For the second year, The United Fresh Start Foundation is pleased to host The Produce Forum for School Success, a program at United Fresh 2016 to connect produce companies with leading K-12 school foodservice buyers. The Produce Forum for School Success supports the United Fresh Start Foundation’s mission to increase children’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
“The Produce Forum for School Success will provide an excellent opportunity to connect school foodservice leaders with produce industry innovators,” said Andrew Marshall, Director of Foundation Programs & Partnerships, United Fresh Produce Association. “Over the past few years we have worked to develop strong relationships with school foodservice professionals from across the country. The United Fresh convention enables school buyers to taste new fruit and veggie products, see innovative foodservice packaging options and share creative ideas and best practices with regard to serving fresh produce.”
The Urban School Food Alliance, an organization representing foodservice administrators from the nation’s six largest school districts, will once again be present in Chicago where they have coordinated their summer meeting to coincide with the United Fresh convention for the past two years. They will walk the United Fresh trade show floor and attend The Produce Forum for School Success programming.
According to Penny Parham, Administrative Director, Department of Food and Nutrition, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, “The United Fresh convention provides a great opportunity to interact with the fresh produce industry and see new healthy snack and meal solutions. We are always looking for ways to encourage our students to enjoy their fresh fruits and veggies, whether that’s part of a salad bar, grab n’ go meal or snack.”
“I attended The Produce Forum for School Success last year, and I valued the networking opportunities and being able to share the work we are doing in our district to encourage students to select fresh fruits and veggies,” said Amy Droegemeier, Director of Student Nutrition, De Soto Unified School District No. 232 (De Soto, KS). “Also, it’s always good to see and taste new products, so when I get back to my district I can talk with my produce distributor about how to potentially incorporate more fresh produce choices on my menu.”
Registration for the Untied Fresh convention and expo is available at www.unitedfreshshow.org. For more information about The Produce Forum for School Success or The Fresh Festival for School Foodservice, contact Andrew Marshall at 202-303-3407.
For more information:
Mary Coppola
United Fresh
+1 202 303 3425