Kids are the Customers:Marketing Local Food in Schools

Joan Rozelle, Eat Local Food LLC

Introduction:Marketing to children has always been a commercial endeavor instead of an educational endeavor.

Kid-focused marketing has long had a negative connotation caused by the commercialization of education by big business interested in increased profits. It has been concerned with selling soft drinks and high-caloric low-nutrition foods in schools to establish a life long customer relationship at an early age.

Needing funds to support school programs, administrators have opted to improve revenue for the school system in exchange for exploding obesity rates and a decline in the overall health of the student body.

Introduction (continued):Marketing local food in your school food service program can be a positive educational experience and a fundraising program for your school.

● Marketing for your school food service program should responsible and be directed not only toward the students but also to school administrators, teachers, parents and the community.

● Students should be encouraged to follow a healthier way of eating and their peers, teachers, parents and community members should be encouraged to support this effort.

● Adults in the community have a special responsibility to ensure that children are being educated about healthy nutritious food choices and not being exploited as a life long consumer.

“The school system is where you build

brand loyalty" John Alm, president,

Coca-Cola Enterprises, quoted in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

April 6, 2003.

"It is easier to build strong children than

to repair broken men"

Frederick Douglass

Marketing School Food● How does marketing take place in schools – What is

marketing school food? ● Current School Marketing v. Responsible School Marketing

● Competitive Foods – What are they?

● Will your school lose funds if competitive food rules are

tightened? ● Fundraisers for your school and your community –

“community tie-ins” v. “corporate tie-ins”

Where Marketing can be found in Schools:1.Promotion of Branded Foods

○Brand logos on vending machines○Cafeterias and school stores○Exclusive soda contracts○Fundraising○ Incentive programs that provide awards

Source: 2009 Rudd Report School Food Opportunities for Improvement. www.yaleruddcenter.org

Where Marketing can be found in Schools:2. Branded and Sponsored Materials

○ Program and activity sponsorship○ Sponsored educational materials○ Corporate sponsorship on scoreboards, sports equipment,

bulletin boards, text books

Source: 2009 Rudd Report School Food Opportunities for Improvement. www.yaleruddcenter.org

Transition to Responsible School Food Marketing

Marketing is your strategy for allocating resources (time and money) in order to achieve your objectives (a fair profit for supplying a good product or service).

Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience.

Unethical marketing is often geared toward vulnerable groups in society (children and the elderly) and attempts to influence that audience.

Responsible Marketing considers social and environmental responsibility as well as respect for your customers and the message you send to them.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_ethicsThe Entrepreneur Network www.tenonline.org and http://responsiblemarketing.com/blog/about-2

Examples of current marketing to school children:

● Misleading children regarding the emotional, social or health benefits of a low-nutrition food

● Sponsoring sporting and other school events with low-nutrition foods and brands

● Using images of physical activity or healthy foods (fruits and vegetables) to market a low-nutrition food

● Linking a child's self image to the purchase of a low-nutrition food by suggesting they will be more accepted or more popular as a result of the purchase

● Exploiting a child's natural tendency to play by using cartoon characters or toys to promote a low-nutrition food

Source materials extracted from The Center for Science in the Public Interest. http://www.cspinet.org/

Examples of current marketing to school children:

Offering children low nutrition foods as rewards or incentives for good behavior or academic success

Encouraging students to sell low-nutrition foods in school fundraisers

Showing films or news programs that engage in product placement - the practice of showing branded goods that are not in context with the storyline or news content.

Promoting any branded product on school property

Source materials extracted from The Center for Science in the Public Interest. http://www.cspinet.org/

Responsible School Food Marketing

Focuses on reversing the trend established with the current type of school marketing.

Children and their parents should be respected.

School marketing should not interfere with the values parents are teaching their children.

Nutrition standards and the school wellness policy should be considered in all school marketing efforts.

Students should be presented with clear educational messages without persuasive intent or commentary on appearance, acceptance or popularity.

Competitive Foods: What are they?Competitive foods are all foods sold in competition with the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program to children in food service areas during the school’s designated lunch or breakfast periods.

The consumption of competitive foods is of special concern to those who support the school meal programs since children who purchase these foods are less likely to eat a reimbursable school meal.

Competitive foods include: extra foods and beverages sold through “à la carte” lines (which offer other food items for sale alongside the federally-reimbursed school meals); snack bars; student stores; vending machines; and fundraisers (where school organizations sell baked goods or candy to raise money.)

