Best Practices and Excellence in National Family Meals Month™ Programming The Story of a Campaign that Turned into a Movement Best Practices and Excellence in National Family Meals Month™ Programming The Story of a Campaign that Turned into a Movement Table of Contents: 3 2017 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 National Family Meals Month™ Serves Up 6 Small, Medium, and Large Retailers, Suppliers, and Community Collaborators Achieve Excellence and Extend a Movement 7 INTRODUCTION 9 BEST PRACTICES FOR FORWARD MOVEMENT 10 FEATURED EXCELLENCE IN NATIONAL FAMILY MEALS MONTH™ PROGRAMMING 11 Omnichannel Excellence 16 Online and Media Excellence 20 In-store Excellence 23 Collaboration Excellence 27 Employee Engagement Excellence 30 Evaluation Excellence 31 Innovation Excellence 35 IN CLOSING… 36 APPENDIX A: NATIONAL FAMILY MEALS MONTH™ IMPLEMENTERS 2017 Executive Summary With the initial seeds of the family meals initiative planted only three years ago, an enormous movement has grown into an expansive suite of turnkey resources, widespread industry awareness, a blossoming list of committed partners, mounting consumer engagement, and most importantly, demonstrated behavior change. The success of this movement has been, in large creativity, and drive of retailers, suppliers, and part, due to the synergy between the foundational community collaborators in bringing this initiative to tools provided nationally by the Food Marketing life to their customer and audience. In 2017: Institute (FMI) Foundation and the commitment, FMI served up new tools and utensils. • Best Practices Guide. FMI created the first edition to showcase true excellence in the marketplace among partners who have implemented family meals programming and to inspire others to action. • Infographics. A fresh collection of graphics was developed in both English and Spanish to be used with a diverse consumer base. • Promotional Video. A polished and succinct three-minute video was created to showcase the need family meals. • Whitepaper. A referenced report, entitled Power of Family Meals, was developed to summarize the consumer research related to the social, emotional, health, and financial benefits of meal sharing at home. NATIONAL FAMILY MEALS MONTH™ 3 A growing number of retailers, suppliers, and community collaborators came to the table. Since the family meal movement began in 2015, there has been a steady rise in participation. In 78 retailers, 71 community collaborators, 71 78 fact, RETAILERS and 30 suppliers have joined on to dish up COMMUNITY COLLABORATORS family meal promotion to consumers. That is a total of 179 partners driving home the message of family meals and providing resources and = 179 support for families nationwide! 30 SUPPLIERS PARTNERS The recipe for success in the Family Meals movement is the collective impact created by widespread exposure to National Family Meals Month™ spurring families to make lasting change. • More than 100 million media impressions— in newspapers, television, radio, blogs, online news, and social media channels—have leveraged the materials and messages of the campaign. In September 2016 and 2017, National Family Meals Month was even showcased as a billboard in New York City’s Times Square! • An estimated 32.5 million adults, representing approximately 15 million households, have seen the National Family Meals Month™ initiative. • Of those who saw the campaign, 84% said they took action. The top changes reported were cooking more meals at home, eating together more, making healthier choices, and buying more fruits and veggies. • Over the past year alone, 7,500 sessions have been tracked on the FMI Foundation Family Meals website. • It’s no wonder that National Family Meals Month™ was recognized as a Silver Award winner in 2016 by the American Society of Association Executives in “The Power to Enrich Lives” category. NATIONAL FAMILY MEALS MONTH™ 4 National Family Meals Month™ Serves Up: Top-notch programming. In addition to an increase in the level of participation by 1 implementers overall, the programming continues to be of the highest quality and represent an evolution in omni-channel execution and innovation. Consumer-focused outreach where they are. Partners provide an increasing 2 level of in-store and community engagement with practical solutions that inspire households to partake in family meals. Partners also leverage social media channels to help spread the message outside the grocery stores’ four walls. In fact, more than half (53%) of those consumers saying they have heard about National Family Meals Month™ report doing so via social media. Shopper support. 