A radio show on food and nutrition is pushing more shoppers into Lunds and Byerly's stores to buy the organic and natural foods profiled each week.
"Dishing Up Nutrition," heard on FM107.1 in the Minneapolis area every Saturday morning, is a joint venture between Lund Food Holdings, Edina, Minn., and Nutritional Weight and Wellness, a nutrition education and consulting firm in neighboring St. Paul.
Each week, Bea James, the retailer's senior whole health manager, and Darlene Kvist, nutritionist and owner of Nutritional Weight and Wellness, discuss a variety of topics, including Managing Menopause, Foods for Positive Moods, Digestive Health, and Kid-Friendly Snacks, as well as foods and recipes that help manage the problem or topic.
James recommends only organic and natural foods in the recipes presented on the show and on the station's Web site, www.FM1071.com. She is not shy about mentioning brand names, either, such as organic "Smart" Chicken and Organic Valley eggs, for instance.
"I am very specific, calling out organic and natural brands, and where to find them in our stores," James said.
Listeners are heeding her advice. An on-air appearance and interview with cookbook author Ann Louise Gittleman were followed by an in-store book signing.
"This was hugely successful. We had lines down the aisle during the book signing," James said.
In January, one "Dishing Up Nutrition" topics was: "How to care for others while caring for yourself."
"We highlighted many natural and organic frozen entrees for people who do not have time to prepare food for themselves. We gave out coupons for free entrees," James said.
Although Lund is still learning to track how much the radio show lifts sales of recommended products, James said Lunds and Byerly's stores have had up to 75 people attend in-store events related to the show, and are getting an average of 125 hits a week on the program's Web page.
