Voluntary Report -- FAS internal use only

**Date:** 2007/5/1

**GAIN Report Number:** TW7019

TW7019

**Taiwan**

###### ATO ACTIVITIES reports 

**GBI 5-a-Day Program --**

**Program Kick Off & Early Progress Evaluation**

**2007**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Keith Schneller, ATO Director

American Institute in Taiwan

**Prepared by:**

Jeff Miller, Agricultural Marketing Specialist

**Report Highlights:**

This report provides an initial evaluation of the 5-a-Day Global Based
Initiative (GBI) program co-sponsored by ATO Taipei, the Washington
Apple Commission (WAC), and 10 other cooperator partners, and executed
by the Formosa Cancer Foundation (FCF). A kickoff press conference was
held on 4 April and the program has already reached 3,000 students in 15
schools around Taiwan with GBI-developed material incorporating a
particular focus on U.S. fresh fruits and vegetables. The program is
based on a coupon booklet distributed to elementary schoolchildren by
FCF nutritionists. The coupons ensure interaction between the children,
their parents and teachers at schools, resulting over time in increased
consumption of fruit and vegetables.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Taipei ATO \[TW2\]

\[TW\]

This reports introduces the major activities involved in the
GBI-sponsored 5-a-Day program in Taiwan with attendant results, where
available and quantifiable at this point. A brief look forward is also
provided.

**Purpose of the 5-a-Day GBI**

Following Taiwan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), U.S.
agriculture products have faced an increasingly competitive market that
has eaten away at the overall U.S. share of Taiwan's fruit and vegetable
consumption. Gone are the days prior to 2002 when U.S. producers held a
90% or higher share (of imports) in certain key fruit and vegetable
categories such as apples, citrus, broccoli and others.

A maturing economy and population that is now nearly two decades into
developing a consumer-based service economy has led, as in western
economies, to a diet rich in proteins and fats and increasingly
deficient in fresh fruit and vegetables. Taiwanese now on average
consume less than 3 servings a day of fruits and vegetables total, more
than 2 servings less than the minimum recommended for good health. This
represents a second, and just as serious, challenge to U.S. fresh
produce exports to the island. Thus, not only is the U.S. share of the
"consumption pie" shrinking, the pie itself is not growing and may, in
fact, be in contraction.

The ATO-sponsored 5-a-Day GBI was envisioned as a vehicle to address
both issues effectively. By tapping into the active nutrition / 5-a-Day
promotion program already organized and implemented by the Formosa
Cancer Foundation (FCF), U.S. produce associations and the ATO would be
in a relatively good position to promote competitive U.S. produce
directly through well-established and trusted FCF channels to elementary
school students, educators and parents. It is hoped that long-term,
successful promotion within the GBI framework will 1) enhance the
general image of "U.S. produce" and value of specific U.S. fruit and
vegetable items in the eyes of consumers in order to reduce competitive
pressures on U.S. fruit/vegetable exports and promote the winning for
U.S. suppliers a larger share of the "consumption pie" mentioned above
and 2) grow the overall size of the "consumption pie" by raising
domestic consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, benefiting all
produce producers, suppliers and retailers. The first phase of the
program focuses on promoting nutritional information. The ATO and
cooperators will try to link the second phase of the program to retail
chains that market U.S. products.

###### Background

Concepts were developed and discussed with cooperators, FCF and several
other local potential partners over 2006. A first proposal was
coordinated and submitted by the Washington Apple Commission (WAC) in
mid-2006. GBI funding was approved at the close of 2006, with the first
year of the program designated as 2007. The ATO facilitated contract
negotiations between WAC and FCF with contract signing in March 2007.
Formal announcement of joint cooperation between FCF, ATO, WAC and other
cooperators was made at a press conference, held on International
Children's Day (April 4, 2007).

FCF was an enthusiastic participant in the program formulation and
proposal process from the early stages. FCF is a non-profit organization
focusing on improving the health of Taiwanese. They rely entirely on
donations from various sources to fund their programs, including support
from the Council of Agriculture, Department of Health and the Ministry
of Education. This program is mutually beneficial and has brought the
ATO and our partners great praises.

