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Fresh Express and Do Something Launch Nationwide Contest to Encourage Kids to Create Healthy Salads

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Acclaimed chef Todd English and celebrity entertainer Susie Castillo have joined forces with Fresh Express, the No. 1 salad maker, and Do Something, a national not-for-profit that empowers young people to change the world, to launch the "Teens for Greens Amazing Search for Fresh Salad Recipe Challenge." The contest aims to encourage kids to create their own "kid-approved" salads and promote healthier eating habits. With the alarming rate of childhood obesity, this initiative seeks to educate and inspire young people to take charge of their health and well-being.

Key Takeaways:

  • The "Teens for Greens Amazing Search for Fresh Salad Recipe Challenge" is a nationwide contest that encourages kids to create their own salads and promote healthier eating habits.
  • The contest is open to teens and 'tweens (8-12 year-olds) across the country, and they can join the challenge by clicking on the Teens for Greens section of the Fresh Express or Do Something website home pages.
  • The contest has three categories: "Signature Salad," "Silver Platter Recipe," and "Salad Surprise."
  • Contestants have 80 days (until January 20, 2007) to enter their recipes, and a panel of notables will select the most amazing recipes, with prize winners to be announced in February 2007.
  • The winning recipes will be published in a Fresh Express "Teens for Greens" recipe collection on the Fresh Express website, in a special edition of Do Something's Build Magazine, and in other print media.
  • The grand prize includes an educational scholarship to the college or culinary school of the winner's choice and a salad bar makeover for their school cafeteria or the creation of an edible schoolyard as a lasting legacy to healthy eating.
  • Fresh Express and Do Something have partnered with Todd English, noted restaurateur and executive chef of the 2005 MTV Music Awards, and celebrity entertainer Susie Castillo to promote the contest and encourage kids to take charge of their health.

Statistics:

  • According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, more than one in seven kids in the United States are overweight and 9 million are classified as obese, triple the number in 1980.
  • Research shows that kids want to beat obesity or avoid it altogether, with 94 percent of student leaders saying eating healthy is important to them and 61 percent saying they perform better in school when they eat healthy foods.
  • Fresh Express offers more than 50 different salad varieties, including nine delicious blended salad mixes that draw from up to 25 different varieties of fine lettuces and greens.

Sources:

  • "Prevalence and trends in overweight among U.S. children and adolescents, 1999-2000." Journal of the American Medical Association 2002. 288:1723-1727.
  • "About Fresh Express." Fresh Express website.
  • "About Do Something(TM)." Do Something website.
  • "Associated Press Photo Network." (Photos are available via the Associated Press Photo Network and on the Internet at Feature Photo Service's link through http://www.newscom.com.)

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