Dole Food Company: Salad Bar Initiative

DOLE FOOD COMPANY: A Salad in Every School

Childhood obesity is one of America’s most acute health problems. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that the number of overweight children in the U.S. has more than tripled in the past 30 years, with the District of Columbia having the highest childhood obesity rate in the nation.

With this troubling trend as a backdrop, Gibraltar saw an opportunity to increase awareness and drive behavioral change. GA client Dole Food Company partnered with the United Fresh Produce Association to donate salad bars in public and charter schools, presenting a perfect opportunity to secure national media attention for Dole’s nutrition initiatives at-large.

Working with the CentroNía D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School, a salad bar recipient in Washington with a significant Hispanic population, GA orchestrated a media event that brought together students, the media, and two D.C. celebrity chefs: Spike Mendelsohn of BravoTV’s “Top Chef,” and James Beard award-winner Cathal Armstrong.

The two chefs, the administrator of the USDA Food & Nutrition Service, Dole and CentroNía’s leadership spoke to a classroom packed with journalists, national TV outlets, bloggers and other guests about the importance of childhood nutrition and the impact that Dole’s “Salad Bar in Every School” initiative can have on our youngest generations.

After the formal briefing, and with cameras in tow, Dole mascot Bobby Banana joined the two chefs to deliver baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables to each classroom. The event secured 10.5 million media impressions, including stories in the Associated Press, Univision and NBC News. More importantly, the event featured Dole as a leader in the fight to promote healthy eating among our nation’s youth.

METRICS

• Campaign Length: 2 weeks

• Total Media Impressions: 10.5M

• TV: 1.5M

• Print: 9M

• Social Media Impressions: 110,000 (in first 24 hours)

• Total Print Publications Reached: 65