My Pyramid Corporate Challenge

The USDA officially unveiled and recognized its first MyPyramid Corporate Challenge partners June 10, with a formal presentation and small expo in the agency’s headquarters. The event featured a presentation by Brian Wansink, executive director, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), who detailed the four main “stops” on the “Road to Healthville”—purchasing the right foods, preparing the foods, eating better at work and exercising. He also acknowledged the initiatives and products developed by the charter corporations that accepted the Corporate Challenge, including Kraft Foods, Kellogg Company, Campbell Soup Company, American Egg Board, Dairy Council of California, Nestlé, Sodexo, U.S. Potato Board, Subway, IGA Markets and ConAgra Foods.

Each corporation applied marketing and educational initiatives, as well as appropriate products, to one or more of the four stops on the “Road to Healthville.” For instance, Kraft Foods, Northfield, IL, helps consumers purchase food via its Sensible Solutions labeling program, which identifies better-for-you foods and beverages across its brands; the company also helps preparation by way of its meal and fitness planner, and its recipe center. It also offers weight-management tools, calculators and a Healthy Living Library to help consumers better plan their activities and exercise.

The American Egg Board, Park Ridge, IL, along with the Egg Nutrition Center, Washington, D.C., initiated “The Incredible MyPyramid” project. The project includes a toolkit that provides relevant research to health-care professionals, including the benefits of affordable, high-quality protein foods. The toolkit also includes actionable items for moms, including recipes inspired by MyPyramid.

ConAgra Foods, Omaha, NE, the first company to sign a memorandum of intent in support of USDA and its MyPyramid challenge, developed a unique product label featuring MyPyramid on the front of its product packages to help consumers follow the USDA guidelines. “In addition to our product labels, ConAgra Foods also will promote MyPyramid in its advertising and marketing, through grants for nutrition education, and by investing in reformulations that could improve the nutritional profile of our products,” said Jim Astwood, Ph.D., vice president of nutrition, scientific and regulatory affairs, ConAgra.

For more information on the USDA’s MyPyramid Corporate Challenge, visit MyPyramid.gov.