From Field to Fork

The summer months at PMA mean many things, from vacations to the Foodservice Conference to getting ready for Fresh Summit. For me, it also means I become the unofficial distribution arm of my Dad’s annual vegetable garden.

I’m not quite sure how big the garden is, but for one person, the harvest is a lot more than he can consume. He could easily plant a smaller garden, but he’s used to the size of his plot and all the work that goes with it.

After sharing excess vegetables (usually tomatoes and cucumbers, sometimes bell peppers) with his neighbors and people from church, Dad usually brings one to three reusable plastic trays filled to the brim with produce to my house. My wife and I will select some vegetables for ourselves and then share some with our neighbors and friends. The rest goes with me to the PMA office.

The free veggies don’t last very long, as co-workers pick them for sandwiches, salads, and other dishes. One recurring comment I get (particularly from friends and relatives who don’t understand exactly what I do for a living) is how flavorful Dad’s produce is – which is only off the vine for a day or so at most. Some also comment that this time of year store-bought produce doesn’t compare to those same items direct from the garden, adding that is because the produce is picked too soon; it travels too far; etc. If our industry is to increase produce consumption, shouldn’t we be striving to give consumers the most flavorful experience with every bite?

Of course, we know that some local varieties wouldn’t make it commercially – they might not travel or store well enough. And we know that consumers – even friends and family – believe some of the myths or urban legends about how our industry operates. And, sometimes, they have a point.

Sadly, for some folks I know, having to wait for a three- to four-month window for a garden-ripe tomato or cucumber is worth it. It shouldn’t have to be, but it is. Luckily, my Dad has quite a few of them covered through the Lake Drive vegetable deal.

As you know, September is Fruits & Veggies-More Matters® Month. Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) is unveiling America’s More Matters Pledge: Fruits & Veggies . . . Today and Every Day! The online campaign encourages people to pledge to eat more nutritious fruits and vegetables for their better health and gives them the tools they need to follow through on that pledge. The online pledge was developed in support of first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move childhood obesity initiative.

People, like you and I, can take the pledge to eat more than we currently are eating, with the goal of making fruits and vegetables half your plate – meals and snacks. You can also pledge to boost fruit and vegetable availability in schools. As an industry, we provide consumers with access to fresh produce. As individuals, we can boost consumption by starting with ourselves and broadening into our families, friends, and communities.

I took the “half your plate” pledge. And when I did, I was directed to a page that had lots of tips, meal ideas, budget-stretching information, and more. The website also has a Fruit & Veggie Happenings page where your zip code is your portal to fruit and veggie related activities such as cooking demonstrations, product sampling events, and contests in your community. You can also find out how schools can add fruit and vegetable vending machines and salad bars to lunchrooms, etc.

We’ll be supporting the pledge at Fresh Summit, where the meals over the four general sessions will feature fruits and vegetables that cover half your plate. And as for snacking, if you graze well at the exposition, far more than half your snacks will be fruits and vegetables.

So take the pledge – right now, it takes less than a minute. And do spend a few minutes looking around the resources on the site. Then forward this to everyone you know – your industry colleagues, your employees, your family, your friends. Because if we’re not supporting increased consumption, then who will?

I happened to be listening to CNN in the car on August 26 when I heard reporter Dan Simon interviewing lettuce growers, safety auditors and Scott Horsfall of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement. And it was all good! He called the LGMA an example of food safety that could spread across the country. You can read the transcript – just scroll down until you see Dan Simon’s name.

In an era where food safety news is often about illness, proposed legislation or regulation, and lawsuits, it was refreshing to hear that our industry’s efforts were lifted up as a positive move that others (in our industry or elsewhere) should emulate.

Big pats on the back to everyone involved in the interviews – whether on camera or behind the scenes. It’s so important that we keep telling our stories – about taste, nutrition, safety, etc. We can use all the good press we can get!

Earlier this year, the issue of healthful food availability came to the forefront as part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign and its drive to improve childhood obesity, eliminate food deserts, and other public health initiatives. A couple of weeks ago here on Field to Fork we talked about how Philadelphia will offer farmers’ markets to underserved communities – thanks to government stimulus funds.

One area PMA has focused on is the issue of fruit and vegetable access, and during Fresh Summit in Orlando, the “Bringing More Produce to More People” workshop will address gaps in the distribution system and explore new ways to make fresh produce more accessible to more people. In addition to learning more about this issue, participants will find out how they can get involved and how incorporating these ideas into merchandising and marketing strategies can improve their bottom lines.

