Sep 9, 2015

Program Recognizes Grocery Shopper Allies during National Family Meals Month

September 9, 2015 – ARLINGTON, VA – The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is proud to recognize food retailer and manufacturer companies making mealtime more approachable, accessible and enjoyable for the nation’s grocery shoppers. FMI’s 2015 Gold Plate Awards is 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, RPh, FMI vice president 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:

Acme Fresh Market
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 their ongoing commitment to family meal promotion is to forge an emotional attachment between their brand and their community of customers.

Price Chopper
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.

Ahold USA
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, and time-saving solutions to help customers make easy-to-prepare family meals every day.

Mars
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.

The 2015 Gold Plate Awards will take part this evening in a reception on Capitol Hill. Winners will each receive $1,000 and a commemorative trophy. Learn more about the programs here and follow the Voice of Food Retail blog for more in-depth stories on our Gold Plate Award winners.