Why Participate
The Fight BAC!® campaign is one of the most far-reaching and ambitious public education efforts ever to focus on safe food handling. Created by the Partnership for Food Safety Education - a unique coalition of industry, government and consumer groups - this campaign comes at a time when many Americans have inadequate knowledge about basic sanitation and food preparation steps that can greatly reduce consumers' risk of foodborne illness. By joining in this food safety initiative, your store(s) will be helping to close this knowledge gap in your community. And your involvement will be greatly appreciated: shopper attitude surveys find that consumer education programs like Fight BAC!® are a tangible, extra benefit for your customers.

Make a Splash
No doubt about it, advertising and promotion can make your Fight BAC!® program come alive. The following are some recommended ideas for using the reproducible art and other materials in this kit to implement a high-impact Fight BAC!® campaign:

Signage - Use the reproducible Fight BAC!® logo to make colorful signs, banners, posters, counter toppers and other visible reminders to demand attention. Signs and pictures generate interest and curiosity while providing basic consumer information.

Bag Stuffers and Brochuers - Use fact sheets as a bag stuffer or print the Fight BAC!® logo on your grocery bags. Place the brochures at your store's information center or check-out stands. All of these are ways that your customers can take the message of safe food handling home with them.

Promotional Give-Aways - You might want to consider producing small promotional give-aways (designed for multiple exposures of the Fight BAC!® name and logo as well as the new food safety graphic) which can reach your shoppers over an extended period. Fight BAC!® refrigerator magnets, pencils, mousepads, cups, tee shirts and aprons are all desirable give-aways.

Public Address System - Using the in-store public address system is a good way to reach customers with important food safety messages. The Fight BAC!® broadcast advertisements in this kit can be recorded and aired over the P.A. system.

Advertising - Publicize your involvement in the Fight BAC!® campaign by inserting informational ads or columns as part of your local newspaper advertising. This kit contains several different ad slicks that you can customize to educate area consumers and increase traffic at your store(s).

Special Events - Fight BAC!® provides a new opportunity to be creative. Special events - such as a food safety tour for consumers and the media, or bringing "BAC" to life as a mascot - can help increase your store's visibility in the community and enhance the company's reputation as an organization committed to public service. Although food safety is a year-round issue, consider organizing special events around the summer grilling/picnic season, Thanksgiving and National Food Safety Education Month (September).

Publicity - Use the sample press release to help you generate publicity for the Fight BAC!® campaign and your supermarket. Also, make sure to let local reporters know about upcoming special events and have an identified spokesperson available for media interviews.

Community Involvement - To demonstrate your store's commitment to food safety, send out copies of the Fight BAC!® television spot to local stations, requesting that they air the public service announcement (PSA) as a service to the community. The kit contains a sample letter to send to television station general managers and an order form so that you will have enough copies of the spot to send one to each station.

So, spread the word about BAC and help close the food safety knowledge gap in your community. There has never been a time when your involvement in educating consumers about safe food handling is more needed than today.