Century 21 Department Store & The Bernard Group Align with Super Sprowtz & the NYC Department of Education To Make Healthy Eating Fun in the New York City Public Schools

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Sep 24, 2014, 09:02 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Century 21 Department Store and The Bernard Group are joining forces with Super Sprowtz and the New York City Department of Education to bring colorful salad bars to 100 elementary schools in New York City. Super Sprowtz is a leading children's multi-media program dedicated to engaging and inspiring children to eat and live healthier through super heroes, adventure and storytelling impacting over one million families and counting.

Super Sprowtz (PRNewsFoto/Century 21 Department Store)

"Eat Your Super Powers!" the Super Sprowtz Lunchroom Initiative, will kick- off on September 30^th and will inspire children to eat healthy fruits and vegetables by transforming the salad bars in school cafeterias into fun, exciting and interactive media centers. The salad bars will be wrapped with bright colorful artwork featuring Colby Carrot, Erica Eggplant, Brian Broccoli and the rest of the Super Sprowtz cast and their super powers. All printing was generously donated by The Bernard Group and even the lunchroom floors will be decorated with footsteps in the shape of carrots to create a pathway from the lunch line directly to the salad bar that reads "Super Powers This Way!" to encourage students to visit the salad bar and eat more vegetables.

"Our partnership with Super Sprowtz in 2013 was so successful and it was inspiring to see our in-store puppet shows draw so much excitement and engagement from kids and parents," said Isaac Gindi, Century 21 Department Store Co-Owner. We wanted to create more awareness around healthy eating and make it accessible for all children. Partnering with Super Sprowtz and the NYC Department of Education aligns perfectly with our philosophy that Century 21 was founded upon. As a second generation, family owned business, our fathers taught us to work hard and always give back to the community. We are happy to provide inspiration and education to children and families to discover the powerful connection between quality of food and quality of life."

"You really can't underestimate the power of storytelling," said Radha Agrawal, Founder and CEO of Super Sprowtz. "We are so thrilled that the New York City Department of Education, Century 21 Department stores and The Bernard Group have so enthusiastically supported this project and brought our salad bar program into the first 100 elementary schools. It is support like this from thoughtful organizations who are taking a stand around health and nutrition for the next generation that will really change the game around childhood obesity."

"Making healthy food choices is a cornerstone in our lunch program and our salad bars show that when fresh vegetables are offered to children daily, they enjoy them,” said Kathleen Grimm, Department of Education Deputy Chancellor of Operations. “I want to thank Super Sprowtz and Century 21 for working on encouraging our children to try different vegetables and increase their nutritional food options that help students do well in school."

A study conducted by Super Sprowtz, in partnership with Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab and the NYC Department of Education in 2013, showed a 250% increase in children consuming vegetables as a result of adding the Super Sprowtz interactive media center into lunchrooms. With the success of the study, The NYC DOE partnered with Super Sprowtz to launch the program in 100 school cafeterias. A ribbon cutting with political officials, partners, schools and community leaders will be held on September 30th to celebrate this initiative funded by Century 21 Department Store. The ceremony will take place at MS 129 District 12 in the Bronx. A special appearance will be made by Executive Director of Let’s Move!, Senior Policy Advisor and White House Chef, Sam Kass.

About Century 21 Department Store:
Century 21 Department Store, established in 1961, is legendary for its exceptional offering of pure designer merchandise in every category at 40-65% off retail every day. The boutique of the off-price and leader in high-end fashion retail for over 50 years, Century 21 Department Store offers men's, women's and children's apparel, footwear, outerwear, lingerie and accessories along with cosmetics and home goods at select stores. The retailer is headquartered in Downtown Manhattan, with four other locations in New York including Lincoln Square, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and three additional locations in New Jersey including Paramus, Morristown and Elizabeth as well as online at C21Stores.com. In the fall of 2014, Century 21 Department Store will open its first store outside of the New York Metro, in Philadelphia. For more information follow Century 21 Department Store on facebook.com/century21stores, and @Century21stores on Twitter and Instagram.

About Super Sprowtz:
Super Sprowtz LLC is a children's nutrition education media company based in New York, New York, which features super-powered vegetable characters that inspire kids to make healthier choices through adventure, story, music and play. Since its launch in 2011, Super Sprowtz now reaches over 1 million children each week through its 360-degree multi-platform program, which includes a television series, a permanent exhibit at the Children's Museum of Manhattan, a comprehensive curriculum and kit for pre-K and elementary school teachers, books, plush toys and other branded consumer products for use at home, videos, games, live performances, and a mobile app. Visit supersprowtz.com to learn more about their school programs, educational products and television show.

About The Bernard Group: The Bernard Group is a visual merchandising company that was founded in 1998. Since then it has served as the printing and display company of choice for some of the most prestigious brands in the retail industry. 100% employee owned they have aligned themselves with a number of causes. The Bernard Group has a sales office in NYC and its corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, MN. For more information, visit their website thebernardgroup.com

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140923/148036

SOURCE Century 21 Department Store