fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org
A Retailer’s Guide to In-Store Activities
To Help Moms and Dads Introduce
Fruits and Vegetables to Their Children
For more information, visit www.pbhfoundation.org
©2008 Produce for Better Health Foundation
September 2008
Dear Fruits & Veggies—More Matters® Retailer,
In research conducted by Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH), the perception of
fruits and vegetables as being healthy foods continues to grow year after year. Parents’
interest in learning new, interesting ways to include more fruits and vegetables for their
children also grows, but many indicate they need our help.
To assist retailers, PBH has created Take Your Child to the Supermarket Day, an event
featuring a series of fun, educational activities you can implement in your store(s) to help
parents familiarize their children with the wonderful variety of fruits and vegetables that
are available. Among the various games and promotions, we’re sure you’ll find one or
two that you can offer to your customers. Feel free to add your store logo to any of the
activity sheets and print and distribute them. Add prizes for the participants (a piece of
fruit is perfect, or check out the PBH catalog at http://www.pbhcatalog.com/ for more
prize ideas).
We suggest you set aside at least a week, if not an entire month, for your activities.
While September, National Fruits & Veggies—More Matters® Month, is a great time to
hold a Take Your Child to the Supermarket Day event, we encourage you to integrate
activities like these into your ongoing marketing efforts to continuously promote the
goodness of fruits and vegetables.
Best of luck with your events! Be sure to let us know if we can assist you in any way.
Elizabeth Pivonka, Ph.D., R.D.
President
Produce for Better Health Foundation
[email protected]
Bryant Wynes
Senior Executive of Retail Marketing
Produce for Better Health Foundation
[email protected]
Table of Contents
Activities
Taste Sampling
Fruit/Veggie Guessing Game
Fruit & Veggie Story Time
Find the Colors
All Forms Count
Fruit & Veggie Color Champions Treasure Hunt
I’m Stuck on Fruits & Veggies
Resources
Advertising Tools (Downloadables)
Script for In-store Announcements
Script for Commercial Radio Promotion
Ad Slick
Press Release Template
Activities
Taste Sampling
Introducing children to the many different tastes available in the Produce Department by
sampling can be fun. It’s also the easiest activity to plan. Here are some tips to help:
1. Mix it up. Sample several items at the same time.
2. Include a variety of “forms.” In addition to fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruit
and 100% juice are easy to sample.
3. Feature variety. How many different types of apples are in your store? Why not
let Moms, Dads, and kids sample a bite of each?
4. Focus on unique. Offer sample items that kids may not be familiar with, such as:
a. Kiwi
b. Mango
c. Papaya
d. Blood Oranges
e. Jicama
5. Sample an easy-to-fix recipe like our Happy Trails Fruit Munchies.
6. Be sure to distribute copies of the recipe to Mom and Dad.
Fruit/Veggie Guessing Game
Children will have fun with this guessing game, as they try to figure out the number of
items in a container (basket, large jar, etc.). To start the game, fill the container with
loose fruit or a vegetable item. Ask the children, “How many ___________ are in here?”
(There’s nothing tricky about this, just some good old fashioned fun in the Produce
Department.)
For this game, you will need:
1. A container filled with fruits or veggies like . . .
a. Apples
b. Pears
c. Onions
d. Potatoes
e. Sweet Potatoes
2. Entry blanks/entry box so children can guess the count in the container.
3. Prizes to give out for the closest guess. Fruit baskets, produce coupons, or items
from the PBH catalog, http://www.pbhcatalog.com/, make great prizes.
Fruit & Veggie Story Time
Here’s a great activity that PBH is borrowing (with permission) from our supporters
at SaveMart Supermarkets in California.
