For the first time, major U.S. retail and restaurant chains are joining forces with the Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) on a national seafood health campaign. The SNP officially launches the three-year seafood health education campaign today in Washington, D.C., as part of October’s National Seafood Month.
Restaurant operators, including Darden, Long John Silver’s, Red Lobster and Captain D’s are partners in the campaign. Retail partners include Sam’s Club and Publix. Leading seafood suppliers such as High Liner Foods, Bumble Bee Seafoods, American Seafoods, Slade Gorton, Mazetta Company and Ocean Beauty Seafoods are participating, along with a number of other suppliers, distributors and organizations such as National Fisheries Institute.
The unprecedented national seafood health education campaign, “Love Your Heart – Eat Your Seafood,” encourages Americans to commit to eating seafood at least twice a week for better health – especially heart health. “The USDA HHS dietary guidelines recommend eating seafood twice a week for optimal health, yet only one in 10 Americans follow this advice,” said Linda Cornish, executive director of SNP. “We hope to inspire a healthier America by promoting a nutrient-rich diet that includes seafood.”
As part of the campaign, Captain D’s 520 restaurants are featuring promotional boards and table tents, touting the health benefits of seafood. “Our main message is to encourage our guests to ‘Take the Pledge,’ and we also include information on the benefits of eating seafood twice per week,” Jonathan Muhtar, CMO of Captain D’s, told SeafoodSource.
Captain D’s is also leveraging its web site, email marketing and social media to get the word out about the health benefits of seafood.
Partnering with retail chains, SNP is also hosting health education events in nine cities: Birmingham, Ala.; Charleston, W.V.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Memphis, Tenn.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Golden Isles, Ga.; and Toledo, Ohio.
“The reason we are going to these cities in the Midwest and the South is because heart disease is the number one killer of Americans and these regions have some of the highest incidences of cardiovascular disease,” Cornish said.
In the eight cities, SNP and its partners will conduct cooking demonstrations, Omega 3 screenings and provide educational materials at community events. Sam's Club is hosting cooking demonstrations in all eight cities, and providing seafood nutrition facts and health information to their customers.
Through the local events, SNP aims to “help Americans gain the skills to select, order and prepare fish and shellfish,” Cornish said.
Meanwhile, SNP has developed a toolkit for restaurants and retailers, so they can spread the word about seafood’s health benefits. Click here to download materials.
