PepsiCo Partners With KaBOOM! and NFL Legendary Cornerback Deion Sanders To Build Smart Spot Playground At Central Dallas Ministries
PepsiCo S.M.A.R.T. Program Promotes Active, Healthy Lifestyles
Dallas, TX (February 24, 2006)—As part of its ongoing commitment to providing families with solutions to help live healthier lives, PepsiCo is bringing its S.M.A.R.T. lifestyle program to Dallas by building a new Smart Spot playground. NFL Legendary Cornerback Deion Sanders will help PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division and KaBOOM! build the playground today at Roseland/Monarch Homes on behalf of Central Dallas Ministries, a community development organization serving the working poor of inner-city Dallas.
The S.M.A.R.T. program promotes healthy lifestyles through a variety of activities including the launch of five simple steps that encourage active living and good nutritional choices, a national advertising campaign that promotes healthy lifestyles beyond products—an industry first, a free magazine called Everyday SMART Moves and the construction of 12 KaBOOM! playgrounds across the country. The S.M.A.R.T. program is featured on www.smartspot.com.
The S.M.A.R.T. program complements PepsiCo’s efforts to introduce energy balance lesson plans in schools nationwide, develop new healthier products, reformulate existing products to provide healthier benefits and to help consumers identify healthier food and beverage choices with the Smart Spot symbol. Products that feature the Smart Spot symbol meet established nutrition criteria based on authoritative statements from the Food and Drug Administration and the National Academy of Sciences. The Smart Spot symbol appears on more than 100 PepsiCo products including Tropicana Pure Premium, Aquafina, Gatorade, Baked! Lays, Quaker Oatmeal and Diet Pepsi, among many others.
In addition to the S.M.A.R.T. program, PepsiCo continues to experience impressive growth results across all its divisions with its Smart Spot products. Last year, total Smart Spot growth was more than 13 percent, reflecting consumers’ demand for healthier products. Beginning this year, the company expects to achieve 50 percent of its new product revenues from Smart Spot products. PepsiCo emphasizes the importance of energy balance – balancing calories consumed and calories burned. As a result, the company is committed to providing healthier products as well as supporting programs that promote healthy lifestyles.
Live S.M.A.R.T.
S.M.A.R.T. stands for:
- Start with a healthy breakfast
- Move more
- Add more fruits, vegetables and whole grains
- Remember to hydrate
- Try lower calories or fat
The S.M.A.R.T. steps are based on research by James O. Hill, Ph.D., a developer of the National Weight Control Registry and co-founder of America On the Move. Dr. Hill’s research with the National Weight Control Registry identified behaviors of the most successful weight loss maintainers. His work with America On the Move found that people who were most successful in improving their health and maintaining weight loss didn’t make drastic changes to their lifestyle, but rather did a few basic things that could be easily incorporated into everyday lives. From that information, the five S.M.A.R.T. steps were developed.
The S.M.A.R.T. steps were designed to be easy-to-remember, easy-to-follow and easy-to-incorporate into daily life. S.M.A.R.T touches both sides of the energy balance equation: managing the calories consumed through food and the calories burned from physical activity.
“Last year, PepsiCo first put the Smart Spot™ symbol on select products to make it easier for moms to identify healthier choices for their families when shopping,” said Brock Leach, senior vice president, New Growth Platforms and chief innovation officer for PepsiCo. “Now we’re expanding our efforts through the S.M.A.R.T. program to make it easier to get started on healthier lifestyles too. And, the new Smart Spot playgrounds are a fun place where parents and their kids can live the S.M.A.R.T. life.”
Join the S.M.A.R.T. Life
Living a healthier lifestyle is important to Deion Sanders and his family, which is why he is helping introduce the S.M.A.R.T. program in Dallas and is encouraging all families to get started today.
“As a busy parent, I always look for fun, easy ways to keep my family eating healthier and staying active but I know it can be challenging,” said Sanders. “The new S.M.A.R.T. steps provide this positive reminder that will help families live healthier every day.”
Play S.M.A.R.T.
Under the management of organizers from KaBOOM!, Sanders and nearly 200 volunteers from PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division and Central Dallas Ministries will build the Smart Spot playground for the residents of the Roseland/Monarch Homes, a Dallas Housing Authority Community and the first public housing development built west of the Mississippi River specifically for African-Americans. Serving Dallas since 1988, Central Dallas Ministries has partnered with the DHA to serve the residents of this neighborhood for the past ten years.
“Healthy bodies require healthy communities. The playground will provide a safe place for children and families to play, and it will improve the overall wellness of the entire neighborhood,” said Larry James, chief executive officer, Central Dallas Ministries. “We want to thank PepsiCo and KaBOOM! for building the playground at our new site so we can ensure our children stay physically active and learn the importance of living a healthier life at a young age. We’d also like to acknowledge the Dallas Housing Authority for donating the land on which we’re building the playground, and for providing the tools and funds to make today possible.”
Find Smart Spot Playgrounds Across the Country
PepsiCo and KaBOOM! will build 12 playgrounds by the end of 2006. The playgrounds will be located in Washington, D.C.; Dallas; Phoenix; San Antonio; Chicago; Sacramento, Calif.; Little Rock, Ark.; Detroit; New York; Los Angeles and Miami.
“At KaBOOM!, we want to see a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America,” said Darell Hammond, chief executive officer and co-founder of KABOOM! “PepsiCo is helping us realize this vision by building Smart Spot playgrounds in communities that want to move more, have fun and live healthier.”
Frito-Lay Commitment to Health and Wellness
Frito-Lay has a long tradition of health and wellness innovation. In the early 80s, Frito-Lay moved to using polyunsaturated oils in its snacks and launched reduced fat snacks. In the early 90s, the first great-tasting, lower-calorie Baked! brands of snacks were introduced. In 2003, Frito-Lay was the first major food company to eliminate trans fat from its entire portfolio of snack chips and then label trans fats on the nutrition panel, in advance of a government mandate. Today, more than 50 of the company’s snack products carry the Smart Spot designation, with product innovation continuing to focus on developing healthier snacks.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies with annual revenues of $32 billion. Its principal businesses include Frito-Lay snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices and Quaker foods. Its portfolio includes 16 brands that generate $1 billion or more in annual retail sales.
About KaBOOM!
Celebrating its ten year anniversary in 2006, KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Over the past decade, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct nearly 1,000 new playgrounds, skateparks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. KaBOOM! also offers a variety of resources, including a web portal and online community, regional and national trainings, grants and publications for communities that wish to plan a new playspace on their own. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago, Atlanta and San Mateo, CA. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.
About Central Dallas Ministries
Central Dallas Ministries is an expansive, faith-based community development organization serving the working poor of inner-city Dallas. Touching the lives of over 30,000 people each year, CDM provides a family practice medical clinic, a law office, Dallas County’s largest food pantry, affordable housing as well as comprehensive programs in workforce development, youth education and transitional services for youth aging out of the foster care system.
