This year’s annual Back-to-School campaign by Healthy Family Project saw a record 238 million impressions, as seven partner brands joined forces to make going back to school easier and healthier for families, according to a release. Additionally, the campaign is contributing $16,000 to the International Fresh Produce Association’s Foundation for Fresh Produce, supporting initiatives to increase children's access to fruits and vegetables at school.
Now in its 10th year, the Back-to-School program has raised over $180,000 for children’s health and nutrition causes.
This year’s content focused on Instagram Reels, new recipe inspiration through blog posts on HealthyFamilyProject.com, and a widely downloaded podcast called "What Teachers Wish Parents Knew," the release said. The Healthy Family Project dietitian team contributed several pieces of family-focused video content.
To kick off the school year, Healthy Family Project hosted a Facebook Live cooking event featuring easy after-school snacks and lunch ideas on the company’s Facebook page and drew over 17,000 views.
“Each year, our Back-to-School campaign gains more momentum as our consumer audience continues to grow,” Trish James, vice president of Healthy Family Project, said in the release. “Our team diligently monitors trends and engages with our audience to understand the evolving needs of families, enabling us to present our partner brands in strategically curated content for the back-to-school season.”
Health-conscious brand partners featured through the duration of the campaign include Bee Sweet Citrus, Crispy Green, Jazz Apples, Lunchbots, Nature Fresh Farms, Pero Family Farms, Shuman Farms, and Yo Quiero.
This year, better-for-you brand partners are supporting the Foundation for Fresh Produce, including programs such as its K-12 School Forum at the IFPA Foodservice Conference, and other initiatives that provide schools and community partners with information, resources and connections to source, serve and promote fresh produce to children and families.
Healthy Family Project has donated $76,000 to the Foundation for Fresh Produce since 2020 to increase accessibility to fruits and vegetables in schools.
“Our collaboration with Healthy Family Project brings substantial benefits to school foodservice operators and the students they serve,” Andrew Marshall, who leads IFPA’s engagement with the K-12 school nutrition community, said in the release. “We value our enduring partnership and look forward to developing new opportunities to empower school menu planners and industry partners, while also continuing efforts to benefit students and families to choose fresh produce at school, at home, and when dining out.”
Additional components of the Back-to-School campaign included communication tools and resources tailored to K-12 school nutrition directors, menu planners and dietitians, using Healthy Family Project’s e-newsletters and nutrition resource center.
To continue the messaging, an October Healthy Family Project podcast will feature school nutrition specialist and registered nutrition and dietetics technician Jeanne Reilly, who is the school nutrition director at the Windham-Raymond School District in Maine and winner of this year’s IFPA Foodservice Excellence Award for the K-12 school foodservice category.
Efforts during the Back-to-School program and year-round serve to bolster how school nutrition can play a pivotal role to enhance the health and well-being of children, the release said.