Ocean Spray Partners With Highlights To Provide 'Fun With A Purpose' To Schools Across America

Legacy Brands Come Together with Themed Special Edition Mini Magazines Celebrating Annual Fall Cranberry Harvest and National Eat a Cranberry Day

News provided by

Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.

Nov 09, 2021, 09:00 ET

BOSTON, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ocean Spray, the agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 farmer families, and Highlights for Children, trusted by kids and families alike, are partnering together to educate America's students on the heritage of the cranberry superfruit. Together, the brands will be offering teachers and parents free, downloadable Highlights-created mini magazines launching November 2021, and April 2022, that bring Highlights' 'Fun with a Purpose' to Ocean Spray's "Cranberries in the Classroom" program.

The first mini magazine will be made available for free to download this month at www.oceanspray.com/highlights. The special edition Highlights mini magazines are filled with educational articles, a recipe, jokes, and tongue twisters as well as one of Highlights' signature Hidden Pictures® puzzles and other puzzles and activities that will spark curiosity and encourage learning. This month, the theme of the mini magazines will be cranberries, timed to the annual fall cranberry harvest and National Eat a Cranberry Day on November 23^rd. Coming Spring 2022, the theme of the second installment of the partnership for the mini magazine will be sustainability, timed to Earth Day.

"This school year has held unique challenges for children. For some it's their first time back in classrooms in more than a year; for most, they're adjusting to yet another new normal," said Lece Lohr, President of Highlights Consumer Business. "Partnering with Ocean Spray – an organization with as rich a heritage as Highlights' – is incredibly meaningful for us. It allows us to provide free, engaging reading materials into classrooms in an authentic way. Instead of sending sales materials home, we're putting reading and learning tools immediately into the hands of more kids."

Puzzling helps children develop both academic and social-emotional skills, including letter recognition, attention to detail, vocabulary building, persistence, logic, and employs multiple strategies to solve problems. Humor lessens learning anxiety and increases a child's engagement – particularly valuable for reluctant and non-traditional learners. The cranberry curriculum is engaging for students to learn as cranberries are native to North America and our Indigenous Americans were the first to realize the benefits of cranberries. The first sauces were made at home long before commercial canning became available.

"Ocean Spray has a long tradition of partnering with other iconic brands whose values are aligned with our own, and who are also committed to supporting families," said Kim McAllister, Director of Foods Business at Ocean Spray. "Fall harvest is a special time of year, and we're delighted to celebrate by adding Highlights' wonderful, educational content to our "Cranberries in the Classroom" curriculum." Ocean Spray's "Cranberries in the Classroom" offers free educational activities created in collaboration with curriculum and child specialists to teach kids in grades 2-4 about the cranberry plant through language arts, math, science and art.

Both brands are dedicated to education in America and celebrating heritage. Ocean Spray will be soon celebrating 100 years and the 2021 cranberry harvest crop forecast is 6.6 million barrels. That equates to 660 million pounds, 171 billion berries, and would cover 5,150 football fields and make a 17-mile-long line of filled tractor trailer trucks. This year, Highlights celebrates its 75^th Anniversary. Founded by child psychologist Dr. Garry Cleveland Myers and his wife and educator Caroline Clark Myers, Highlights for Children magazine was first published in June 1946. Since then, the Highlights brand has grown to a diverse and inclusive collection of products for kids from birth to 12, reaching more than 10 million children across 40-plus countries.

For more information, and to download the 1^st of two special edition mini magazines brought to you by Ocean Spray and Highlights, visit www.oceanspray.com/highlights.

About Ocean Spray
Founded in 1930, Ocean Spray is a vibrant agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry farmers in the United States, Canada and Chile who have helped preserve the family farming way of life for generations. The Cooperative's cranberries are currently featured in more than a thousand great-tasting, nutritious products in over 100 countries worldwide. Leading by purpose, Ocean Spray is committed to the power of good—creating good, nutritious food that has a direct and powerful impact for the health of people and planet. All for good. Good for all. For more information visit: www.oceanspray.com

About Highlights
Highlights, a trusted global brand is dedicated to helping children become curious, creative, caring, and confident through engaging content and experiences that are focused on nurturing and developing the whole child. Highlights reaches children 0–12 with its most popular magazines and books, and on multi-platform digital experiences, digital apps, toys/games, a podcast, and more. In 2021, we are commemorating our 75th birthday by celebrating small moments that have big and lasting impact in a kid's life. To connect with Highlights, visit: Highlights.com, HighlightsKids.com, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Media Contacts:
Ocean Spray: [email protected]
Highlights: [email protected]

SOURCE Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.