The effect of a social marketing campaign on the sales of healthy refreshments in park and recreation facitilities

Georgia Recreation and Park Association (GRPA) adopted a resolution to make healthy items available at their park sites across the state. This study examined the development, implementation, and impact of a social marketing campaign designed to accompany the new policy in six self-selected, pilot GRPA sites to better understand the factors that influence whether or not parents and children purchased healthy foods from the concession stands. Fruit and water sales data were tracked throughout the intervention and a parent survey was used to examine factors related to the Health Belief Model to determine if they had any influence on whether or not parents and children purchased healthy foods. Differences in fruit and water sales during the pre-social marketing campaign period and intervention were insignificant, but sites that experienced higher sales of healthy items shared some characteristics. Parent surveys revealed misconceptions about healthy foods and the need for more nutrition education in similar community-based programs.