FMI launches family eat-at-home campaign
September 21, 2015 |02:08 PM
Leslie Sarasin, president and CEO of the Food Marketing Institute, presents a Gold Plate Award to Ellie Wilson, right, senior nutritionist at PriceChopper. FMI presented four awards to companies promoting family eating at home. At left is “Mitty the Mitt,” the mascot of FMI’s “Family Meals Matter” campaign. (Food Marketing Institute)
The Food Marketing institute, which represents food retailers, has launched a campaign to encourage families eat one more meal per week at the family dinner table, and has established a Gold Plate awards program for grocers that launch campaigns with their customers.
The campaign “is aimed at rallying families back to the table to share one more meal together each week using items from the grocery store." FMI President Leslie Sarasin said in a news release.
The campaign appears to be in response the inclination of Americans, particularly the millennial generation, to eat away from home or to bring home prepared meals.
“It’s no secret that the family meal is taking on a new dynamic, which is ripe for opportunities for food retailers and their suppliers to cater to shifting needs of a new generation of families,” added Cathy Polley, FMI vice president of health and wellness and the executive director of the FMI Foundation.
The 2015 Gold Plate Award winners were honored at a September 9 reception at the House Agriculture Committee hosted by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway, R-Texas.
The winning companies and their programs:
Acme Fresh Market: The Surprising Power of Family Meals — Recognizes the family as “the center of the grocery business” and seeks to forge an emotional attachment between the Acme brand and customers.
Price Chopper: Family Mealtimes Matter — Began as a collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension educators to encourage healthier habits consistent with USDA and Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Encourages customers to use the store’s NuVal Nutrition Scoring system, and has partnered with New York State’s SNAP Education program, “Eat Smart New York” and The Times Union newspaper as partners.
Ahold USA: Savory: Fast, Fresh and Easy — Offers recipes, budget-friendly tips and coupons, and time-saving solutions to help customers make easy-to-prepare family meals every day.
Mars: Ben’s Beginners — National program from the Uncle Ben’s rice brand helps children develop healthier eating habits by encouraging parents to teach them how to cook.
Winners received $1,000 and a commemorative plaque.
