This toolkit is designed to help you get started with your local Summer Food Safety campaign. In this toolkit you will find the core components needed to launch the campaign to promote safe food handling behavior during the summer season.

We have organized the media messages to help make your campaign informative, helpful and fun. Resources include:

• Press Release Template – A general press release that can be personalized by your organization to email to local news outlets, radio, newspapers and blogs
• Talking Points – Food safety talking points that can be used by your organization for media interviews
• Pitch Email Template – A pitch email can be sent to local news outlets and radio stations to request an interview with the head of the organization to promote food safety
• Consumer Fact Sheets and Publication Requests – Links to consumer food safety fact sheets and publications available at no charge
• Blogs
• Social Media – Suggested posts and links to USDA FSIS social media accounts are included to help spread the word about food safety during the summer
• Videos
• Infographics

To encourage co-branding, you may add your organization’s name to outreach materials and media resources. We have also included feature articles for submission to newsletters or to your local newspaper, along with talking points for interviews or speeches. A gallery of photographs and infographics are available through the FSIS Flickr site.

Please refer to the following guidelines for usage of the USDA logo, colors, and fonts. These materials are available to you at no charge, but any and all uses must conform to these guidelines. Contact USDA for approval of other uses or applications by writing to: fsis.outreach@usda.gov.

The USDA logo shall be reproduced in either one or two colors. The official colors for the USDA symbol are dark blue (PMS 288) and dark green (PMS 343). When reproduced in one color, the symbol shall be black. When the symbol is placed on a color field, it should be reversed to white.

The USDA symbol is designated for display on all information products of the Department. To ensure maximum visibility, the preferred position of the symbol on most information products is the top left corner.

When used in conjunction with symbol of other public and/or private-sector partners, the logo should be given equal placement and may be displayed without the Department name. If all of the symbols represent Federal organizations, the symbols should be placed in alphabetical order. If the organizations are a mix of Federal and non-Federal, the lead Federal agency symbol should appear first with the remaining symbols ordered as dictated by the situation.

The [NAME OF ORGANIZATION] has teamed up with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service to promote food safety during the summer.

We have food safety experts available to help answer questions your [READERS/LISTENERS] may have, including:

• How can I reduce my risk of foodborne illness during summer months?
• How do I know when my hamburgers and other meat and poultry items are done when grilling?
• How long will my leftovers last in the refrigerator before they go bad?

By answering these questions and many others, we can help keep families free from food poisoning this holiday.  Please let us know what days and times work for you to schedule an on-air interview. If you would like, we can also provide pre-recorded interviews that can air at your convenience.

Thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you.

[NAME OF INDIVIDUAL]
[TITLE]
[NAME OF ORGANIZATION]