The Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) has rolled out a consumer contest, “Your Healthy Life and You,” with the aim of rewarding original and creative families for their fruit and veggie success stories. To get the word out, the Wilmington, Del.-based nonprofit foundation is calling on the produce community to promote Your Healthy Life and You through links to the contest page on the Fruits & Veggies-More Matters Web site, www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org, from their own sites. On the same Web page that suppliers and retailers link to the contest, they can suggest that their companies’ products be mentioned by name in consumers’ contest submissions.

“We’re asking everyone in the produce industry to promote the Your Healthy Life and You contest in their own way,” noted PBH president and CEO Elizabeth Pivonka. “Suppliers and processors can link to the contest from their own Web sites and call for entries that use or mention their products. Retailers can link to the contest from their Web sites and call for entries that mention their stores or private label products. We want to hear consumer success stories: how they’ve gotten a picky eater to eat more fruits and vegetables, how fruits and veggies have helped them loose weight, or to receive their family’s favorite fruit or vegetable recipe. Let your Web site visitors and customers know about the contest so they can share their success stories for a chance to win!”

The contest invites entrants to write up, in 1,000 words or fewer, success stories from their lives in regard to fruits and vegetables. The competition runs until July 1, 2010. To enter, consumers can send an e-mail to contest@pbhfoundation.org, or visit www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org, click on the Community page, and submit entry information there. All winning entries will appear on the Fruits & Veggies-More Matters Web site.

Contestants may enter as often as they wish. Each entry must be submitted separately and meet eligibility requirements, and all entrants must have a valid e-mail address.

Winnings consist of one grand prize of $1,000 worth of nutrition education materials and products, and $500 worth of fruit and vegetable related products and coupons, and four first prizes of $500 worth of nutrition education materials and products, and $250 worth of fruit and vegetable related products and coupons.

Pivonka added that produce partners can also reference the contest on their own Facebook pages and blogs, as well as tweet about it on Twitter.