Marketing Minute
Six Ways to Change the Perception of Your School Nutrition Program
Digital Marketing Pro Breanna Gustafson
all that the school foodservice department has to offer the community. If the goal is to feed more children, collaborate with the Parks & Recreation department, the YMCA, and other influencers in the community to maximize your reach and cross market to different audiences. Get Social! Social media is a great way to publicly engage with key stakeholders. Try posting menus and photos on Facebook or Instagram or posting on the Nextdoor app to educate your community on the school lunch program. Develop an influencer program with parents in your community to be your school nutrition cheerleaders on social media. Document everything Take pictures! Take Video! Proudly show off your program by submitting photos to the newspaper and other local media. Pro Tip: Create your own video reel highlighting your program to send to media so whenever they are reporting on a story relating to local school foodservice, the video is representative of what is actually being served in schools. Many times, they’ll use whatever b-roll they have on hand, even if it’s old. Become besties with your communications department No social media skills? No problem! Become besties with the district communications team. Notify them when you could use some extra help marketing a new item or event. If your district sends out a monthly newsletter, ask to contribute or submit photos. Hire a marketing professional We know you can do it all, but you don’t have to! There are marketing professionals who can help you market your program. I may be bias, but school nutrition marketing professionals have the best job and there are many out there who would be happy to help you!
I’ve spent the last three years fighting the good fight for the reputation of school meals and working each day to find innovative ways to change the general public’s perception of school meals. This hasn’t been an easy task. Many people (parents in particular) can’t get on board with school meals being healthy, trendy or tasty. Let me say it louder for the people in the back“THIS ISN’TYOUR OR YOUR MAMA’S SCHOOL LUNCH!” But, there will always be the parents who will insist that packing their child a deli sandwich on white bread with a bag of potato chips and a juice box is better than anything a school cafeteria has to offer. However, there are several things you can do within your program to help change the perception of school meals and build awareness within the community. Invite parents to lunch! There’s always that one parent who spreads false information about school lunch. I used to get so angry and so hurt when I would see parents on community Facebook pages bashing our school meals. If you have a parent like this in your community, invite them to lunch! Also, extend the invitation to the PTO. These are usually the parents who have a voice and are well connected in the school community. Ask members of the PTO to join their students for lunch one day so they can experience all school meals have to offer for themselves. Word of mouth marketing goes a long way! Develop a community outreach plan Developing a strategic community outreach plan will help you reach audiences far beyond the school cafeteria. Working with other town or city departments is a great way to market Roberto Bolano once said: “People see what they want to see and what people want to see isn’t always the truth.”
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Director of Marketing, NxtGen Network A natural storyteller, Breanna kicked off her career in journalism as an Assignment Editor at WCVB-TV in Boston and worked in public television on Cape Cod. Her undergraduate degree is in communications, film, and media studies. In 2018, Breanna filled the first ever Marketing Supervisor position for Food & Nutrition at Lee County Schools in Florida. Breanna has her Master’s Degree in New Media & Marketing and enjoys telling the brand stories of school districts and manufacturers across the country. Breanna Gustafson
www.ReitanoDesignGroup.com “It’s not about serving healthier food, it is about enticing children to eat healthier.” Scott Reitano, Principal
RDG Focus on Primary Ed
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