###### Activities

**School Lunch Program Nutrition Research (focus on fruits and
vegetables)**

A focused, limited time frame research project was organized by the FCF
through its existing network of over 1,000 in-school nutritionists to
get a snapshot of Taiwan's "average" school meal prepared by school
kitchens. The focus of this study was two-pronged, using interviews and
questionnaires to collect relevant data.

While lunch in Taiwan represents only one of three meals in the day, the
FCF has long found that is the single "window of opportunity" for
nutrition policy to have a voice and have an effect on daily nutrition
behavior. With breakfasts increasingly being eaten on the run (or not at
all) and dinners severely comprised by increased opportunities to eat
out or eat easy-to-fix but nutritionally-deficient meals (due to double
income parents, single family homes, other commitments, etc.), lunches
represent a very important source of good nutrition.

FCF research found that, on average, school lunches provided a 0.5
serving portion of vegetables and 0.5 serving portion of fruit,
representing 20% or 1/5^th^ of a 5-a-day program. While this leaves much
room for improvement, FCF findings were significantly more critical of a
further finding that upwards of 75% of school lunches left significant
amounts of uneaten vegetables on the plate. By contrast, fewer than 3%
of lunches left their fruit unconsumed -- underscoring a strong
preference among schoolchildren to eat fresh fruit after meals.

It is this second finding that represents the highlight of FCF research.
Food remaining on the tray means that, on average, children are
receiving less than half of the 1 fruit-and-vegetable serving average
served at school lunch time. It is this behavior that FCF has been
working to change and for which the GBI is geared.

# Educational Materials Development and Design

FCF staff, cooperators and ATO worked together to develop a coupon
program that "tasks" children to take actions geared to increase their
and their family's fruit and vegetable consumption. Coupons provide a
platform for interaction between FCF/GBI-supported nutritionists and
teachers, between teachers and children, and between children and their
parents. Coupon activities (e.g., "I will make a creative dish using
apples for my parents" and "I reminded my classmates today to finish
their vegetables at lunch.") must be countersigned by parents. Teachers
collect the coupons, which are then entered into a raffle, where
children are eligible to win a variety of prizes. See Appendix 1 for a
table of coupon contents.

Education material is designed to work in tandem with specific nutrition
messages presented by FCF/GBI-funded nutritionists, who have been given
specific training by FCF head nutritionists to understand and introduce
the nutritional benefits of all fresh fruit and vegetable products
represented by participating U.S. agriculture produce cooperators.

While incorporating the general message that 5 servings of many fruit
and vegetables is essential to good health, coupons have been designed
to stress nutritional messages for produce represented by U.S.
agriculture produce cooperator partners. Furthermore, seven (7) coupon
activities (22%) relate directly to U.S. cooperator produce, with the
remainder largely encouraging greater fruit and vegetable consumption in
general.

**[Result]{.underline}**: 30,000 coupon booklets printed with GBI funds
to be distributed through FCF organized nutrition programs delivered in
schools throughout Taiwan during calendar year 2007.

# ![](media/image2.jpeg){width="6.498611111111111in" height="1.9805555555555556in"}

# 5-a-Day Promotion Coupon (top cover)

# Kick-Off Media Event

The Formosa Cancer Foundation (FCF), AIT's ATO, and the Washington Apple
Commission officially announced their cooperation on April 4, 2007 on
the GBI funded program to promote U.S. fruit and vegetables to Taiwanese
elementary schoolchildren and their families. FCF organized a press
conference to explain the cooperation between ATO and U.S. agricultural
cooperators and to detail to the assembled media the results of a
GBI-funded research study that scored Taiwan's elementary in-school
lunch program against the "5-a-day" ideal.

The press conference was chaired by highly respected cancer researcher
Dr. Lai Gi-min, with opening addresses delivered by the Speaker of
Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, Wang Jin-pyng, Deputy Director of AIT, Robert
Wang, and key Department of Health and Ministry of Education officials
involved in guiding school nutrition programs.

**[Result]{.underline}**: The event attracted over 30 representatives
from the media, which generated 12 newspaper articles, over 60 reports
on Internet news sites, 5 television reports and 5 radio news reports.
ATO will send DVD/CDs with media coverage to all U.S. co-sponsors of
this event.

