Spotlight

We're shining the light on grocery stores and brands who are helping families share one more meal together each week.

Our Gold Plate Awards annual showcase programs helping families share more meals. Here are some of our recent recipients and how they are making family meals easier for families of all shapes and sizes to enjoy.

Skogen’s Festival Foods: Festival Family Meals: Kid-Approved Foods

Three-time Gold Plate Award winner Skogen’s Festival Foods took on the challenge that parents face daily: engaging kids. They created a YouTube “mini” series that featured real kids or “mini guests” enjoying food, family meals, and fun! Festival Foods' campaign also engaged brand partnerships including Campbell’s, Hormel, and General Mills in the production of the YouTube “mini” series, and with Y100 WNCY in a joint-Facebook Live broadcast making a kid-friendly meal. The campaign reached over 2 million people.

GIANT Food Stores: Power of One More Family Meal

Giant Martins launched a TV ad focused entirely on family meals. An article in local magazine Natural Awakenings spoke about the benefits of family meals to nourish minds, in addition to bodies. In stores, dietitians offered individual consultations, cooking classes, store tours and “wellness walks”, and over 1500 associates brought the campaign to life with in-store displays on “Quick ‘N Easy” and “Easy Does It” meal deals.

Hy-Vee, Inc.: Hy-Vee, Inc.'s National Family Meals Month Campaign

Hy-Vee’s National Family Meals Month Campaign set out to bring families back to the dinner table by providing tips and tools to make mealtime more manageable. In partnership with Hormel, Hy-Vee helped donate over 370,000 homemade peanut-butter sandwiches to Harvesters – The Community Food Network. Now a tradition in Hy-Vee’s National Family Meals Month campaign, actor Mark Wahlberg once again helped bring the Family Meals Month message home with a promotion on social media. All 8 states where Hy-Vee has stores made National Family Meals Month state proclamations.

Wakefern Food Corp: Family Meals Month at ShopRite

To build awareness for September’s campaign Wakefern launched a “Healthy Family Meals” contest in April, inviting customers to share their favorite family meal recipes. Eleven winners were chosen to participate in September’s campaign promotions, and the top winner was awarded $2,500 and a spot in ShopRite’s family meals-themed cookbook produced specially for the campaign by ShopRite dietitians. In the community, 500 free National Family Meals Month-themed meals were distributed to Partners in Caring Hunger Initiative, dietitians lead themed cooking classes, and family meal-themed presentations were given to a senior center and a Health Fair at a local church.

Kellogg Company: Family Meals for Healthier, More Successful, Safer Kids!

Kellogg’s chose to focus on WIC during National Family Meals Month to help WIC educators address a lull in use of WIC foods by participants. Through partnerships with a variety of WIC stakeholders, Kellogg’s spread messages about the benefits of family meals, the state of family meals in the U.S., and ways to use WIC foods to make affordable, delicious meals that bond families. Kellogg’s created a number of resources during the campaign to include a set of 15 recipes utilizing WIC foods (cereals, beans, canned fish, yogurt), food demonstrations for over 30 retail locations, a lesson plan on the benefits of family meals for WIC families presented to WIC staff.

Produce for Better Health Foundation: Fruits and Veggies- More Matters Month: A Focus on Family Meals

Produce for Better Health Foundation’s “Fruits and Veggies- More Matters Month: A Focus on Family Meals” campaign promoted their mission of “Fruits and Veggies – More Matters” as well as the benefits of family meals. During September, Produce for Better Health Foundation highlighted the benefits of fruits and vegetables and family meals to their national audience.

See All National Family Meals Month Partners Helping Make Family Meals Happen