Are you tired of trying to find family activities that you don’t have to apologize to your kids for; inevitably, many of those so called family activities, violate the very family values that you are trying to instill in your children? Well, here is an event that you won’t have to justify taking your family to.
It is the National Baby Food Festival in the Baby Food Capital of the World. Gerber baby food company is known around the world for it’s innovative production of baby foods and products; and it is celebrating in the town where it all began, Fremont, Michigan.
Dorothy Gerber was the mother of two young girls…she was also the wife of Dan Gerber, who just happened to be the son of Frank Gerber, the president of the Fremont Canning Company. Dorothy’s children’s pediatrician was recommending a new dietary approach to her children’s eating habits; he recommended strained fruits and vegetable starting around the age of 5 months old.
Now today, that is sort of standard practice in raising young children…but in 1927 it wasn’t. Straining fresh fruits and vegetables in small amounts several times a week is not an easy task when you are caring for two toddlers. It became too time consuming and she wondered aloud to her husband; if it was possible to puree tomatoes at the cannery, why couldn’t baby food also be done? The idea was discussed and a business model was born after much consultation with the experts in nutrition and business. The Gerber baby food era began with an immediate success.
Today, Gerber is owned by Nestle’s; but the Gerber Baby Food is still made at the Fremont, Michigan site. Fremont celebrates with the annual National Baby Food Festival. There are amusement rides, sidewalk sales, two parades, a baby crawl, pie eating contests, hula hoop contests, penny scrambles, karate demonstrations, Wii challenges, guitar hero challenges, turtle races, bubble gum blowing contests, concerts, safety seat inspections, frog jumping contests, fireman’s water battle, bingo, bike races, 5k & 10k runs, bed races, karoke, photo contests, picnics, petting zoo, chalking in the streets, information on nutrition, an arts and crafts show, pregnancy, and breast feeding, crafts for kids, clowns, a praise service on sunday…and of course, a baby food eating contest. One of the big draws is a concert by Lonestar.
As you can see, there is a little something for everyone; not to mention a whole community of stores, services, and restaurants. There is alot of great campgrounds, bed and breakfast inns, cottages for rent and there is a hotel in town as well. Fremont, Michigan has alot to recommend for a complete family experience. Do your family a favor and spend some time creating some positive family memories this summer. The festival runs from July 15th through the 19th. http://www.babyfoodfest.com/ or go to the chamber of commerce at: http://www.fremontcommerce.com/ The theme this year is America the Beautiful.
In an economy that is rife with companies moving across the borders…I say, kudos to Nestle’s (as well as, the other sponsors of the festival) for keeping true to the rich history of the Gerber Baby Food Company; and continuing to support the family values of small town America; and, the American workers who work hard to maintain the high quality for which Gerber is known for in the town where it all began. The impact of that should be an inspiration to other corporations thinking of picking up and moving out of the United States!
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