookmarks and brochures make great handouts. Having an appreciation picnic for your employees? These promotional items are always popular. Need some great activities for summer travel? Kids love the Fruit & Veggie Memory Game and Fruit and Veggie Color Champions™ activity books. The 2008 PBH catalog has been sent to over 85,000 educators and health professionals and will reach over 120,000 by end of year.  Be on the look out for September’s catalog supplement offering some new nutrition education resources.  To receive a catalog and the September catalog supplement in the mail, contact PBH customer service.

Donor Recognition: Your Support Matters!

PBH is pleased to recognize the following companies who have contributed to the foundation from May 30, 2008 through Jun. 20, 2008. Your generous contributions help support PBH’s many activities to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. To find out how you can support PBH and grow your business in the process, contact PBH Manager of Development Theresa Kaufmann.

Working on behalf of all U.S. peanut farmers, the National Peanut Board (NPB) helps consumers and health professionals alike explore the nutritious, delicious, wide-open world of America’s favorite legume. A good source of fuel and energy any time of the day, peanuts provide more than 30 essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients.  Plus, they’re trans-fat and cholesterol free.

Not only are consumers looking for choices that are healthful, but they are also reluctant to sacrifice flavor, and U.S.-grown peanuts and peanut products fit the bill. They play well with others, are great flavor carriers, and blend with any cuisine, from all-American to global – from the familiar to the exotic.

For additional information, visit www.nationalpeanutboard.org.