NEW YORK-AREA CHAINS SET TO DIG EARTH DAY WITH ORGANICS

RALPH RAIOLA

NEW YORK -- Several chains in the New York-New Jersey region will be celebrating Earth Day this spring in a promotion that stresses eating organic produce.

The promotion, dubbed "Labels-to-Learning," allows shoppers who buy organic produce from participating supermarkets to earn free admission to a number of museums during Earth Day week, April 20 to 27.

"It's a great program," said Michael Rourke, senior vice president of communications and corporate affairs at A&P, Montvale, N.J. That chain is promoting the program in its A&P, Food Emporium and Waldbaum's stores in the metropolitan New York area.

Labels to Learning, coordinated by the nationally recognized environmental education group Mothers and Others for a Livable Planet, based in New York, began hitting supermarkets at the beginning of this month and will be in place until the middle of April.

Consumers may redeem organic food labels, including twists, ties or the actual bags that are used to identify organic produce for as many as three tickets to a number of science and nature-based museums.

A spokeswoman for Mothers and Others said she believes supermarkets may be more apt to pick up on a program like this now than in past years because of the proliferation of organic products in the industry.

"A lot of the grocery stores seem to be caring more and more about natural food," said Nancy Moon, spokeswoman for Mothers and Others.

Rourke of A&P agreed.

"We have a very large organic produce program," he said. "It's getting very popular [industrywide]."

Rourke added that the program ties in with A&P's three-year-old Project Earth program, an environmental communications program that is mainly geared toward younger people, which the chain has tied into Earth Day "each year."

The retail participation comes in the form of promoting the event with posters, fliers and tear-off coupons. Consumers can use the coupons to help them send in their labels.

"We're promoting it in the ads, and we have the point-of-sale material up in our stores," Rourke said.

Betsy Lydon, outreach director for Mothers and Others, said she is counting on supermarkets drawing large numbers of consumers. "Once the posters start appearing in the stores, it should really start taking off," she said.

Lydon also said at least one retailer was considering putting out a tabletop display, with organic produce selections and informational material.

In addition to in-store promotional activities, Mothers and Others has sent fliers to roughly 300 schools in the New York City boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx.

Kings Super Markets, based in West Caldwell, N.J., is sending promotional literature to another 350 schools in New Jersey, Lydon said.

She added that Mothers and Others contacted most supermarkets based in the tristate area, but she said many of the smaller retailers in the region were reluctant to participate.

"So what we have is, really, a partnership with some of the larger supermarkets in the area," she said.

The consumer group had worked with supermarkets before this project, including D'Agostino Supermarkets, Larchmont, N.Y., she said.

Mothers and Others helped that chain put together its Earth Goods organic food program three years ago, aiding with activities such as the selection and review of products.

The organization has also conducted tours of supermarket for school children during past Earth Day celebrations.