VONS, 14 RETAILERS TO TEST INTERACTIVE MEAL PROGRAM

LOUISE KRAMER

DENVER, Colo. -- Shoppers at a Hollywood unit of Vons Cos., Arcadia, Calif., will have a chance to test out a new interactive recipe program for meal planning that has been created by the Potato Board here.

The program, called "Ready, Set, Dinner," is to be tested in Vons and 14 supermarkets across the country over a three-month period beginning this month, according to the Potato Board, which represents some 10,000 growers in the United States.

The board is billing the program as a "new means of instantly solving the dinnertime dilemma."

The "Ready, Set, Dinner" program includes a kiosk with a touch-screen computer. There are five potato-based recipe categories: Last Minute Wonders, Kid Pleasers, American Favorites, Dinner for Two and Around the World. Shoppers also can specify whether they want recipes for chicken, fish, beef, vegetarian, pork, seafood, soup or salad.

The shopper can then print out a recipe to take home, and may print as many as he or she likes, according to the Potato Board.

The program grew out of research conducted by the board that revealed that women are "feeling overwhelmed with deciding what to cook each night," the board said.

"We wanted to alleviate some pressure surrounding the dinner hour. Even in dual-income households, 80% of women are still responsible for cooking dinner, and 61% get no help," said Rex Creswell, chairman of the Potato Board, in a statement. The program also will be made available for home use.

Amy Kull, account supervisor for the Potato Board at Ketchum Public Relations, San Francisco, said the Potato Board has focused on what it calls the "dinnertime dilemma" for some time. "Everything we've been doing is trying to make dinner easier," she said.

The ideal location for the kiosks is the produce department, said Kull. The Potato Board, she said, will conduct in-store interviews at three of the kiosk locations to determine consumer reaction.

The recipe program also is available for home use, at no charge, said Kull. It is available in versions for both Macintosh and Windows.

The kiosks are free to participating retailers, and have been created by a Los Angeles company called CompuCook.

In addition to Vons, the kiosks will be placed in the following stores this month: Safeway, Redwood City, Calif.; Shop-Rite, Englewood, N.J.; Albertson's 139, Boise, Idaho, and Stop & Shop, Watertown, Mass.

Units slated for a kiosk in February include Larry's Market in Bellevue, Wash.; Safeway, Fairfax, Va.; Kroger 959, Carmel, Ind.; Winn-Dixie 1824, Conyers, Ga., and Gooding's 8002, Orlando, Fl.

In March, a one-month test of the program will be in the following units: King Soopers 35, Denver, Co.; Schnuck Markets 142, Baldwin, Mo.; Dominick's Finer Foods, 6623 North Damon, Chicago; Kaker's, 13250 W. Maple Rd., Omaha, and H-E-B Grocery Co., 5601 Bandera Rd., San Antonio, Texas.