The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is recognizing food retailer and manufacturer companies that are helping to make mealtime more approachable, accessible and enjoyable for the nation’s grocery shoppers. FMI’s 2015 Gold Plate Awards are part of National Family Meals Month, a national campaign aimed at rallying families back to the table to share one more meal together each week using items from the grocery store.
“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,” said Cathy Polley, FMI’s VP of health and wellness and the executive director of the FMI Foundation. “The Gold Plate Awards elevate how our industry is helping to bring families together and create healthy habits among consumers throughout the year.”
The 2015 Gold Plate Award winners are:
Program: The Surprising Power of Family Meals!
Acme Fresh Market—Feeding the Families of Our Community for over 120 years—understands the family to be the center of their grocery business. A vision of Steve Albrecht, then-president of Acme Fresh Market, the goal of Acme’s family meals campaign and its ongoing commitment to family meal promotion is to forge an emotional attachment between its brand and its community of customers.
Program: Family Mealtimes Matter
Launched in 2008 with a goal to help families enjoy more meals together, Price Chopper’s Family Mealtimes Matter program began as a collaborative effort with Cornell Cooperative Extension educators. The program also seeks to encourage healthier habits that are consistent with USDA and Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and facilitate usage of the NuVal Nutrition Scoring system at Price Chopper. Today, Price Chopper’s program counts New York State’s SNAP Education program, “Eat Smart New York,” and the Times Union newspaper as partners.
Program: Savory: Fast, Fresh and Easy
Savory: Fast, Fresh and Easy is an exciting new meal platform developed by Ahold USA to help its customers save time and money while eating well. With these key customer needs in mind, the program offers recipe resources, budget-friendly tips and coupons, as well as time-saving solutions to help customers make easy-to-prepare family meals every day.
Program: Ben’s Beginners
Ben’s Beginners, a national program from the Uncle Ben’s brand, is dedicated to helping children develop healthier eating habits by learning how to cook. The Ben’s Beginners movement encourages parents to connect with their kids in the kitchen. It shows families that cooking isn’t just a skill; it’s a life lesson that inspires children to make healthier decisions about eating.
