With Only 18 Percent of Children Eating Enough Fruits and Vegetables, Publix and Produce for Kids® Launch Campaign to Support Kids. The Campaign will raise money for Children’s Miracle Network® hospitals while helping to educate kids and parents on the benefits of a healthy diet.

(LAKELAND, Fla.) – May 28, 2008 – Publix Super Markets and Produce for Kids® (PFK), an organization that promotes the benefits of healthy eating and supports worthy causes for children, today unveiled the “Get Healthy, Give Hope” campaign, a spring initiative that will raise money for local Children’s Miracle Network® (CMN) hospitals and encourage parents to add more fruits and vegetables to their kids’ diets. A Produce for Kids national research study released earlier this month revealed that only 18 percent of America’s children are eating the recommended three or more daily servings of fruits and vegetables, and 43 percent of kids have one or less daily serving of fresh produce. The study also showed that parents spend an average of just $103 per year on fruits – or $2.00 per week – and $114.62 on vegetables.

Encompassing over 930 stores in the Southeast, the campaign will start on June 5 and run through July 2. “Get Healthy, Give Hope” sponsors Country FreshTM Vegetable Platters; Crunch Pak® Sliced Apples; Del Monte Gold® Extra Sweet Pineapple; DOLE® Packaged Salads; Odwalla® Beverages; Shuman Produce’s REALSWEET® brand Vidalia® Onions and Tropicana® Pure Premium® Orange Juice will make a monetary donation for every fresh produce item purchased during the campaign. One hundred percent of the funds raised will benefit Children’s Miracle Network hospitals in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina.

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Crunch Pak apples will be featured Monday, July 23 on the popular Food Network program, Unwrapped! The show will air at 9:00PM ET/PT. You can check the Food Network scheulde for the 23rd here to find out when the show will air in your region.

WASHINGTON (March 15, 2007) – Apples may prove to be a winner when it comes to reducing the risk of heart disease, says a new study of more than 34,000 women. In this study, flavonoid-rich apples were found to be one of three foods (along with red wine and pears) that decrease the risk of mortality for both coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) among post-menopausal women, The findings were published in the March 2007 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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Apples: Neglected Power Food

By Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN - If you look only at lists of fruits highest in vitamin C or read about the super health-promoting powers of the latest popular fruit, you might wonder if Grandma's advice, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," still merits consideration. Yet as research moves further into the study of the thousands of natural compounds we get from fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other plant foods, apples do shine.

Antioxidants are well-established as an important part of how healthful eating can lower our risk of heart disease and cancer, and possibly other conditions that can develop as we age. Antioxidants are frequently discussed in relation to vitamins C and E, and perhaps other plant compounds such as beta-carotene. However, fruits and vegetables also provide flavonoids, a large group of compounds that are all antioxidants.

The antioxidant power of flavonoids is one reason that apples are again in the spotlight. Apples contain only modest amounts of vitamin C. A medium apple averages about 6 milligrams of vitamin C, not much compared to the recommended daily intake for adults of 75 to 90 milligrams. But scientists have now calculated the antioxidant power of that apple is equal to more than 1,500 milligrams of vitamin C. The vast majority of its antioxidants come from flavonoids.

Antioxidants are key elements in preventing cancer, because they stabilize highly reactive free radicals that can otherwise damage our DNA and begin the process of cancer development. Antioxidants are also considered a key step in heart health because they protect blood vessels. They also keep LDL cholesterol in a less damaging form.

Along with antioxidant protection, apples contain pectin, a soluble fiber that helps lower blood cholesterol. Higher blood cholesterol is associated with a greater incidence of heart disease.

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A study of thousands of pregnant women revealed those who included fruit and vegetables regularly in their diet were 46% less likely to miscarry.

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