# Nutritionist Training

FCF prepared new instructions for the GBI-sponsored 2007 5-a-Day program
for use by nutritionists (1 set) and teachers (1 set). Materials
include: 1) a full-color, 36-page handbook that introduces the
nutritional role and character of 27 fresh fruits and vegetables,
including all fresh fruit and vegetable items of specific promotion
concern to U.S. cooperator participants, five recipes and general
guidance regarding the relationship between fruit and vegetable color
(blue/purple, green, white, yellow/orange and red) and nutritive value.
and 2) a sheet of in-school activity organization instructions geared to
make sure that the links between the program -- nutritionist -- teacher
-- students -- parents are activated and result in students taking an
active interest in completing coupon activities, better appreciating the
role of fruit and vegetables in good nutrition and participating in the
end of program raffle for various prizes.

**[Result]{.underline}**: 300 FCF contracted nutritionists received
phone and in-person consultations regarding the new set of instructions
for the coupon program and related activities. ATO will provide all
co-sponsors of this event with copies of the published materials.

####### Elementary School Nutrition Education

Recruitment of schools to participate in the GBI-funded 5-a-Day
nutrition program did not begin until after the April 4 press
conference. FCF reports that they now are booked for schools through May
and into June already. Fifteen (15) schools received nutrition education
from FCF nutritionists between 4/4 and 4/30. These fifteen visits
introduced U.S. fruits and vegetables to just under 3,000 students, all
of whom received coupon books and information on how they can help to
improve their own and their family's health by consuming five servings
of fruits and vegetables every day. Based on last year's nutritionist
program, the FCF estimates that their nutritionists will hold around 100
nutrition education sessions during May (this month) and another 100
during June (next month).

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="3.4166666666666665in"
height="3.3958333333333335in"}**[\
]{.underline}FCF Nutritionist Booklet (partial)**

**[Result]{.underline}**: The program is well on track to implementing
the 5-a-Day Coupon program in elementary schools throughout Taiwan. At
the current high level of interest in the program from schools and
availability of nutritionists, the program may finish distribution of
available coupons by late September (first month of the new school year)
or early October, about 1 month earlier than initial estimates.

Using its own funds, the FCF printed another 7,000 5-a-Day coupons for
distribution at its Fruit and Vegetable Adventureland, located on the
campus of National Taiwan University. The inclusion of this worthwhile
program, which reaches both kindergarten and elementary school-aged
children, in nutrition promotion activities is a bonus for the GBI and
cooperators. In organizing GBI sponsorship of FCF activities, funding
was specifically not permitted for the Adventureland as funds were being
requested for regular maintenance and education activities. As a result,
information on fruits and vegetables promoted by U.S. cooperators is
being promoted through Adventureland channels at no cost to the GBI
program.

###### Looking Ahead

The program seems to be exceptionally well managed by FCF, an
organization that benefits from having run similar programs consistently
over the past 10 years and from having an enthusiastic staff focused on
expanding a worthwhile program. FCF also has an outstanding reputation
in Taiwan for its good works in promoting healthy lifestyles.

Initial indications show that teachers and children are receiving the
coupon program with enthusiasm. The entire booklet of coupons should
take *at least* one month for children to complete, and children are
being given until [December 1^st^]{.underline} to submit completed
coupon stubs to FCF in order to participate in the lucky draw program.

The GBI makes no provisions for using GBI funds to provide promotional
materials (boxes of fruit, vegetables, coupons, promotional items, etc.)
for the lucky draw (to be held on [December 17^th^, 2007]{.underline} at
FCF). While FCF may be able to procure some incentives from Taiwan-based
donors, the Foundation is hoping that U.S. cooperators, suppliers and
local distributors and retailers will be able at the time to contribute
prizes (vouchers for fresh fruit/veg purchases, boxes of fresh
fruit/veg, coupons for book/school-related purchases, etc.) to ensure
the success of the lucky draw and create a strong platform to build upon
into the next year. FCF discussed such a desire with ATO and cooperator
representatives during the planning stages, at which time cooperators
indicated a strong willingness to contribute when the time came.

