+ Eat Your (Fruits and) Vegetables: An interview with the Produce for Better Health Foundation
My mom always knew what she was talking about. Ninety percent of Americans don't eat as many fruits and veggies as they should, and the Produce for Better Health Foundation is working hard to change that. The Greener Grass got a chance to talk with Jill Le Brasseur to learn more about how they're working to help Americans lead healthier lives.
Produce for Better Health is the “go-to” resource and promoter of fruits and vegetables. For people that aren’t familiar with PBH, give me some background on your organization.
Produce for Better Health Foundation was incorporated in 1991 to help take the 5-A-Day program to a national level. The 5-A-Day program started at the state level in California through the Department of Health, and it was transferred to the National Cancer Institute to be taken nationally. PBH acted as a connection between the National Cancer Institute and the fruit and vegetable industry. That was our core for quite some time. Coinciding with the development of the new Fruits & Veggies – More Matters initiative, our main federal partner right now is Center for Disease Control and Prevention. We work with the fruit and vegetable industry to spread the word that more matters. We do this through supermarket retailers, educational materials and public relations.
The Greener Grass aims to understand trends in health and wellness. What changes have seen between now and when the PBH was founded in 1991?
The big change is the new health initiative that we started, Fruits & Veggies – More Matters. It was developed in response to the increased recommendations for fruits and vegetables in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommends different amounts of produce consumption based on a person’s age, sex, and activity level. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans have been published jointly every 5 years since 1980 by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture. Those guidelines provide authoritative advice for people 2 years of age and up on good dietary habits and how they can promote health and reduce the risk of major chronic diseases. So, Fruits & Veggies – More Matters was the next step from 5-A-Day because it wasn’t enough to say everyone needs 5 servings, the amounts varied based on a person’s age, sex, and activity level.
That was part of it. Our new website speaks directly to the consumer. This is something that’s new for us. We want to help people achieve their goal of increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables their families are eating everyday. We want to provide tips and recipes featuring produce to make it easy for them to add more fruits and vegetables at every eating occasion.
Most Americans don’t get enough produce in their diets. What are the major factors that have lead to this problem?
We think convenience is the driving factor. More women are working outside the home; children are busier than ever. In our research, when mom works outside the home, the family eats fewer fruits and vegetables – the time just isn’t there. Our most recent research suggests that moms need innovative ideas on how to get their family to eat more fruits and vegetables. That was part of the inspiration for launching the new website. Also, a lot of people don’t realize that its more than just fresh produce – all forms of fruits and vegetables count. We can get more of them into people’s diets when they realize it can be as easy and convenient as microwaving some frozen vegetables or warming up some canned vegetables. It doesn’t always have to be fresh to “count.”
There aren’t many things more convenient than an apple or a banana, they come in their own packaging and are ready to eat. Yet somehow we’re drawn to granola bars or cupcakes.
That’s true, but I think a lot of people see the “self-packaged” fruits as either a breakfast item or just a snack. We give people tips and ways to use fruits and vegetables on our website that may not have occurred to them before. One thing we’re really excited about is the upcoming debut of our video center. We plan to use the video to provide consumers with education on fruits and veggies they may not have purchased before. They will demonstrate how to check for ripeness, proper storage, preparation, and more. You’re not going to buy a fruit or vegetable you haven’t tried before if you have no idea what to do with it. Our video center is going to give people the education they need to try these things.
Please tell our readers a little about your National Action Plan, which calls for a new approach to promoting produce. What were the failures or limitations of past approaches?
The National Action Plan was developed not long after the 2005 Dietary Guidelines were introduced. Its an outline of all the things we think need to be in place for there to be an increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables in the U.S. The Plan isn’t really a new approach, its just a more comprehensive one. Research that we conducted indicated that the 5-A-Day program did a wonderful job of letting people know that they need to be eating more fruits and vegetables. Where it fell short was in getting people to actually eat the additional produce. We’re hoping with Fruits & Veggies – More Matters to go directly to the consumer, offer tips, recipes, advice, answer questions, and try to make fruits and vegetables more accessible and achieving the goal of increasing consumption easier for people, particularly moms and families.
