[May 29, 2015]

Dole's Expanded 2015 Tour Challenges North Americans to Get Happy, Healthy

Dole is convinced that the secret to a happier, healthier world is increased fruit and vegetable consumption so it is hitting the road this summer to directly challenge North Americans to make healthy eating their #1 priority.

After spending the past few summers sampling recipes and working with retailers to show what's possible, the produce giant is turning up the volume in 2015 with the largest North American tour in its history and a first-ever customizable healthy-living pledge that rewards participants with various wellness incentives including Fitbits^®, DOLE^® fresh produce and the chance to win a six-day health-makeover getaway to California.

Kicking-off today in Dallas, New Orleans and Pittsburgh, the Get Up and Grow! North American Tour brings an expanded version of Dole's popular traveling fruit and vegetable demo and healthy-eating celebration to 480 supermarkets and special events spread across 44 cities in 25 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces through September.

The 115-day, 11,700-mile journey represents a joint effort between Dole Fresh Fruit of Westlake Village, Calif., Dole Fresh Vegetables of Monterey, Calif., and the Kannapolis, N.C.-based Dole Nutrition Institute (DNI), and is co-sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze^®.

Multiple colorful Get Up and Grow! Tour caravans outfitted with kitchens and sampling tents will deliver innovative new recipes, product samples, a do-it-yourself smoothie bar, free giveaways for the whole family and other activities specifically created to showcase the fun, flavor and preparation possibilities of fresh fruits and vegetables and a plant-based diet. Visitors can also present a grocery receipt showing a qualifying level of DOLE^® fresh purchase to receive a limited-edition, commemorative Get Up and Grow! item.

The new recipes available for sampling range from the Banana and Blue Breakfast Smoothie, Power Punch Smoothie and Spinach-Avocado Hummus to the Grlled Banana Parfait, Southwestern Gazpacho, Caesar's Bounty Salad and Charred Summer Salad, which Dole has proclaimed 2015's "Official Salad of Summer."

Jenn LaVardera, Dole's registered dietitian and the nutrition and health communicator for DNI, is heading up the Tour from a nutrition education perspective, and is attending a number of the Tour stops. She helped create the exclusive Get Up and Grow! Scorecard being distributed to participants to help them track their summer eating.

"With Get Up and Grow!, we're going beyond past Dole tours to directly challenge the public to adopt a healthier daily routine including eating more fresh fruits and vegetables," said LaVardera. "Our role as nutrition leader comes with an obligation to inspire North Americans to set their own personal diet, fitness or other goals - and then provide the recipes, resources and motivation to help them reach those milestones."

The new Get Up and Grow! Pledge is a unique, interactive exercise that allows visitors to create their personal Get Up and Grow! page where they can commit to living healthier in 2015, eating more fruits and vegetables and setting their own health and happiness goals. Those who return to their page to track their goals will have the chance to receive free Fitbits, DOLE fresh fruits, vegetables and salads, and other rewards.

All pledge-takers will automatically receive a regular stream of health and nutrition tips from DNI while one lucky participant will be rewarded with a wellness getaway to the California Health & Longevity Institute at the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village combining medical, nutrition, fitness and life balance instruction, and spa services.

Most-ever U.S. and Canadian Tour Stops

Due to increased demand by retailers who participated in past Dole programs, the Get Up and Grow! Tour has been expanded to three regional caravans in the U.S. plus a separate ongoing effort in Canada - representing the most far-reaching Tour in the company's history. A full Tour schedule is available at www.dole.com/getupandgrow.

The Eastern Tour departs from Pittsburgh and visits Carlisle, Pa.; Baltimore; Edison, N.J.; Morristown, N.J.; New York City; Boston; Albany, N.Y.; Charlotte, N.C.; Greenville, N.C.; South Georgia; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Miami.

The Central Tour leaves New Orleans; Indianola, Miss.; Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Austinburg, Ohio; Cleveland; Detroit; Grand Rapids, Mich.; St. Louis; Kansas City, Mo.; Des Moines, Iowa; Minneapolis; Omaha, Neb.; and Lincoln, Neb.

The Western Tour leaves Dallas and visits Houston; San Antonio; Phoenix; Los Angeles; Bay Area/Berkeley, Calif.; Sacramento, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Seattle; Spokane Wash.; Boise, Idaho; and Salt Lake City.

The Tour also visits Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and the Maritime Provinces in Canada.

As in past years, Dole and Blue Diamond Almond Breeze will educate registered dietitians (RDs), supermarket nutritionists, food bloggers and other influencers about fresh fruits and vegetables, almonds and almondmilk through media appearances, tastings and educational summits in Tour markets.

The Tour is also being supported by PR and social media programs designed to educate the public about the health, taste and conveniences of fresh produce, and to drive consumers into participating supermarkets along the four-month Tour route.

"We're excited to continue our partnership with Dole in 2015," said Suzanne Hagener, group marketing manager for Blue Diamond Almond Breeze^®. "Together, Dole and Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk represent the best of delicious summer eating and through new recipes that feature Almond Breeze^®, consumers will see that almondmilk is a convenient and great-tasting alternative to traditional milk options."

For more information on Get Up and Grow!, including recipes, the latest produce-based research and the Get Up and Grow! Tour, and to take the Get Up and Grow! Healthy Living Pledge, go to www.dole.com/GetUpandGrow. For details on specific DOLE^® fresh fruits and vegetables, go to www.dole.com.

You can also follow the latest Get Up and Grow developments on Facebook (News - Alert) at www.facebook.com/Dole, and by using @DoleTweets on Twitter (News - Alert), @DolePins on Pinterest, and @DolePics on Instagram.

For information and recipes on Blue Diamond Almond Breeze^® Almondmilk, visit www.almondbreeze.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AlmondBreeze.

About Dole Food Company, Inc.

Dole Food Company is one of the world's largest producers and marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, Dole is an industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in nutrition education and research. For more information, please visit www.dole.com.

About Blue Diamond Growers

Blue Diamond Growers is the world's largest almond marketer and processor. It is responsible for developing the industry and opening world markets over 100 years ago when Spain and Italy were the major producers of almonds. While the U.S. market is the largest single market for almonds, over 70 percent of them are exported to 95 countries worldwide. Almonds are California's largest food export and they rank among the top ten food exports in America. California produces over 80 percent of the world's supply.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150529005416/en/

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