For this activity, you will need the following items:
• Floor stand sign announcing the dates and times for story time, as well as the
name of the book to be read
• Carpet or fabric to designate reading area and serve as seating for kids
• Low stool or chair for reader to sit on
• Book – feel free to choose any age-appropriate book related to food, nutrition,
or shopping; several good choices are available from the PBH catalog,
including Eating the Alphabet, Lunch at the Zoo, and Watch the Colors Grow
• A fruit or vegetable snack the kids can munch on as they listen (optional)
• Small prize or gift to be distributed when story time is over, like fruit &
veggie stickers, balloons, or temporary tattoos from the PBH catalog
(optional)
How-to Tips for Fruit & Veggie Story Time
• Place a floor stand with the sign announcing the date(s), time(s), and location
for story time near the location where it will be held – you might also want to
announce it over the in-store radio several times in the week leading up to the
event
• About five minutes before story time, place the carpet or fabric on the floor
area to designate where the kids will sit and set up the chair for the reader in
front of this area
• Assemble any snacks or samples to be handed out to the children at this time,
along with any stickers, Fruits & Veggies—More Matters balloons, coupons,
or prizes to be given out afterward
• Announce that story time is about to begin on the PA system while the reader
is setting up the area
• Assemble kids that congregate in the area, and instruct them to sit down on
the carpet or fabric
• Pass out any snacks or samples
• Read the story
• Thank the children for coming and invite them to come back to (insert store
name) with their parents again
• Hand out any stickers, Fruits & Veggies—More Matters balloons, coupons, or
prizes
• Return story time materials to storage until next time
Find the Colors
This activity is designed for younger children. Children are asked to find and identify
five different fruits and vegetables in each of five different colors and record their
answers on their activity sheet.
How to Begin the All Forms Count Activity
Distribute the activity sheet. Ask the children, “See if you can find five different fruits
and vegetables in each of these five colors and mark the answers on your sheet.”
1. Red
2. Blue/Purple
3. Yellow/Orange
4. Green
5. White
Share this tip with Moms: A colorful variety of fruits and vegetables is important in
your child’s diet. Try to include something from each of these five colors every day.
All Forms Count
This game encourages children to discover that fruits and vegetables come in a variety of
forms: fresh, frozen, canned, dried, and 100% juice. Using an activity sheet, children
check off the different forms of each of the listed fruits and veggies they find in the store.
You can award simple prizes for completed game cards – like a piece of fruit.
How to Begin the All Forms Count Game
Explain that fruits and veggies come in a lot of different forms. They can be found in
many different places in the supermarket.
Ask the children to use their activity sheet to check off the different forms of fruits and
veggies they find while shopping today. At the bottom of their sheet, ask them to answer
this question, “Do any of these fruits and vegetables come in all 5 forms?”
Share this tip with Moms: Different forms make it easy and convenient for your child to
enjoy nutritious fruits and vegetables.
Fruit & Veggie Color Champions Treasure Hunt Activity
This activity will help children find fruits and vegetables throughout the store by looking
for colorful signs featuring one of the Color Champions. (You will need to print the Fruit
& Veggie Color Champion shelf talkers and place them around the store on various fruit
and vegetable items. We suggest placing them on as many as 25 different items.)
On the Treasure Hunt Activity Sheet, children write down how many Color Champions
they find and where they are located. Prizes can be awarded for the child that finds the
most items. For prizes, give out fresh fruits or veggies or items from
www.pbhcatalog.com).
How to Begin the Fruit & Veggie Color Champions Treasure Hunt Activity
Explain that there are (#) Fruit & Veggie Color Champions throughout the store. They
can be found on small signs placed on fresh, frozen, canned, and dried fruits and
vegetables – and also on 100% fruit and vegetable juices.
To begin the activity, ask the children, ‘How many of the Color Champions can you find?
Where are they located?” Distribute the activity sheet for the treasure hunt and tell the
children to use that to write down their answers. (Provide an example-- answer will look
like: “I found one (name of the Color Champion) on the canned corn.”)
I’m Stuck on Fruits & Veggies
This sticker activity rewards children for eating their fruits and veggies. Children affix
PLU stickers from the fruits or veggies they eat to the tracking card. When the card is
full, children present it to you to receive a “prize” like a piece of fruit or an item from the
PBH catalog (www.pbhcatalog.com)
How to Begin the I’m Stuck on Fruits and Veggies Activity
Hand out a tracking card to the children. Ask them to take it home and use it to count
how many fresh fruits and veggies they eat. They should place one sticker from any fresh
fruit or vegetable in each circle on the card. (They can tape the sticker to the card, if
necessary.) When card is full, it should be presented to a store employee for a FREE
piece of fruit!
Resources
Produce for Better Health Foundation has a variety of resources that can help you with
your promotions. We suggest that you check out the many items in our catalog at
www.pbhcatalog.com. There are promotional items as well as educational activities you
might be interested in using when you reach out to your customers.
9 Stickers
9 Balloons
9 Pencils
9 Crayons
9 Fliers
9 Jump ropes
9 Chalk
9 Fruit & Veggie Champion Activity Books
Advertising Tools
These materials can be customized and downloaded to help publicize your store’s Take
Your Child to the Supermarket Day event.
¾ Script for In-store Announcements
¾ Script for Commercial Radio Promotion
¾ Ad Slick
¾ Press Release Template