Competitive foods are often Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value. Examples include carbonated soda, gum, hard candies and jelly beans. Other competitive foods, such as candy bars, chips and ice cream, are not considered FMNVs and may be sold in the cafeteria during meal periods.(The full report can be found at www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/lunch)

Competitive Foods: Will you Lose Funds if you Tighten the Rules?

A review of four research studies and three state-based reports published in the March 2008 Journal of School Health1 found that:

• Selling snack foods that meet improved nutrition standards did not result in revenue loss in 6 out of 7 studies cited. Also known as “competitive foods,” such snacks are sold in school vending machines and on a la carte lines.

• There was increased participation in the National School Lunch Program after healthier competitive foods were introduced. This brings additional dollars to the schools and can compensate for revenue loss coming from other areas.

• Some school revenue from competitive foods increased after improved nutrition standards were implemented, according to other anecdotal evidence.2Source: The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity Study. Complete references available at www.yaleruddcenter.org.

Replacing funds from competitive foods

● Students will choose the healthy options offered and there will be no reduction in funding

● Students will choose the healthy options offered and there will be increased participation in the school lunch program

● Students will not embrace the changes and alternative fundraisers are needed

Fundraisers for your school and your community

When you conduct a fundraiser, you are sending a message to your volunteers and your supporters. That message contains a value statement about your school.

Your fundraising message should be:● Consistent with your school wellness policy

○ i.e., no candy or pop sales● Consistent with a responsible marketing policy

○ i.e., no cartoon characters or corporate brands● Supporting "community tie-ins", not "corporate tie-ins"

○ i.e., get involved with your community, not large corporations that are not locally based. Often corporate involvement is viewed as philanthropy, but it is 100% profit driven.

● Supportive of the environment whenever possible○ i.e., don't waste limited resources (water) or create waste.

Marketing Strategies for your School:1. Develop a marketing plan to support your program. Devise a program

name, menu, signage, educational information to promote menu items and local food

2. Create seasonally appropriate theme days involving local food (Apple Harvest Day, Lettuce be Friends with Lunch).

3. Celebrate a "Vegetable or Fruit of the Month"4. Post signage that instructs kids to try a new fruit or vegetable5. Implement a non-food reward for students that try a new food (stickers,

public recognition in class, 5 extra minutes of recess)6. Plan field trips to local farms and orchards and incorporate lessons about

the source of your food.7. Cultivate on-site school garden - use the White House garden as an

educational example.8. Host Local Farmers visiting your school to talk about farming.9. Create family surveys to foster family participation in the program. Keep in

mind if you use a family survey you must be prepared to publicly address the feedback and your application of that feedback.

10. Create games involving local food.

Fundraisers for your school and your community

● Establish fundraisers involving local food and food-themed merchandise.

● Host Harvest Lunches and sell tickets to the entire community

● Publish recipe cards and cookbook from the school lunch program, encouraging families to eat nutritious meals at home.

● Publish a school calendar with recipes, food purchasing tips, and food safety tips.

● Sell fruit and vegetable themed note cards, postcards, tote bags promoting your school lunch program.

● Sell locally grown flowers for Easter, Mother's Day, Christmas.

● Sell heirloom bulbs and unique plants to gardeners each fall.

Fundraisers for your school and your community

● Sell items that promote physical activity such as kites, hula hoops, jump ropes, packages of seeds, window box herb garden kits

● A Dance Marathon is another kid-friendly, physical activity event. Profits are generated from ticket sales and local food "heart-healthy" concessions.

● Have an "earth-friendly" fundraiser. Organizing a community cleanup project, is another physical activity based fundraiser that sends a positive message at the same time. Participants pledge dollars per pound.

● Host a weekend specialty sale of a seasonal item. Examples would be a Pumpkin Patch sale, a Christmas Tree sale, a Spring Flower Bulb Day.

● Host a Pancake Breakfast fundraiser at your school cafeteria, serving healthy beverages and fresh fruit toppings for the pancakes.

Collaborative Fundraisers with Community Members

Collaborate with like-minded community members for creative fundraising efforts. Utilize their resources and membership base to promote your school lunch program. Consider contacting your:

● Local food co-op's education and outreach department.

○ Co-host a fundraising event and invite the food co-op's membership.

● Local farmers market○ Conduct school food/chef demos using local

produce at the farmers market. Hold a raffle during the school food demos.

● Locally owned independent restaurants○ Organize a theme night where local restaurants

donate a portion of their proceeds to your school lunch program

● Downtown Business Authority or your local business association

○ Ask for your school lunch program to be the recipient of their charitable event