Fruit and veggie selfies with #DrinkGoodDoGood trigger donation of fresh produce* to communities in need
MONROVIA, Calif., Aug. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Nearly 30 million people in the U.S. live in food deserts – neighborhoods without access to affordable, quality, fresh fruits and vegetables. What is even more alarming is that a recent survey shows 60 percent of Americans don’t actually believe food deserts exist in their own communities. In an effort to raise awareness and provide fresh produce where there is none, Naked Juice – a brand that packs a bounty of fruits and vegetables into every bottle and believes everyone should be able to enjoy these foods every day – is launching the 2016 #DrinkGoodDoGood cause campaign.
Once again partnering with Wholesome Wave – a national nonprofit founded by James Beard award-winning chef Michel Nischan that works to make fresh, healthy food affordable and accessible for low-income families – Naked Juice is kicking off the campaign with a 250,000-pound contribution and asking consumers to get involved as well. For every fruit and veggie selfie shared with #DrinkGoodDoGood, Naked Juice will donate an additional 10 pounds of produce to our neighbors in need.
To spread the word and inspire others to do good with their selfies, Naked Juice is teaming up with locally loved and nationally known ambassadors around the country.
“Our vision is a country where everyone has access to affordable, quality, fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Andrea Theodore, general manager at Naked Juice. “Food deserts are a real issue that affect so many, but are realized by so few. So, we’ve teamed up with a group of like minded ambassadors to help encourage others to get behind this cause through the campaign’s simple call to action.”
This year’s #DrinkGoodDoGood ambassador lineup includes:
- Bobby Flay, chef and restaurateur
- Common, artist, actor and activist
- Adrian Grenier, actor, filmmaker, social good advocate
- Tom Colicchio, Wholesome Wave board member, chef and owner at Crafted Hospitality
- Tyler Florence, Wholesome Wave board member, chef and restaurateur
- Ryan Lewis, producer and director
- Minka Kelly, actor and culinary school graduate
- Richard Blais, chef and restaurateur
- José Andrés, Wholesome Wave board member, chef and owner at ThinkFoodGroup
- Philippe Cousteau, Jr., environmentalist and filmmaker
- Jeremy Ford, chef
- Michelle Bernstein, chef and restaurateur
“I love fruits and vegetables. Not only are they vibrant, delicious and nutritious ingredients for a great dish, they are also a powerful ingredient for a healthy, successful and bright future” said Bobby Flay. “And the fact that one out of every 10 people in this country don’t have access to affordable, healthy produce is unacceptable. I’m proud to join Naked Juice to bring attention to and help fight food deserts.”
“Where I grew up in Chicago, affordable, quality food was hard to come by,” said Common, Academy-Award and Grammy-Award winner. “I want to see good, healthy fruits and vegetables in areas that don’t have them. And by simply taking a selfie, we are one step closer.”
To join Naked Juice and Wholesome Wave in the fight against food deserts, share a fruit and veggie selfie on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with #DrinkGoodDoGood.
*The monetary equivalent of fruits and vegetables will be donated. Maximum donation of $500,000.
About the Naked Juice Company: Naked® Juice, the leader in the super-premium juice category, was founded and first marketed towel-to-towel on the beaches of Santa Monica, Calif. in 1983. For more than 30 years, Naked’s line of fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies have been made from the highest quality fruits, veggies and boosts. In 2016, Naked introduced Naked Cold Pressed Juice, a masterful blend of cold-pressed, high-quality fresh vegetables and fruits flash-pasteurized from High Pressure Processing (HPP). Naked never contains preservatives or added sugar. Naked Juice and Naked Pressed can be found in supermarkets, club stores, health food stores, airports and neighborhood markets throughout the nation.
About Wholesome Wave: Wholesome Wave is a nonprofit working to make locally grown fruits and vegetables more affordable for the people who need it most. When people can afford produce, they buy it. And when the millions of Americans struggling with poverty eat more fruits and vegetables, we see immediate improvements for families and farmers—and enormous long-term gains for public health, local economies and the environment. Our innovative initiatives serve more than 156,000 underserved consumers, as well as thousands of farmers annually, in 42 states and counting. To learn more about Wholesome Wave visit www.wholesomewave.org
*Source: http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/956784/err143.pdf
**Source: A Naked Juice survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 1,000 nationally representative U.S. adults ages 18+, and an additional 500 adults ages 18+ in each of eight DMAs: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Washington, D.C., Seattle-Tacoma, San Diego and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, between July 7th and July 18th, 2016, using an email invitation and an online survey. The margin of error for results at the overall level is +/- 3.1%.The margin of error for results at the DMA level is 4.4%.
