CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Two North Carolina companies are teaming up to help kids eat healthier and encourage their parents to do the same. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Lowes Foods are promoting an in-store scavenger hunt for healthy foods, asking kids to “hunt for better health.”
The eight-week program kicks off today and is a major component of the recent “Eat and Move” campaign unveiled by BCBSNC, the state’s largest health insurer. The grocery store promotion is designed to get kids and parents talking about nutrition while on family shopping trips.
Parents and children entering a Lowes Foods store will be greeted by Eat and Move kiosks containing game cards to play the scavenger hunt, known as “Hunt for Better Health.” As kids maneuver through the store with their parents, they’ll be looking for examples of healthy foods that will complete a word puzzle on their game cards. Completed game cards will unlock the code needed to play an online scavenger hunt game at eatandmove.com.
“Lowes Foods has been dedicated to making healthy eating a priority for 11 years now with our ‘Be a Smart Shopper’ nutrition education program for kids,” said Curtis Oldenkamp, president of Lowes Foods. “When Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina approached us with the opportunity to participate in Eat and Move by hosting the scavenger hunts in our stores, it was a natural fit for us.”
BCBSNC chose to work with Lowes Foods because of the Winston-Salem-based grocer’s dedication to nutrition education. “The fact that Lowes Foods employs a registered dietitian makes the company an ideal partner in promoting the grocery store component of the Eat and Move campaign,” said Bob Greczyn, president and CEO of BCBSNC. “Our goal is to get families thinking about choosing healthy foods.”
Lowes Foods’ nutrition education program has demonstrated that when children are educated about healthy foods, they are more willing to try new vegetables and make healthier food choices. The scavenger hunt gets parents involved with their kids in making healthy choices about the foods they eat, helping children establish lifelong healthy eating habits and encouraging kids to be a healthy influence on their parents.
BCBSNC launched Eat and Move in April. The program has five components designed to get kids and their parents talking about health, nutrition and exercise. The grocery store scavenger hunt is the third component to launch, following the classroom program for teachers and students and the Internet broadband channel eatandmove.com. Other components to launch later this year include a mobile events kiosk and a pediatrician’s office program.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina:
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is a leader in delivering innovative health care products, services and information to more than 3.5 million members, including approximately 820,000 served on behalf of other Blue Plans. For 74 years, the company has served its customers by offering health insurance at a competitive price and has served the people of North Carolina through support of community organizations, programs and events that promote good health. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Access BCBSNC online at bcbsnc.com.
About Lowes Foods:
Founded in 1954, Lowes Foods employs 8,500 people and operates 104 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The company is focused on offering fabulous, fresh foods and great groceries in an environment that is easy to shop. Its customer-service focus has led it to develop innovative services such as Lowes Foods To Go and to offer customers the services of a corporate nutritionist. It also provides recipes and meal planning tips on its Web site. Information about these and other services can be found at the Lowes Foods Web site, lowesfoods.com.
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