MORE MATTERS IN SEPTEMBER

It’s the first-ever National Fruits & Veggies – More Matters Month

There’s no need to wait till New Year’s to make a resolution for a healthier lifestyle. Now is the time to resolve to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet.

The Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can help. September marks the first national Fruits & Veggies – More Matters month, when PBH and CDC go all out in their efforts to spread the word that it’s easy to add another healthy item to every meal.

Elizabeth Pivonka, president of the Produce for Better Health Foundation says people sometimes need ideas and reminders about adding more fruits and vegetables to their diets.

“We’ve found out through our research that a lot of consumers know fruits and vegetables are good for them. They just need help with ideas about how to incorporate them into their lives easily and quickly,” said PBH President Elizabeth Pivonka.

Because it’s back-to-school time, September is a great month to revamp your family’s diet. Starting out the school year with an extra handful of raisins or switching from soda to 100 percent juice sets the trend for healthy habits in the months to come. More than 90 percent of children and adults do not consume the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. The Fruits & Veggies – More Matters campaign offers plenty of resources and ideas to change that, family by family.

A key point in the campaign is that all forms of fruits and veggies count. That includes dried fruit, canned items, selections from the frozen food aisle, and 100 percent juice. Click on www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org for more ideas than you’ll ever use. As an example, “Cool Quesas” are a delicious way to cook quesadillas with green peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms. In the beverages and smoothies category, “Cool Orangilicious” combines OJ and fat-free vanilla ice cream in a way that kids would never guess is healthy.

The site includes tips on planning, shopping and cooking involving the kids. And there’s even a mom-to-mom forum for sharing ideas. Here’s one: 

Grape tomatoes, banana chips, and other packable healthy foods are great for school lunches. Photo credit: www.santasweets.com

“Instead of potato chips, I pack dried banana chips in my daughter’s lunch. She enjoys the crunch, and I like that they’re not fried. Little grape tomatoes work well, too, and they taste fine without having to be refrigerated.”

PBH also plans to add more video to the Web site as well, Pivonka said. “We’d like to have some quick how-to tips and things like cutting up a mango or an avocado, for example. We’re aiming to do that in 2008.”

PBH and CDC know that if something doesn’t taste good, it won’t catch on as part of a healthy diet. That’s why they teamed with the Culinary Institute of America to promote September as Fruits & Veggies – More Matters Month. Two grand- prize winners of the Fruits & Veggies – More Matters Challenge announced in the spring were chosen to spend a weekend at the Culinary Institutes in California and New York.

Here are a few of the ideas PBH and CDC suggest for sneaking in an extra fruit or vegetable into your family’s diet:

• Divide large bags of mini carrots into individual plastic bags.  
• Sliced fruits and veggies will stay fresh in school lunches if packed in plastic bags. Don’t forget to include both fruits and veggies.
• Chunks of pineapple, bananas and kiwis make great kabobs that can be frozen. Store in freezer bags for quick snacks.
• Raisins and other dried fruits such as apricots, cranberries, apples, blueberries and bananas are a perfect “go anywhere” snack for kids.

As part of the Fruits & Veggies - More Matters campaign, Hidden Valley Ranch’s, “Love Your Veggies,” initiative offers grants to schools to build salad bars.

Besides the Web site, PBH and CDC are engaging educators, health professionals, state coordinators, the produce industry and the media in their efforts to bring attention to Fruits & Veggies – More Matters Month. Hidden Valley Ranch’s initiative, “Love Your Veggies,” offers grants to schools to build salad bars. Glad is launching a new product that allows consumers to steam fruits, vegetables and other foods. The company is distributing samples during September. Dole is placing 100 million “Fruits & Veggies – More Matters” stickers on its bananas as a way to promote the concept. and Welch's has launched its P.A.C.K. Week promotion, which stands for "Pack Assorted Colors for Kids.

If you’re involved in the produce industry, the Fruits & Veggies – More Matters Web site offers 13 easy-to-implement steps to promote increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. They include ideas for activities, publicity, signage and more. Go to http://www.pbhfoundation.org/members/events/fvmm_month/ for details.

“About two-thirds of those people surveyed said that just seeing the logo itself would make them very likely or extremely likely to eat more fruits and vegetables,” Pivonka said. “So just getting the visual in front of people as a constant reminder is key.”

Welch's P.A.C.K. Week promotion encourages children to eat a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.

Retailers also are hopping onboard. Some stores are including the Fruits & Veggies – More Matters message in brochures, consumer columns, children’s activities and events. Some have used the message in radio advertising and their own private label packaging. “It’s great to see so many retailers going above and beyond just putting the logo in their newspaper ads,” said Pivonka.

Producers and suppliers of fruits and vegetables also are doing their part. “Growers and processors are doing a good job of putting it on their packaging,” said Pivonka. “We want to emphasize that this is the fruit and vegetable industry’s program. It’s not PBH’s program. It is a brand to promote fruits and vegetables that everybody can get on board and support.”

In a nutshell, the Fruits & Veggies – More Matters message is a simple one. The initiative doesn’t talk about counting portions, cups, servings and such. It emphasizes the concept that adding one more fruit or vegetable per meal or snack will greatly benefit everyone’s health, and that it’s easy to do.

“We’ve found that consumers don’t want to be preached to – they don’t want to be made to feel guilty if they’re not eating their share of fruits and vegetables. They just need gentle reminders to do it, and tips on how to do it,” Pivonka said.

Take home some ideas today. Just click the logo below and go!