Lorelei DiSogra, Ed.D., R.D., Vice President, Nutrition and Health at United Fresh Produce Association, will be the honoree and featured speaker at the Reception Honoring Women in Produce, Wednesday, June 14, at United Fresh 2017 in Chicago. Prior to her decade of service to the industry at United Fresh, Lorelei was the Director of the National 5 A Day Program at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) from 2001-2005, Vice President of Nutrition at Dole Food Company from 1991-2001, and the Director of Intervention for the California 5 A Day Campaign from 1985-1991.
The Reception Honoring Women in Produce is held each year in conjunction with the United Fresh convention and expo. The event recognizes the contributions of all women working in the produce industry, and selects one individual to share her personal experience of service. The featured speaker is selected from nominations submitted by United Fresh members across the industry. Nominations are evaluated by a committee of past honorees and United Fresh officers based on the candidate’s involvement in the industry, contributions to the industry, and inspiration for others working in the industry.
“Lorelei has been a relentless advocate for the produce industry in service to a greater public health mission,” said United Fresh President & CEO Tom Stenzel. “She has worked tirelessly to increase children’s fresh fruit and vegetable consumption throughout her career. I’m thrilled that a distinguished group of past honorees wanted her to share her passion that has inspired so many of our industry members over the last four decades.”
After launching the “5 a Day” campaign for the state of California, the first public-private partnership between produce growers and public health officials, Lorelei started her produce career at Dole Food Company where she developed the very popular “5 a Day Adventures” CD-ROM, one of the first CD-ROMs ever developed, which was used in more than 70% of all elementary schools nationwide. To make fruits and vegetables come alive for children, DiSogra developed “Bobby Banana” and 40 other fruit and vegetable characters who encouraged kids to eat “5 fruits and vegetables a day.” Bobby Banana, and Pamela Pineapple became marketing icons for Dole. To encourage supermarket retailers to engage local schools and play a leadership role in their communities, DiSogra developed “5 a Day Supermarket Tours” and trained produce managers nationwide on how to conduct the school tours. Working with a leading San Francisco-based composer, DiSogra created a “Jammin’ 5 a Day Songs” CD for schools; the music was used on the CD-ROM, became the impetus for the “5 a Day Live” play for schools, and was performed at the White House.
During her career at NCI, Lorelei collaborated with USDA to implement the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) pilot, which United Fresh had worked to pass in Congress, and developed the first Salad Bar Guide for Schools. Prior to the release of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, DiSogra did the formative research to develop the "fruits and vegetables ½ your plate" message. She joined United Fresh in 2005, where she worked to further expand the FFVP to schools in all 50 states, and to revise WIC Food Packages to include fresh fruits and vegetables. Continuing her focus on increasing children’s fruits and vegetables consumption, Lorelei worked to update school meal nutrition standards that doubled the amount of fruits and vegetables to the benefit of more than 32 million students a day.
As one of the creators of Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools, Lorelei collaborated with the Obama White House, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the salad bar founding partners, United Fresh members and health foundations to make salad bars the norm in schools nationwide to ensure children have access to a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables every day at school lunch. To date, more than 5,000 salad bars had been donated to schools across the country.
Lorelei holds a Doctoral Degree in Nutrition Education and a Master’s Degree in Public Health Nutrition and Nutrition Education from Columbia University and is an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Public Health Association.
The Reception Honoring Women in Produce is one of the most popular networking events at the United Fresh annual convention. Tickets are required for the event, and are included in the All Access Package. For more information about the reception, contact United Fresh Senior Director of Member Programs & Education, Amanda Griffin at agriffin@unitedfresh.org or 202-303-3412.
Contact:
Mary Coppola
United Fresh
Tel: 202-303-3425