85% of shoppers say that eating more meals together at home 3 is important to them, but families, particularly those with young children, struggle to make these meals happen. Many retailers participating in National Family Meals Month™ reported increased sales when featuring recipe ingredients and meal solutions, some over 150%, as a result of their campaign implementation activities. Benefits for families.Overall, 84% of shoppers who saw the National Family Meals 4 Month™ campaign reported healthier behaviors as a result of the program including cooking more meals at home (42%), eating together more (36%), making healthier choices (36%), and buying more fruits and veggies (35%). These are behaviors that lead to healthier individuals, families, and communities. Success! Encouraging more family meals as an initiative has gained traction 5 because consumers appreciate the significance and the benefits, yet know they need resources and support to make family mealtime practical and realistic. What has been achieved in the first three years of the National Family Meals Month™ initiative is a big step forward. The retail food industry, in collaboration with supplier and community partners, is bringing this message to consumers, where they are, and providing support in the form of the healthy, affordable, and time-saving resources they desperately desire. This campaign truly has unlimited potential to touch families and help them individually, and as a unit, to reap the widespread benefits of enjoying more meals together! NATIONAL FAMILY MEALS MONTH™ 5 Small, Medium, and Large Retailers, Wholesalers, Suppliers, and Community Collaborators Achieve Excellence and Extend a Movement The FMI Foundation Gold Plate Award recognizes outstanding programs that food retailers, suppliers, and community collaborators have implemented, to encourage families to share meals, together at home, more often. FMI Foundation provides turnkey toolkits, FMI recognizes the following Gold Plate Award graphics, and other foundational resources. The winners for taking this initiative to the next level implementers who join on as partners do the rest. in 2017 with programs that included innovative There were many robust and successful programs ideas, utilized omni-channel marketing approaches, executed in 2017—and, as such, there was much leveraged strong partnerships, and focused on competition for first place and honorable mentions. consumer engagement. Awards were given in each of six categories in 2017: small retailers (1-99 stores), medium retailers (100-199 stores), large Meet the 2017 Gold Plate retailers (200+ stores), wholesaler, supplier, and community collaborators. Award Winners! Small Retailer Medium Retailer Large Retailer Wholesaler Food Community Manufacturer Collaborators Skogen’s SpartanNash The Kroger Co., Associated Campbell’s American Heart Festival Foods, Company, “We’re in! Kroger Wholesale Soup Company, Association, “Festival Family “National Family bringing families Grocers, Inc. “Campbell’s “Healthy For Meals: $10 Meals Month!” together for “AWG Brands Family Meals Good: Eat Smart Meals” National Family National Family Partnerships: and Add Color” Meals Month” Meals Month Helping Families Campaign” Eat Together” 2017 HONORABLE MENTIONS Baesler’s Coborn’s, Inc., Hannaford Tops Markets, Hy-Vee, Inc., W. Lee The Coca-Cola Market, “Coborn’s Supermarkets, LLC, “Hy-Vee, Flowers and Company, “Make Meal Celebrates “Time Saving “#Family Inc.’s National Co., Inc., “IGA “The Coca- Time Family National Meals MealsMonth” National Raise Your Cola Family Time (with Family Meals from Your Family Mitt to Commit Meals Help from Month” Hannaford Meals Month Family Photo Program” Baesler’s)” Dietitian/Good Campaign” Contest” Ideas for Busy Families” NATIONAL FAMILY MEALS MONTH™ 6 Introduction Each September, the retail food industry celebrates National Family Meals Month™, a growing industry-wide movement to raise awareness of the advantages of frequent family meals. The goal of National Family Meals Month™ is to and community partnerships and consumer bring families back to the table and share one more engagement. The quality of programming was meal at home per week. The retail food industry, outstanding, planting new seeds and sprouting in collaboration with suppliers and community others, helping shoppers achieve more meals as a organizations, provides consumers with the family, in ways that fit with their lifestyles. tools, resources, and support to make family The value of this program cannot be meals happen. underestimated. Family meals eaten at home have Three years into the campaign, the movement been proven to benefit the health and wellness continues to grow. In 2017, FMI Foundation not of children and adolescents, to fight obesity and only increased the number of partners participating substance abuse, and to make families stronger— in the National Family Meals Month™ campaign, creating a