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Join the Produce for Better Health Foundation in Celebrating September as National Fruits & Veggies Month™

CONTACT:
Katie Toulouse, Communications Director
Produce for Better Health Foundation
[email protected]
412-848-1544

For your health and your happiness, do yourself a favor this September – Have A Plant™    

September 3, 2019 – Although research shows that fruits and vegetables are important for fueling healthy bodies and minds throughout all stages of life, nine in 10 Americans still do not meet the daily recommended amounts.1–2  To help close this staggering gap, the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) is claiming September as National Fruits & Veggies Month™ (NFVM), to celebrate all things fruits and vegetables and encourage consumers to eat more every day. Previously known as Fruits & Veggies – More Matters™ Month, the organization is broadening the title to elevate fruit and vegetable consumption as a national priority and encourage a less-prescriptive approach when talking about and enjoying everyone’s favorite and flavorful plants – fruits and veggies.

The NFVM theme, Have A Plant™ – Food Rooted In A Better Mood, ties directly to PBH’s new behavioral science-based call-to-action, Have A Plant™. Through its transformational research and consumer insights platform, PBH re-established Americans’ need for creative, yet simple advice to help them enjoy more fruits and vegetables each day, as well as experience their physical health and emotional well-being benefits.

“The Have A PlantTM Movement marks an end to prescriptive recommendations and aims to inspire Americans with actionable, realistic and FUN steps to connect eating fruits and vegetables with feeling happier and healthier. And, with more consumers trying to enjoy plant-packed meals more often, Have A PlantTM reminds them that all fruits and vegetables are delicious, nutrient-rich plants,” says Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, registered dietitian and PBH President and CEO. “With nearly 90% of Americans falling below fruit and vegetable recommendations, everyone is needed to make a meaningful impact. The time is now to elevate fruit and vegetable consumption as one of our nation’s top priorities. NVFM encourages everyone to eat more of Americans’ favorite plants – fruits and veggies—and celebrate food rooted in a better mood.”

PBH encourages everyone to take action this September, following six simple steps to support National Fruits & Veggies Month™:

  1. Join the Have A Plant™ Movement: Enjoy all the fruits and veggies that you know and love – fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100% juice – that also can taste great and are proven to support your health and happiness! Learn more by visiting the “Join Us” page on www.fruitsandveggies.org.
  2. Rock the Have A Plant™ T-shirt: Show your support with your own limited-time edition Have A Plant™ t-shirt! Purchase a Have A Plant™ t-shirt for you, your friends, family and colleagues by clicking here today. All proceeds go towards funding new research to help inform how fruits and vegetables are playing a role in health and happiness.
  3. Take the Have A Plant™ Pledge: The challenge is simple: Pledge to add one more fruit and/or vegetable to your daily routine, every day this month. Whether it’s something you’ve been meaning to try, or even if you’re just experimenting with adding something new to foods you already love, here’s the plan…#haveaplant. Take the Have A PlantTM Pledge and download the graphic to share on your social media channels using #haveaplantpledge here.
  4. Spread the Fruit & Veggie Love on Social Media: Challenge friends, family, colleagues and your community to get involved in NVFM. Broadcast your commitment to the Have A Plant™ Pledge and provide incentives for your followers and/or social media friends to join the fun (perhaps by rocking a Have A Plant™ t-shirt)! Follow the PBH social channels noted below and include the hashtags, #haveaplant, #haveaplantpledge and #NFVM2019, in all social media posts related to NFVM.
    Facebook: @fruitsandveggies
    Instagram: @fruitsandveggies
    Twitter: @fruits_veggies
    LinkedIn: Produce For Better Health Foundation
  5. Enter Weekly Contests to WIN! Participate in weekly social media contests throughout September for a chance to win up to four $150 Amazon gift cards and your very own Have A Plant™ t-shirt! At the start of each week in September, PBH will announce a new contest on their social channels. Here is a sneak peek into each weekly challenge:
    Week of 9/2: Take a selfie with or picture of your colorful, plant-powered shopping cart while at the grocery store.
    Week of 9/9: Take a selfie with or picture of a new fruit you tried.
    Week of 9/16: Take a selfie with or picture of a new vegetable you ate.
    Week of 9/23: Take a selfie with or picture of your plant-packed plate.
  6. Rock Steady and Chat It Up: Stay inspired during NFVM with creative tips, tricks and all-around impressive food hacks from PBH’s Fruit & Vegetable Ambassadors in Action (FVAA) on PBH’s social media channels. Be sure to join in PBH’s September Twitter chat with FVAA member, Beau Coffron, Lunchbox Dad, on Tuesday, September 17th at 2:00 p.m. ET, to learn and share creative ways to pump up fruit and veggie intake, using the hashtag, #NFVM2019.

Need some motivation to get started? Click here for PBH’s top tips offering inspiration to help you Have A Plant™.

It’s really that simple. So many people are looking for that superfood that’s good for their mind and body. Some are looking really hard. But foods with those benefits are not off in the distant future. They are not a rare delicacy. They are not some secret. They are fruits and vegetables, of any kind. They’re foods rooted in a better mood. They are plants. So, this September, here’s the plan: Have A Plant™. Take the Have A Plant™ Pledge and vow to eat just one more fruit and/or vegetable every single day. It doesn’t matter what it is – whether it’s apples, broccoli, canned fruit or salsa cups, a handful of dried fruit on the run, or another fruit or veggie you’ve been meaning to try like zucchini noodles or frozen cauliflower rice. It’ll boost your health, and maybe even your mood. #haveaplant #haveaplantpledge #NFVM2019

For more information about National Fruits & Veggies Month™ visit: www.fruitsandveggies.org/NFVM.

About the Produce for Better Health Foundation

Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), is the only national organization dedicated to helping consumers live happier, healthy lives by eating more fruits and vegetables, including fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100% juice, every single day.

Since 1991, PBH has invested decades into developing trended insights on attitudes toward all forms of fruit and vegetable consumption, in addition to campaigns and partnerships with government, food industry stakeholders, health professionals and other thought leaders to collaborate, facilitate and advocate for increased intake. Campaigns included first, the 5-A-Day program, and then, the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters public health initiative. While five fruits and vegetables each day is great advice, and more will always matter, PBH’s new behavior-based call-to-action is Have A Plant™. Rooted in behavioral science, PBH’s transformative Have A Plant™ movement is an invitation that will inspire people with compelling reasons to believe in the powerful role fruits and vegetables can play to create happy, healthy and active lives.

Be sure to join the Have A Plant™ movement and get new recipes, snack hacks, meal ideas and other tips from chefs, registered dietitians, as well as food and wellness experts by visiting www.fruitsandveggies.org. Follow us on Facebook @fruitsandveggies; on Twitter @fruits_veggies; on Instagram @fruitsandveggies; on Pinterest @fruits_veggies; and on LinkedIn at Produce for Better Health Foundation. And remember to #haveaplant.

[1] DGAC. 2015. Scientific report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: Advisory report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the secretary of agriculture. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service.

[2] USDA. 2018a. 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Accessed May 4, 2018. https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015