NEW YORK — Armed with data showing inadequate intake of grain-based foods, the Grain Foods Foundation said it is launching the Daily 6, an initiative offering consumers "an easy and stress-free way to help people achieve a healthy, balanced approach to their diets."
Highlighting the foundation’s fall campaign will be a partnership with health and motivational expert Bob Harper, the host of the popular television program "The Biggest Loser."
The G.F.F. advertising as part of the campaign will drive consumers to its www.gowiththegrain.org web site where they may sign up to win a one-on-one training session with Mr. Harper. Additionally, Mr. Harper will participate in a national publicity campaign with the foundation, promoting the importance of getting six daily servings of grain foods.
Mr. Harper already has met with the editorial staffs from several top women’s publications, including Family Circle, Fitness, Good Housekeeping, Health, Ladies’ Home Journal, People and on-line health sites AOL Health and iVillage.
The campaign officially launched Sept. 12 at the Fitness magazine Mind + Spirit Games in Central Park in New York. On-line banner advertising targeting women with an interest in food and health launched Sept. 14 and will be featured on popular web sites such as allrecipes.com, foodnetwork.com and myrecipes.com. Print ads will be placed in the September and October issues of Fitness magazine.
In its latest Harris Interactive survey, the G.F.F. found that only 4% of respondents said they eat the recommended daily servings of grains. While almost all U.S. adults (98%) said they eat at least one serving per day, the average of 3.2 servings fell well short of the six recommended in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
According to the foundation, half of U.S. adults (53%) said they "love eating bread," and 45% said they eat bread nearly daily.
While maintaining a principal focus on bread, the foundation in its campaign publicity also drew attention to other grain-based foods. For instance, in explaining the Daily 6, the foundation said "getting six servings of grains each day is as easy as having cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and a cup of pasta with dinner."
The Harris survey on behalf of the G.F.F. was conducted between Aug. 25 and 27. The data were weighted to be representative of the total U.S. adult population.
This article can also be found in the digital edition of Milling and Baking News, September 22, 2009, starting on Page 38. Click