History On Gerber Baby Food

Summer Celebration officials: This is a make or break year

After enduring criticism of a stale festival with a lackluster parade and mounting debt, organizers in 1992 had reached a crossroads: Either reinvent Muskegon’s annual summer festival or call it quits.

“We all feel the pressure that we have the responsibility to either continue the festival or kill it,” said the festival board president at the time.

But with community supporters stepping up to help erase the debt, the decision was made to continue with a new and improved festival.

So in 1993, Muskegon Summer Celebration was born — making its debut as the successor to the Great Lumbertown Music Festival.

But it just as easily could have been 2010. After 18 years later, the festival that began with such promise and optimism faced life-or-death decisions last year.

An air fair included as part of the festival for the first time was a big money loser, concert pass sales were disappointing and two large sponsors pulled out. The festival faced a $250,000 deficit.

“We want to preserve a summer festival in Muskegon,” festival President Tim Achterhoff said last November, echoing the concerns felt by former board President Ron Gossett in 1993.

Once again, the community stepped up to help take care of the deficit, and organizers believe they succeeded in reviving the festival as an affordable, family-friendly community social event and tourism draw.

The parade and air fair were eliminated, and the 11-day festival was pared down to nine days.

“We went through a lot of discussion over the winter about how to fix it,” Achterhoff said last week.

Whether the Summer Celebration board succeeded in turning around the festival, which Sunday enters the fourth day of its 19th season, remains to be seen. Summer Celebration organizers and volunteers are hoping that history repeats itself.

After its 1993 debut, there were plenty of accolades for Muskegon’s new summer party. The Chronicle editorialized that the festival had come “full circle ... from near-disaster to rousing success.”

This year, however, the stakes are a lot higher.

Without Muskegon Summer Celebration, which organizers say must at least break even to return next year, the local economy stands to lose an estimated $8 million to $12 million.

Music critics

According to today’s standards, the first Muskegon Summer Celebration was a quaint affair, with a children’s parade, community pet show and one musical headliner: The Marshall Tucker Band. Its total budget was $170,000, and admission to the concert was $2.

Free Good Start Coupons. Online Printable Good Start Infant ...

Good Start is a powdered milk formula for infants and babies that is manufactured by Gerber’s. There are several Good Start formulas:

Good Start Protect Plus powdered formula is for babies 0 to 12 months. Water is added to the easily digested formula that contains DHA and ARA for healthy brain and eye development. It contains natural probiotics.

Good Start Soy Plus powdered formula has all the benefits of Good Start Protect Plus, but is milk and lactose free and contains soy proteins. Good Start Gentle Plus powdered formula has easy to digest proteins along with nutrition for natural immune system support.

The powdered formulas also come in ready to drink cans for the convenience of mothers. While Gerber recommends breast feeding for babies and provides a wealth of information about breast feeding, their formulas include antioxidants and vitamins that are found in natural breast milk.

Good Start products are a great supplement to breast milk for moms, as well as a natural, gentle formula for the mothers who must use baby milk formulas.

The Good Start Soy product is for babies who may have allergic reactions to regular milk. Gerber’s has a long history and tradition of providing products that are gentle to babies and supportive of a mother’s decision to use formula-based milk products.

Gerber Products Company started in 1927 when Daniel and Dorothy Gerber were making baby food from solid foods in their kitchen.

They wanted their 7-month old daughter to eat healthy fruits and vegetables, so incorporated a baby food line of foods in their canning business in Michigan after workers started requesting samples of their strained foods for their babies. Gerber baby food was launched to a high demand and great success.

Many years earlier Henri Nestle was a pharmacist who was consulted about a neighbor’s child who could not take breast milk. Mr. Nestle made a special mixture for the baby and the very first company that made food for infants, Farine Lactee Henry Nestle, was started in 1867.

When, in September 2007 Nestlé’s bought Gerber, it was a perfect match. Two companies that were established leaders in baby food products and childhood nutrition joined together to help improve the eating and nutrition habits of infants, toddlers, and young children, especially in economically deprived and struggling areas throughout the world.

Gerber has products, nutritional guidelines, and a stage-based system that encourages healthy eating for children. Selecting the right foods and formulas for children is made easy through the Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Nutrition program.

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