WEGMANS STIRS RECIPIES INTO PRODUCE

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Wegmans Food Markets here is tying its Strive for Five program in with a recipe of the week, demos offering tastes of the finished product and spot radio ads.

he recipes use at least one fresh fruit or vegetable.

On a recent visit to the 56-unit chain's 130,000-square-foot replacement store in Pittsford, an affluent suburb of Rochester, SN noted that the recipe of the week was being cooked up at a permanent demo station in the produce department.

The recipe of the week, escarole soup with tiny meatballs, was also featured in a "What's for Dinner Tonight?" center section of the chain's ad circular and mentioned on drive-time radio spots.

The demo station staffer at the Pittsford store cooked the product right at the station, shaping meatballs from ground beef, cooking them and chopping up bunches of escarole. She also handed out folders featuring holiday dinner recipes. The escarole soup recipe was among them.

Ingredients for the recipe -- which included canned, low-sodium chicken broth, one-pound boxes of rosmarino-style pasta, 93% lean ground beef, eggs, canned bread crumbs, grated Italian blend cheese, as well as fresh escarole -- were available at the demo station.

The staffer told SN the recipe of the week is demoed in the produce department at all Wegmans' stores.

In another Strive for Five push, Wegmans has placed a sign over the case in its Market Cafe that displays fully cooked, single-serving containers of vegetables. The sign says, "Strive for Five Made Easy."