For a complete listing of the event’s education program, visit the Fresh Summit website and look at the schedule. If you’re planning to come to Orlando in October, remember that the deadline to register online and save is September 17. The last day to register in advance is October 1.

To give you a bit of a preview on some of what will be discussed during Fresh Summit, check out the summer 2010 issue of PMA’s FRESH magazine, where we highlighted some of our members’ efforts in the produce access arena.

Taking in a professional convention has consequences. The attendee gets a break, brings home new ideas, builds new relationships, etc. The folks back home may dread the attendee’s return because it’s likely to mean some new scheme to “do things better.”

I attended the American Society of Association Executives convention in late August. (You knew there had to be an association for association people, right?) It is great to get out of the office and learn from fellow association execs that are facing the same issues we face and are willing to share solutions. Speaker Robert B. Tucker focused on innovative thinking. He talked about making innovation a systematic process, implementing idea management systems, collaborating with customers and suppliers, creating metrics and rewards, and involving everyone in the enterprise.

Tucker noted that there’s no such thing as a commodity (an undistinguished item in a sea of like items), just tired marketers. He stressed looking for new markets and new distribution channels. He challenged listeners to look outside their industry to find value and impact.

He also used a twist on a phrase that I liked. Tucker said we should ask ourselves “different” questions as we seek to innovate. That rang true with me – more so than the admonition to ask “better” questions, which makes a negative value judgment about the questions we’re already asking. Not only does this eliminate the value judgment, it also encourages us to open new lines of questioning that may lead to different paths, hence to innovation. So the next time you’re tempted to scour your brain for a “better” question, just let your mind wander to a “different” question and see where that gets you.

I enjoy getting out with my colleagues, examining common (or not-so-common) issues, and finding new ways to improve how I do my job. You’ve got that opportunity coming up as well. Come to Fresh Summit, October 15 to 18 in Orlando. Get out from behind your desk, engage on issues, and build relationships (new and established). Give yourself the mental and physical space to discover and develop the great idea that’s going to take your business to the next level.

PMA is working to strengthen the global marketplace for your products. The fresh produce and floral industries certainly are part of a global, integrated business system that is essential for year-round availability for consumers and business/distribution options for businesses. Recently several PMA staff met with U.S. Commerce Department officials to look for ways we can work together for mutual benefit. We also wanted to explore the resources our members can use to help their businesses.

As with the USDA and other federal agencies, a lot of work goes into these resources, and the Internet makes them more readily and easily available than when we all pored over print materials. You’ve heard of the National Export Initiative (NEI) that seeks to double U.S. exports over five years. Poking around in the department’s export resources you’ll find information on the NEI, basics about exporting, market research, trade leads and more. Whether you’re new to exporting or looking for broader markets, you’ll find resources that can expand your company’s horizons.

You’ll also find opportunities to network with buyers from around the world at Fresh Summit in Orlando, October 15 to 18, so be sure you’re there. Whether we’re talking about global business or local foods, fresh produce is at the heart of most food discussions. We’re part of health solutions, trade solutions, and business solutions. It’s not always easy to operate in such a complex environment.

You already take advantage of some of PMA’s resources (or you wouldn’t be reading this blog). Be sure you capitalize on all of them, and be sure you’re tapping the array of resources the U.S. government has to offer. After all, you helped pay for them.

Field to Fork regularly invites PMA members to tell us your stories – mostly recently, we’ve invited you to tell us how your business is promoting sustainability, and how you are promoting access to healthy fruits and vegetables. This past weekend I was reminded of the real-world consequences when our industry doesn’t tell our story – or worse, when we let others control how our industry is depicted.

My fiancé and I had stumbled quite accidentally on a small tapas restaurant in Chicago, and were absolutely delighting in incredible dish after dish prepared right in front of us. (We’d opted to sit at the bar, which as luck would have it also turned out to double as the finishing line in this small store). It was immediately clear to us that the menu had been prepared with love and ingredients chosen with care, and we foodies were in absolute heaven to be so surprised and delighted. So being a writer at heart, I simply had to find out this place’s story. Fortunately the assistant manager and sous chef was working right in front of us, and was quite happy to recount how the stars had aligned to allow the opening only two months ago of what turned out to be a second location of the owner and chef.

As the evening progressed, we queried her about ingredients. What was this leafy green? What kind of apples were these, and from where? (My fiancé is an apple grower and marketer.) As she educated us, we also learned a lot about her perceptions about produce – and her misperceptions. While she was well educated about food and health in general, a knowledge likely driven by her own celiac disease, she had bought into Dirty Dozen-type reports. She also thought that “organic” meant pesticide-free. This was a woman who works in the food industry, and has the ability to impact the dietary habits of easily thousands of people in an average year.

