Our Work
Want To Know More? Read On …
We’re a nonprofit education organization funding research and working behind the scenes with produce companies, grocery stores, schools and restaurants to help get factual fruit and veggie info out to you … and to help you with ways to increase your intake. You know us well … you’ve seen us on plastic produce bags, on frozen and canned fruits and veggies, in restaurants, and you’ve seen us here, on this website and in social media, bringing you gigs of life-changing data each and every day. About Our Logo
Our Work
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Consumer Education: Website + Social Media
Schools
Grocery Stores
Restaurants
We Provide Training, Awards & University Grants
Research + Policy Watchdog
Suppliers + Distributors for Supermarkets
Consumer Education: Website + Social Media
You’ve made us a vital source for your Fruits & Veggie info! Our website and social media channels reach millions of people each year. We provide up-to-date information about the growing body of research that touts the health benefits of fruits and vegetables and we offer you hundreds of ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables into your day via recipes, menus, meal planning tips, and expert advice. We help you understand the connection between lifestyle and disease because chances are you or someone you know has been touched by heart disease, diabetes, cancer or another condition/disease that is preventable or manageable with proper nutrition and exercise. We aim to help you understand the link between lifestyle and disease and to fight through changes in your diet, lifestyle, physical activity.
Schools
In an effort to ensure the health of your children and affect school nutrition, we reach out to teachers and administrators, providing age-appropriate teaching tools and curriculum built around making healthier choices in everyday life. As a member of the National Fruit & Vegetable Alliance, we have also worked hard to place salad bars in schools and provide insight on how to offer healthier meals for students.
Chances are you see us when you go to your local supermarket. Our logo appears on produce bags and fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100% juice fruit and vegetable products that meet our ‘seal of approval’ which indicates the products meet our strict criteria for a healthful product. There are so many health claims out there but you’ll know that if you see our logo that food item is a healthful item to add to your diet. DYK? 49% of those surveyed self-reported in 2015 that they are likely to purchase that product!
We also provide materials and training to your supermarket to help them convey the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables and how to increase your intake. We work closely with Supermarket Registered Dietitians and in-store pharmacies so they have the information and tools needed to answer your questions around how many fruits & veggies you should eat each day … or what fruit and veggies you can eat if you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Restaurants
We’ve worked with restaurants to help them provide more fruit and vegetable items on their menus. Look for our logo at Subway! You’ll also see our logo on the apple packs found in McDonald’s Happy Meals. Right now, much of our work with restaurants is focused behind the scenes, as we work with their fruit and vegetable suppliers to ensure quality products reach your favorite eating establishments. This is an area we’d like to expand in the near future. We are currently working to expand our work with restaurants and help them develop more nutritious menus.
We Provide Training, Awards and University Grants
We are the consumer connection between you and the dietitians and health professionals who work hard to get you the latest fruit and vegetable information. By providing tools, resources, webinars, and advice, we help train your supermarket dietitians and your local nutrition state coordinators. As mentioned above, we provide materials and training to your supermarket to help them convey the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables and how to increase your intake. We work closely with Supermarket Registered Dietitians and in-store pharmacies so they have the information and tools needed to answer your questions around how many fruits & veggies you should eat each day or nutrition specifics in relation to a particular disease or condition. In fact, each year, those who excel in getting the word out to you are awarded at our annual conference. We also offer grants to college students who are focused on fruit and vegetable health education as part of their goals as Registered Dietitians.
Consumption Research
We fund/commission fruit and vegetable consumer research that allows us to see whether Americans are in fact eating the amount of fruits and veggies they should… and whether or not they know how much they should be eating. This research examines consumption levels by age, sex, life cycle, health segmentation, meal occasion, and form. We learn who’s eating their fruits and vegetables and how much they eat, we then project growth and make recommendations to the fruit and vegetable industry, health professionals, and consumer intermediary groups who affect change.Policy Watchdog
We’re a watchdog for schools and social programs, ensuring everyone has access to fruits and vegetables. We analyze, grade and publish research on an array of organizations. What grades did they get in 2015?
Schools and Social Programs
- Schools. An ‘A’ grade was given to schools, given the doubling of fruits and vegetables in school meals as a result of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010
- HIP/SNAP. An ‘A’ grade was given to the Healthy Incentive Pilot program that demonstrated strong positive results at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among SNAP households.
- WIC. An ‘A’ grade was given to the WIC Fruit and Vegetable Vouchers program, which is part of a special supplemental program for Women, Infants and Children.
- Restaurants & Cafeterias. Restaurants and cafeterias received a ‘B-’ for providing greater availability and variety in fruit and vegetable choices on menus.
- Supermarkets & Suppliers. Supermarkets and fruit and vegetable suppliers received a ‘C’ for progress over the past 5 years at making fruits and vegetables more accessible and convenient.
- Ag Policy & Research. A ‘D’ grade was given on the alignment of agricultural policy and research with nutrition policy.
- Food Marketing, Companies. A failing grade was once again assigned to the food marketing category given its continued low level of fruit and vegetable marketing (<1%) relative to all food marketing.
Government
DYK? Fruits and vegetables are a low spending priority for government agencies, despite low consumption compared to government recommendations. In fact, the fruit and vegetable consumption gap contributes between 5.6%-22.2% of the risk of three major diseases: cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke.
Produce for Better Health Foundation works to make sure the government is in synergy with what’s needed for Americans’ good health. Our 2015 Gap Analysis, The Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Challenge: How Federal Spending Falls Short of Addressing Public Health Needs was designed to assess the extent to which federal policy makers, through their spending decisions, have made fruits and vegetables a national public-health priority.
The Facts
- People are not eating the amount of recommended fruits and vegetables and the gap is growing.
- Avoidable public health risks are high due low fruit and vegetable consumption.
- Low fruit and vegetable consumption = high economic costs.
- USDA spending contradicts the priority of fruits and vegetables in the dietary guidelines: Lower-priority foods like meat dominated USDA spending, with six times its share, while USDA spending on fruits and vegetables was only about one-third their share.
- USDA spending for nutrition education is too low to have a substantial impact.
- Fruits and vegetables are a low spending priority for NIH and CDC despite the sizable health risks attributable to low fruit and vegetable intake. Only 1% of NIH research projects on cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke focused on fruits and vegetables, despite the fact that the fruit and vegetable consumption gap contributes between 5.6%-22.2% of the risk of those three major diseases.
Read Entire Report
Do you think the government should spend more on fruits and vegetables? Start a Petition
Suppliers + Distributors for Supermarkets
We work with over 160 companies such as Dole, Green Giant and Driscoll’s who supply your supermarkets with produce to help them understand the importance of consumer education about fruit and vegetable nutrition. We help them ensure that you understand the nutritional value of the fruits and vegetables you’re buying, and our logo on the product makes that distinction easier! Our logo signifies products meet very strict standards, you’ve told us that seeing the logo on a product increases your trust in that product. We stand behind that. Our progress is demonstrated in the increasing numbers of companies in the fruit and vegetable industry who are dedicated to helping the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters national health campaign by sharing our brand messages and logo with consumers.
PASSION!
How do we do so much? Passion. We are a small but powerfully passionate group whose goal is to help you help yourself, to take charge of your life and reach the pinnacle of health.
We know you share our passion and today, we need your love. Help us keep the momentum going. See Annual Report
Just $10 a month will help us continue to reach thousands of people every day with life-changing information and advice, but please consider a donation of any size. Carry your donation further by posting your donation to social media and asking your friends to match it. Donate today and share your passion!
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