Fresh produce giant Dole has launched a community-focused version of its Get Up and Grow! initiative in a bid to challenge US consumers to think of healthy eating and living as 'team sports'.
Get Up and Grow! was first introduced in 2015 to increase nutritional health across the country through greater consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Last year’s programme ultimately distributed more than 145,000 healthy recipe samples at 381 supermarkets and special events in 44 cities in the US and Canada, and persuaded more than 15,000 people to commit to a healthier lifestyle.
The refreshed Get Up and Grow! Together year-long initiative builds on that success by asking Americans to recruit their friends, family or co-workers to create teams of fellow health seekers – and then offers culinary-immersion and other group experiences celebrating the wonder of fruits, vegetables and salads to certain lucky individuals and those teams that rise to the top.
The programme represents a joint effort between Dole Fresh Fruit, Dole Fresh Vegetables, and Dole Nutrition Institute, including the newly formed Culinary Nutrition department, and uses a variety of interactive consumer tactics to impact long-term nutritional change through the adoption of a healthier plant-based diet.
“We created Dole’s first truly integrated nutritional initiative to encourage North Americans to go beyond just talking about healthier eating and take tangible steps toward achieving their own diet, fitness and wellness goals,” said Bil Goldfield, Dole Food Company’s director of corporate communications. “Of the 15,000-plus people who took our Get Up and Grow! Pledge last year, a large percentage ended up recruiting their friends and family to join them in their quest for better living, which suggested to us the sheer power of teamwork and positive peer pressure in achieving personal health goals.
“We’re leveraging these key learnings to add a new group focus to this year’s programme to encourage even more Americans to take positive action toward their own health and happiness,' he added. 'Now, teams with similar wellness ambitions can support, encourage and keep each other accountable to achieve their goals and be rewarded with unique group experiences led by the nutrition and culinary experts at Dole and the Dole Nutrition Institute.'