Self-efficacy is a big predictor of one’s ability to eat their daily recommended amount of produce. Can you describe this concept a little more and tell us how this plays into your action plan?
Sure. Self-efficacy is the confidence in one’s ability to eat fruits and vegetables in a variety of settings. We want to help moms achieve their goal of increasing the amount of produce their families are eating by providing them with tips and recipes designed to make adding those additional fruits and vegetables easier for them. That includes fresh, frozen, dried, and canned fruits and vegetables, as well as 100% juice. Every time mom adds just one more fruit or vegetable to her family’s meals, we’re moving the needle on fruit and vegetable consumption. We want to give the consumer the confidence they need to deal with any kind of fruit or vegetable they come across and to instill that fun aspect. Have a little fun, try something new.
Packaged foods use graphic design and big ad budgets to get consumers’ attention. What are the challenges with promoting fresh produce?
Obviously, the lack of packaging materials makes finding a place to display the logo and product information an issue. That’s one reason we provide a retail tool kit to markets. It contains pre-designed marketing materials, Fruit & Veggies – More Matters messages to be displayed near the fresh produce. We provide copy and visuals to the members of PBH. We have radio spots that can be tweaked and personalized to each market. We have roll bags with our logo to carry forward the message. These are all things they can display near the fresh produce, because there isn’t a nice box to print big yellow letters on for an apple or a banana. But its not just fresh, we want to remind everyone that all forms count – fresh, canned, frozen, dried, and 100% juice – so you’ll find our message all over the supermarket.
Restaurants don’t serve as much produce as compared to meals that we prepare for ourselves. What actions are you taking to help them improve their menus?
We have a wonderful program called Produce First! American Menus Initiative. It’s a collaboration between PBH and the Culinary Institute of America. Produce First! joins the food service industry’s finest marketers and chefs with the produce industries most innovative fruit and vegetable suppliers at the CIA’s facilities in California. The focus for Produce First is on increasing produce menu offerings, to provide restaurant guests with the flavors that they crave and the healthy options that they really deserve.
Sometimes when I go to a restaurant, the option to get a fruit cup with my sandwich isn’t always celebrated the same way that the French fries are.
Yeah, first of all it’s cold, and a lot of times you’ll want something warm. But a lot of restaurants are stepping up to the plate and offering more healthy options. You’ll see the option to substitute salads or apple slices for French fries. Most restaurants now are offering a vegetable of the day that can be substituted for a starch like potatoes, rice, or noodles. These things really help health conscious diners get the vegetables that they would be serving themselves at home.
One problem that we’re seeing is that people don’t know how to filter all of the health information they are receiving. With so many options available to them, what advice do you have for people trying eat healthier?
The most basic advice I can offer is that all of the legitimate recommendations out there say we should be eating more fruits and vegetables. Its really difficult to say that any one particular fruit or vegetable helps with the prevention or treatment of one particular disease, but the inclusion of fruits and vegetables in total in the diet is linked to the prevention of many diseases. This is not only because of the vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that fruits and vegetables provide, but it’s also because of what they don’t have in them – no saturated fat, no cholesterol, and no sodium. When people eat more fruits and vegetables, they also have a natural tendency to eat less of other less nutritious foods.
So it’s as much about replacing the bad stuff that we eat as it is getting the benefits of fruits and veggies.
Right, and we have a lot of tips for that on our website. The first example that comes to mind is mashed avocado – use it in place of higher fat spreads like mayonnaise or sour cream on a sandwich or in a dip.
Thanks for talking with us, Jill. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
When the 5-a-day program and the PBH started back in 1991, there was strong scientific evidence between fruits and vegetables and cancer prevention. Since that time, the role of fruits and vegetables in prevention has gotten stronger, helping to prevent quite a number of diseases. Its difficult to say that any one particular fruit or vegetable helps with any one disease, but it’s the totality of fruits and vegetables in the diet that is helpful in the prevention of many diseases. Today, we know that more than 90% of adults and children do not consume the amount of fruits and vegetables recommended to them. Just eating more, just making a start at what the guidelines recommend for you is a step in the right direction for good health.
