ShopRite serves up limited-edition meal kits

ShopRite has launched four meal kits as part of its participation in National Family Meals Month.

The ShopRite Kitchen Limited Edition Meal Kits will be available in stores during September. Varieties include smoked chicken thighs with Korean broccoli and cauliflower; grilled chicken breast with couscous and vegetables bruschetta; turkey meatloaf with sautéed spinach and butternut squash; and smoked chicken breast with roasted vegetables and wheat berry feta salad.

Each of the chef-inspired, dietitian-approved meal kits serves two people and carries a retail price of $11.99.

“Providing our shoppers with healthy, affordable and time-saving resources has always been a priority at ShopRite,”Natalie Menza-Crowe, director of health and wellness at ShopRite, said in a statement. “We are honored to take part in this campaign spearheaded by our partners at the Food Marketing Institute, and we look forward to talking to our customers about the many benefits of sharing nutritious family meals.”

For National Family Meals Month, ShopRite has mobilized its team of corporate and in-store dietitians — who serve more than 140 stores in the metropolitan New York tristate area — to educate customers about ways to create nutritious and delicious family meals. The dietitians will host free food demonstrations, classes and events plus distribute free recipe cookbooks during September.

Part of the Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern Food Corp. cooperative, ShopRite has more than 270 supermarkets in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland.

“Here at ShopRite, we believe that mealtime is family time and that there is power and value in sharing family meals,” Menza-Crowe commented. “Study after study has shown that families that make time to dine together are happier and healthier.”

This year marks the fourth annual National Family Meals Month campaign, which the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Foundation launched in 2015 to urge Americans to hold one more family meal per week at home. According to an annual tracking study by Nielsen Co., 84% of consumers who saw the 2017 campaign took action such as eating together more as a family and cooking more meals at home.

The research found that 15 million households had heard about National Family Meals Month last year. Among consumers who had seen the campaign, 42% said they’re cooking more meals at home, and 36% reported that they’re eating together more often as a family. In addition, 36% indicated they’re making healthier food choices, and 35% said they’re buying more fruits and vegetables.

“It is exceedingly rewarding to have witnessed the lightening-speed growth of this movement and the initial, significant impact on consumer behavior,” stated Sue Borra, executive director of the FMI Foundation.