Simply put, we must do a better job of telling our story, folks – and at a minimum, not letting other folks tell our stories for us (often to our detriment). If you don’t already know this, telling our story has many benefits – both intangible, such as building goodwill that can help you in times of potential industry crisis, as I recently saw Earthbound Farms do artfully – and tangible, by helping us overcome misperceptions that limit our markets. And PMA can help you; your PMA staff includes several public relations experts who can help you do so, just give us a call, we are at your service. We can also introduce you about the resources available to help you better understand consumers, including our extensive consumer research library. We look forward to hearing from you.

(Our upcoming Fresh Summit will feature lots of programming on the subject of telling your story – from President & CEO Bryan Silbermann’s annual State of the Industry address to provide you with inspiration, to workshops to provide you with the skills. For more information, visit our Fresh Summit website.)

And if you want to know where to get really good tapas in Chicago, just let me know, I’ll be glad to share their contact information.

In last year’s in-depth consumer research study, PMA found that the primary reasons consumers purchase locally grown produce is for freshness, taste, and quality. Shoppers also told us they buy local to support local farmers and the community/economy. Interestingly, food safety was a reason that ranked low among for buying local. Combine these trends with an increased focus on knowing one’s farmer and food source via federal programs, and the locally grown trend shows no signs of slowing down.

During the PMA Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition, we’ll look at this trend and examine the numerous benefits - and risks - associated with it during the “Keeping it Local: The Pros and Cons of Local Sourcing” workshop. If you’re headed to Orlando in October, join us for a panel discussion that will take a frank look at the good and the bad of local sourcing, including finding local partners, identifying potential savings, meeting quality and safety standards, and determining if a local sourcing strategy is the smartest move for your business.

For a complete listing of the event’s education program, visit the Fresh Summit website and look at the schedule. If you’re planning to come to Orlando in October, remember that the deadline to register online and save is September 17. The last day to register in advance is October 1.

In the meantime, check out this recent opinion piece from the New York Times as some food for thought and different perspective on the local trend.

What do sweet corn, pistachios, oranges, grapefruit, and apples have in common? They’re the latest fresh produce additions to the Mexican tariff retaliation efforts. As you know, the U.S. Congress stopped a cross-border trucking safety pilot project run by the U.S. Department of Transportation by eliminating funding for the project in early 2009. This prompted Mexico to announce retaliatory tariffs on U.S. manufactured and agricultural exports to Mexico, including several produce crops. In mid-August, Mexico added new items, including these five produce commodities, to the list in an effort to pressure the United States to take action.

This has been going on for about 18 months now, and the products involved are either not moving into Mexico or are moving at significantly reduced levels. That’s enough of a problem, but the longer the stalemate lasts, the more other trading partners are filling the supply gaps in Mexico left by a lack of U.S. product. Those trading relationships continue to strengthen and may replace the U.S. supplier – Mexican buyer relationships for the long haul. We continue to urge the Obama administration to resolve this.

In addition, the Alliance to Keep U.S. Jobs (of which PMA is a member) continues to urge the Administration to do what it takes to solve this problem. Beyond the trade issues, this issue has resulted in more than 25,000 jobs being threatened or lost.

In the 2008 farm bill, $20 million was provided to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service for pilot projects to evaluate health and nutrition promotion in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP—formerly the Food Stamp Program]. Under this legislation, funds are targeted to support projects that provide incentives at the point of purchase to encourage households participating in the SNAP to purchase fruits, vegetables, or other healthful foods.

One such project is the Healthy Incentives Pilot. Yesterday, the USDA announced that Hampden County, Massachusetts, will conduct the first-ever Healthy Incentives Pilot. In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack noted that “this pilot project will empower low-income Americans to eat more nutritious food and has the potential to strengthen the SNAP program that serves as a critical safety net to the most vulnerable in our society. Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, especially in the place of higher calorie foods, can help move America towards healthier lifestyles and a healthier future.”

HIP will enroll 7,500 randomly selected SNAP households to receive incentives. For every dollar participants spend on fruits and vegetables using their SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, 30 cents will be added to their benefit balance - thus cutting the cost of fruits and vegetables by almost one-third. After the pilot ends, an evaluation will focus on whether incentives increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables and how participants’ overall diets are affected. Researchers will also study HIP effects on the State, retailers, and other SNAP stakeholders and assess the feasibility of implementing HIP nationwide.

If the pilot program is a success, it could be implemented nationally. More than 30 million people (significantly more during the recession) receive SNAP benefits. If they eat more produce, that’s a win for them and our industry.