Frozen meal brand Healthy Choice has teamed up with the Food Network for a half-hour show teaching Canadians about the importance of lunch.

The show, Let’s Do Lunch, premiered Nov. 6 as part of a two-hour special about lunch and is available on the Food Network’s VOD channel and the Healthy Choice Facebook page. The block of shows will be repeated twice in February. The show is hosted by Sandi Richard, a meal-planning expert, author and Food Network personality.

Let’s Do Lunch, which was developed by Shaw Media and funded by Healthy Choice’s parent company, ConAgra Foods Canada, includes the use of a Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamers dish.

The integration came about after Healthy Choice conducted a survey that revealed 85% of Canadians were skipping lunch on a regular basis, says Chanel Hall, senior brand manager for Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamers, ConAgra Canada.

‘There isn’t a lot of attention given to lunch, but it’s really important, and we wanted to shed some light on that a little bit, and we thought this would be a great way to do it,’ she says.

Let’s Do Lunch is the centrepiece of a larger push by the relatively new Healthy Choice label.

Fifteen-second vignettes promoting the product line are airing on the Food Network, HGTV Canada and Slice, and there were 30-second spots promoting the show and Healthy Choice.

Online, the company is focusing on its Facebook page, where fitness and nutrition experts and life coaches are writing about the importance of lunch and how visitors can find balance in their lives. The company has also bought ad space on the websites of the Food Network, Canadian Living and the Yummy Mummy Club.

Starcom MediaVest did the media buy, and the creative was handled by Shaw Media Group.