Introduction Most students want to but do not eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Increasing fruit and vegetable intake with social marketing messages was the problem addressed by the research aided by the Dr. Joel Grinolds Pacific Coast College Health Association Grant. The theoretical framework of the program focuses on the stages of change of the students and student decisions to eat healthful food choices shaped by recommendations from national and government organizations.
Social marketing uses successful techniques of commercial marketers.
The focus is on consumers with research and evaluation, and uses the same four commercial marketing Ps of product, price, place and promotion. Health assessments at Cal Poly Pomona indicate that most students do not eat enough, but do want to eat more, fruits and vegetables per day. Further surveys asking students what they wanted to do to improve their health in the next six months indicate that better nutrition was desired. They indicated that they were serious or very serious about eating more fruits and vegetables. This behavior ranked fifth of 34 behaviors.