United Way for Southeastern Michigan
Re-envisioning how to get kids fed and communities engaged.
It’s about more than a free meal.
To address stigma regarding free summer food service, United Way for Southeastern Michigan sought a new name and brand for its summer food program that would inform individuals about the program, while establishing a welcoming and empowering environment. At the food service sites, kids (and sometimes families) eat, socialize, and often have physical activity opportunities. Through our research, we found that these spaces were more than just a place to eat; they were neighborhood engagement centers.
The tools for turning a location into a place.
Redhead worked with United Way for Southeastern Michigan and its partners to devise a strategy for re-launching the summer food service program, along with new digital and printed toolkits. To emphasize the community-centric component of these sites beyond the food itself, we devised the name “Meet Up and Eat Up.” Campaign collateral like outdoor signs for sites, menu posters, rack cards, and more aligned with the consistent brand, and gave the food service sites a robust visual platform for awareness and engagement. This established credibility among audiences, and allowed for instant brand recognition.
Utilizing a good idea, all over.
The Meet Up and Eat Up brand helped expand nutrition access and left a lasting legacy. Years after the brand launched, expansions of the program and similar adoptions are happening everywhere — the Michigan Department of Education added a “read up” component; the program was immediately embraced as one of the Detroit Lions’ signature charities; and other states are negotiating to franchise the entire system.
