The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) has honored three grand prize winners and three honorable mentions at its inaugural Gold Plate Award presentation at the Health and Wellness @ Retail conference in San Antonio, Texas. The winners were recognized last week for creating food retail programs that promote family meals.
• Category A (1-49 stores): Redner’s Warehouse Markets. Inc. A registered dietitian coordinates Redner’s HealthCents program, which includes a bi-monthly health and wellness newsletter, weekly informative circular ads and a merchandised “better for you” end-cap in all stores.
• Category B (50-199 stores): Price Chopper Supermarkets. The education and outreach program promotes the idea that all mealtimes can be family mealtimes. Outreach components include recipes, coupons, food demonstrations, informational tips and giveaways.
• Category C (more than 200 stores): Affiliated Foods Midwest Cooperative Inc. Using a weekly flyer as a primary tool, the Family Meals Program suggests and promotes simple components to a family meal. More than 500 retailers use this flyer to guide consumers to products that are supported by recipes and meal ideas.
• Honorable Mentions:
– Safeway Inc. The Sustaining Meal Solutions Platform aims to transform the deli department into a destination for quick-service family meals. The program reaches about 1.2 million households.
– Hannaford Bros. Co. The Veggie of the Month program highlights seasonal vegetables with kid-friendly recipes, take-away information on health benefits and fun educational activities. All 181 Hannaford stores participate in the program.
– BD&K Foods Inc. BD&K Foods Fixin’s line of hot, healthy, ready-to-eat packaged vegetables and side dishes are made without preservatives or artificial ingredients and each package includes a Fixin’s Fact about the advantages of eating family dinners together.
The winners each received a Gold Plate Award trophy, $1,000 cash prize to further support their programs and complimentary registration, hotel and round-trip airfare for one to the 2013 Health & Wellness @ Retail conference. FMI, and its partner and founding supporter Nestlé USA, envision that the Gold Plate Award will continue to advance the goals of the FMI Family Meals campaign. The award will become an annual honor maintained by FMI’s foundation.