FCF is very flexible in terms of further cooperation with the GBI in
future years. Based on initial exploratory discussions conducted during
2006, possibilities still on the table include continuing the in-school
promotion as well as developing and executing an in-store 5-a-Day
promotion in cooperation with Taiwan's largest supermarket chain,
Wellcome (earlier approaches to Wellcome made by FCF on the program's
behalf were met with positive responses).

The ATO and WAC representatives will approach FCF to discuss development
of POS materials that could still be developed this season to promote
the 5-a-Day program as seasonal U.S. fruits and vegetables are available
in local retail outlets. The ATO will try to encourage retailers to
offer discounts to children / parents who show their FCF coupon booklet.
More information on this prospect will be provided in the coming weeks.

The ATO will maintain a comprehensive portfolio documenting all aspects
of this activity including contracts, printed materials, photos, and
press articles / news clippings. Much of this information will be copied
and shared with appropriate co-sponsors.

**APPENDIX 1**

Activity Coupon Handed out to Elementary Schoolchildren as part of the
FCF/GBI In-School 5-a-Day Nutrition Promotion Campaign.

  ---- -------------------------------------------------------------------
       Activity / Action

  1    I will have a tray of fruit for dessert tomorrow night

  2    Starting tomorrow, I will finish my vegetables before eating my
       entrée

  3    I promise today to learn more about one kind of fruit or vegetable,
       including its nutritional value, and to taste its flavor for
       myself.

  4    Today after class, I will pay attention and discuss with my parents
       about who ate the most fruits and vegetables at school.

  5    I promise to help mom wash fruits and vegetables at least two times
       this week.

  6    Today I promise to try a fruit or vegetable that I did not like
       before.

  7    Tonight after dinner, I promise to start making a habit of eating
       one serving of fruit as a snack.

  8    I will go this week to the grocery store or market with mom to buy
       fruits and vegetables.

  9    This week I will make a vegetable and fruit sandwich (or breakfast)
       for my entire family.

  10   I will finish everything on my school lunch plate this week.

  11   This week, I promise to bring fruit from home to eat on days that
       my school lunch does not provide a fruit serving.

  12   When we go out to eat today, I will ask my parents to order 1 \~ 2
       dishes of vegetables.

  13   This weekend, I will make with my parents one dinner dish using
       fresh loofah gourd.

  14   Before going to school today, I promise to remind my parents that
       they need to follow the fruit and vegetable 5-7-9 guidelines.

  15   Tomorrow I will make my favorite fruit juice (e.g., orange juice)
       all by myself for my entire family.

  16   This week I promise not to drink soft drinks or milk tea. I will
       drink more water or fresh fruit juice.

  17   From now on, I will eat my grapes with skins on.

  18   Tomorrow I will ask my parents to make a dish using apples for me.

  19   This weekend, I will make with my parents a full course meal using
       oranges.

  20   This week, I will give up unhealthy snacks and fried foods and only
       eat fresh fruit when I am hungry between meals.

  21   Tomorrow, I will make a sweet almond drink for my whole family to
       drink.

  22   This weekend, I will make with my parents a full course meal using
       potatoes.

  23   This morning, I will order a sandwich for breakfast and ask the
       chef to please give me several extra pieces of lettuce.

  24   Before the end of this semester, I will go with my parents on a
       hike (or to a farm) to pick fruit at least twice.

  25   This weekend, I will make with my parents a dish using broccoli.

  26   This week, I promise every day to eat at least one serving of green
       vegetables (e.g., broccoli, spinach, green pepper).

  27   Today at school, I will remind my classmates to finish everything
       on their plate and to finish their fruit.

  28   Tomorrow, I will ask my parents to make a fruit salad for me.

  29   When I visit my relatives this week, I promise to talk to them
       about the importance of following the fruit and vegetable 5-7-9
       guidelines.

  30   This weekend, I will make a fresh salad for my family to enjoy.

  31   After finishing this coupon book, I promise to follow my parents'
       reminders to me about eating 5-a-day everyday.

  32   Blank (to be filled in by student)

  33   Blank (to be filled in by student)

  34   Blank (to be filled in by student)

  35   Blank (to be filled in by student)

  36   Blank (to be filled in by student)
  ---- -------------------------------------------------------------------