Pitch:

Subject:

Hi X,

Operation Good Food & Beverage (OGF&B) has launched its new website with the aim of creating an equitable environment in the food and beverage industry. OGF&B addresses a growing and urgent health crisis in the Black community, a heavy burden of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases – fueled in part by higher-than-average exposure of Black youth to the marketing of fast foods, sugary drinks, and other unhealthy products.

The website launch aims to educate people about harmful food and beverage advertising, and how that affects overall health in the long term. Utilizing community-inspired and chef-created recipes, OGF&B’s goal is to encourage healthy consumption of foods and beverages in order to counteract the existing narrative.

OGF&B is also launching two social channels to help reach their audience through promotional videos and graphics that will help streamline the most important information these communities will need. The initiative will launch TikTok and Instagram, which are linked here.

I would love to connect you with Shiriki Kumanyika, who is the project’s spokesperson. Kumanyika is a Research Professor at Drexel’s Dornslife School of Public Health and is the head researcher on the OGF&B project. She is Founding Chair of the Council on Black Health (formerly the African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network (AACORN).

Please let me know if you would like to set up an interview with Kumanyika about this initiative and website launch, or if you would like more information. I’ve also attached the press release for the launch to this email, and included below. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Best,

X

Press Release:

Operation Good Food and Beverages Launches New Website, Promotes Healthier Recipes Through Community-Inspired Recipes

Initiative aims to tackle the ongoing issue of inequitable food and beverage advertising

Washington, D.C. (June X, 2022) – Equitable food and beverage advertising is a social justice issue, and Operation Good Food and Beverages (OGF&B) is facing it head on. Through the launch of their new website, they are aiming to educate and empower underserved communities who have not been given access to healthy foods and beverages. OGF&B addresses a growing and urgent health crisis in the Black community, a heavy burden of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases – fueled in part by higher-than-average exposure of Black youth to the marketing of fast foods, sugary drinks, and other unhealthy products.

During the Civil Rights Movement, plant-based diets nourished the minds and bodies of numerous Black activists, who saw the diet as a pathway to Black health and liberation. Today, for reasons from achieving health goals to connecting with African heritage, Black youth are among those spearheading the plant-based movement, with 50% of vegans identifying as either Black or Latino. Operation Good Food & Beverages believes that healthy eating can be soul-satisfying and bring joy to the mind, and that Black joy empowers and sustains our strides toward social justice.

The website launch aims to educate people about harmful food and beverage advertising, and how that affects overall health in the long term. Utilizing community-inspired and chef-created recipes, OGF&B’s goal is to encourage healthy consumption of foods and beverages in order to counteract the existing narrative.

Shiriki Kumanyika will serve as the project’s spokesperson. Kumanyika is a Research Professor at Drexel’s Dornslife School of Public Health and is the head researcher on the OGF&B project. She is Founding Chair of the Council on Black Health (formerly the African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network (AACORN). Dr. Kumanyika's research has focused on identifying effective strategies to reduce nutrition-related chronic disease risks, with a particular emphasis on achieving health equity for black Americans.

“This initiative shows underserved communities that they deserve equitable food and beverage advertising,” said Kumanyika, “and our goal is to promote the overall health for everyone by giving them access to research, information, and healthy recipes in order to achieve that.”

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About Operation Good Food And Beverages

This initiative was developed with youth leadership from HeartSmilesMD, an enrichment and leadership development program serving youth in Baltimore’s most underserved communities, and is a project launched by the Council on Black Health, a research and action network dedicated to improving Black health nationwide. For more information or to arrange an interview with Shiriki, contact X at X@teamsubjectmatter.com.