For more information on Produce for Better Health Foundation, visit these links:
http://www.pbhfoundation.org/
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/
Produce for Better Health is the “go-to” resource and promoter of fruits and vegetables. For people that aren’t familiar with PBH, give me some background on your organization.
Produce for Better Health Foundation was incorporated in 1991 to help take the 5-A-Day program to a national level. The 5-A-Day program started at the state level in California through the Department of Health, and it was transferred to the National Cancer Institute to be taken nationally. PBH acted as a connection between the National Cancer Institute and the fruit and vegetable industry. That was our core for quite some time. Coinciding with the development of the new Fruits & Veggies – More Matters initiative, our main federal partner right now is Center for Disease Control and Prevention. We work with the fruit and vegetable industry to spread the word that more matters. We do this through supermarket retailers, educational materials and public relations.
The Greener Grass aims to understand trends in health and wellness. What changes have seen between now and when the PBH was founded in 1991?
The big change is the new health initiative that we started, Fruits & Veggies – More Matters. It was developed in response to the increased recommendations for fruits and vegetables in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommends different amounts of produce consumption based on a person’s age, sex, and activity level. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans have been published jointly every 5 years since 1980 by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture. Those guidelines provide authoritative advice for people 2 years of age and up on good dietary habits and how they can promote health and reduce the risk of major chronic diseases. So, Fruits & Veggies – More Matters was the next step from 5-A-Day because it wasn’t enough to say everyone needs 5 servings, the amounts varied based on a person’s age, sex, and activity level.
Its difficult to say that any one particular fruit or vegetable helps with any one disease, but it’s the totality of fruits and vegetables in the diet that is helpful in the prevention of many diseases.So it was a transition towards a broader recommendation? Was 5-A-Day too rigid of a guideline?
That was part of it. Our new website speaks directly to the consumer. This is something that’s new for us. We want to help people achieve their goal of increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables their families are eating everyday. We want to provide tips and recipes featuring produce to make it easy for them to add more fruits and vegetables at every eating occasion.
Most Americans don’t get enough produce in their diets. What are the major factors that have lead to this problem?
We think convenience is the driving factor. More women are working outside the home; children are busier than ever. In our research, when mom works outside the home, the family eats fewer fruits and vegetables – the time just isn’t there. Our most recent research suggests that moms need innovative ideas on how to get their family to eat more fruits and vegetables. That was part of the inspiration for launching the new website. Also, a lot of people don’t realize that its more than just fresh produce – all forms of fruits and vegetables count. We can get more of them into people’s diets when they realize it can be as easy and convenient as microwaving some frozen vegetables or warming up some canned vegetables. It doesn’t always have to be fresh to “count.”
There aren’t many things more convenient than an apple or a banana, they come in their own packaging and are ready to eat. Yet somehow we’re drawn to granola bars or cupcakes.
That’s true, but I think a lot of people see the “self-packaged” fruits as either a breakfast item or just a snack. We give people tips and ways to use fruits and vegetables on our website that may not have occurred to them before. One thing we’re really excited about is the upcoming debut of our video center. We plan to use the video to provide consumers with education on fruits and veggies they may not have purchased before. They will demonstrate how to check for ripeness, proper storage, preparation, and more. You’re not going to buy a fruit or vegetable you haven’t tried before if you have no idea what to do with it. Our video center is going to give people the education they need to try these things.
Please tell our readers a little about your National Action Plan, which calls for a new approach to promoting produce. What were the failures or limitations of past approaches?
The National Action Plan was developed not long after the 2005 Dietary Guidelines were introduced. Its an outline of all the things we think need to be in place for there to be an increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables in the U.S. The Plan isn’t really a new approach, its just a more comprehensive one. Research that we conducted indicated that the 5-A-Day program did a wonderful job of letting people know that they need to be eating more fruits and vegetables. Where it fell short was in getting people to actually eat the additional produce. We’re hoping with Fruits & Veggies – More Matters to go directly to the consumer, offer tips, recipes, advice, answer questions, and try to make fruits and vegetables more accessible and achieving the goal of increasing consumption easier for people, particularly moms and families.
Self-efficacy is a big predictor of one’s ability to eat their daily recommended amount of produce. Can you describe this concept a little more and tell us how this plays into your action plan?
