"With gas and food prices on the rise, more and more people are skipping the deli line and bringing lunch to work to save money," she writes on her new blog at ALunchTrade. "This is great, but all I hear is how boring a brown bag lunch can get and how people want something different, especially when they are stuck at their desks... something I completely relate to."
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Trump says she's got the solution. She doesn't quite make clear what it is, only that it's going to happen tomorrow.
"On October 21, I am going to start a national Lunch Trade that will leave you looking forward to savoring your mid-day meal and lunch time minutes (however few they may be)."
And the previous day...
"I am constantly on the go and often feel guilty about trading lunch for a business appointment and eating the same boring food day after day," she wrote on Oct. 14. "But, I found a solution that is going to positively impact everyone's office lunch... forever changing the way people like us think about our mid-day meal options."
"On October 21, I am going to start a national Lunch Trade that will leave you looking forward to savoring your mid-day meal and lunch time minutes (however few they may be)."
And earlier...
Good Nutrition Is in the Bag: these healthy sandwich alternatives are perfect for the lunch!"Next week, I want to make sure we make a difference, so I am working with several companies in New York and Illinois to spread the word about the Lunch Trade and reach employees who really need a fresh perspective on the office lunch.
"I am really excited about next week and hear there is buzz in break rooms across the country with employees hopeful that their corporations will be among the first to introduce a Lunch Trade. Employees are expected to gather in the lobby and plaza of these select buildings around noon for the events."
Sounds great, right? Except she's not really saying much, is she?
Here is what we do know: It'll involve "nearly 15,000 employees," it will "become one of the largest multi-company lunch trades," and it will bring "a fresh-tasting, healthy change to the office lunch."
We also know that Ivanka is just like us: "As a busy woman, I often spend lunch in a meeting or at my desk. While the lunch hour often becomes another working hour, I don't have to trade in fresh-tasting, healthy food for convenience. Now, I am choosing a fresh-tasting lunch I can feel good about, and next week, you can too!"
OK, I'm sold. I'm officially convinced that Ivanka Trump is willing to take a limo to the lobby of my office building and personally make us all tuna sandwiches and ants on a log. Maybe she'll even put little smiley faces on them, like Mom used to do.
But guess what's really going on: Ivanka Trump's the new spokeswoman for a line of microwaveable foods by ConAgra. They'll be giving out samples at the Grace Building on 42nd Street in New York City and at 1 South Wacker Drive in Chicago.
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"We wanted somebody who would appeal to a younger office worker who's technology-savvy," Michael Locascio, vice president at ConAgra told the New York Times. "We wanted someone they could identify with, someone they knew, but also not somebody that was on the front of every tabloid."
And in response to questions about whether it was appropriate to have a woman who was born into wealth discussing budget matters, he said: "We want to have her talk in a way that's credible, which is why we're talking about this as a business venture for her. Because obviously, she has resources some don't."
Brilliant marketing move, or a demonstration of ConAgra's tin ear for the complaints of the times?
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