Sure. Self-efficacy is the confidence in one’s ability to eat fruits and vegetables in a variety of settings. We want to help moms achieve their goal of increasing the amount of produce their families are eating by providing them with tips and recipes designed to make adding those additional fruits and vegetables easier for them. That includes fresh, frozen, dried, and canned fruits and vegetables, as well as 100% juice. Every time mom adds just one more fruit or vegetable to her family’s meals, we’re moving the needle on fruit and vegetable consumption. We want to give the consumer the confidence they need to deal with any kind of fruit or vegetable they come across and to instill that fun aspect. Have a little fun, try something new.
Packaged foods use graphic design and big ad budgets to get consumers’ attention. What are the challenges with promoting fresh produce?
Obviously, the lack of packaging materials makes finding a place to display the logo and product information an issue. That’s one reason we provide a retail tool kit to markets. It contains pre-designed marketing materials, Fruit & Veggies – More Matters messages to be displayed near the fresh produce. We provide copy and visuals to the members of PBH. We have radio spots that can be tweaked and personalized to each market. We have roll bags with our logo to carry forward the message. These are all things they can display near the fresh produce, because there isn’t a nice box to print big yellow letters on for an apple or a banana. But its not just fresh, we want to remind everyone that all forms count – fresh, canned, frozen, dried, and 100% juice – so you’ll find our message all over the supermarket.
Restaurants don’t serve as much produce as compared to meals that we prepare for ourselves. What actions are you taking to help them improve their menus?
We have a wonderful program called Produce First! American Menus Initiative. It’s a collaboration between PBH and the Culinary Institute of America. Produce First! joins the food service industry’s finest marketers and chefs with the produce industries most innovative fruit and vegetable suppliers at the CIA’s facilities in California. The focus for Produce First is on increasing produce menu offerings, to provide restaurant guests with the flavors that they crave and the healthy options that they really deserve.
Sometimes when I go to a restaurant, the option to get a fruit cup with my sandwich isn’t always celebrated the same way that the French fries are.
Yeah, first of all it’s cold, and a lot of times you’ll want something warm. But a lot of restaurants are stepping up to the plate and offering more healthy options. You’ll see the option to substitute salads or apple slices for French fries. Most restaurants now are offering a vegetable of the day that can be substituted for a starch like potatoes, rice, or noodles. These things really help health conscious diners get the vegetables that they would be serving themselves at home.
One problem that we’re seeing is that people don’t know how to filter all of the health information they are receiving. With so many options available to them, what advice do you have for people trying eat healthier?
The most basic advice I can offer is that all of the legitimate recommendations out there say we should be eating more fruits and vegetables. Its really difficult to say that any one particular fruit or vegetable helps with the prevention or treatment of one particular disease, but the inclusion of fruits and vegetables in total in the diet is linked to the prevention of many diseases. This is not only because of the vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that fruits and vegetables provide, but it’s also because of what they don’t have in them – no saturated fat, no cholesterol, and no sodium. When people eat more fruits and vegetables, they also have a natural tendency to eat less of other less nutritious foods.
So it’s as much about replacing the bad stuff that we eat as it is getting the benefits of fruits and veggies.
Right, and we have a lot of tips for that on our website. The first example that comes to mind is mashed avocado – use it in place of higher fat spreads like mayonnaise or sour cream on a sandwich or in a dip.
Thanks for talking with us, Jill. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
When the 5-a-day program and the PBH started back in 1991, there was strong scientific evidence between fruits and vegetables and cancer prevention. Since that time, the role of fruits and vegetables in prevention has gotten stronger, helping to prevent quite a number of diseases. Its difficult to say that any one particular fruit or vegetable helps with any one disease, but it’s the totality of fruits and vegetables in the diet that is helpful in the prevention of many diseases. Today, we know that more than 90% of adults and children do not consume the amount of fruits and vegetables recommended to them. Just eating more, just making a start at what the guidelines recommend for you is a step in the right direction for good health.
For more information on Produce for Better Health Foundation, visit these links:
http://www.pbhfoundation.org/
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/
Labels: Food and Nutrition, Health and Wellness, Interviews
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posted by Michael on Wednesday, November 28, 2007
