From Field to Fork

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.

As more consumers incorporate social media and mobile technology into their daily lives, how can the produce industry capitalize on this trend to sell more fruits and vegetables? In the August 9 issue of Supermarket News, I read how a Seattle retailer is combining smart phones and bar codes in an effort to boost sales.

PCC Natural Markets will be testing QR (quick response) codes, which contain more data than standard bar codes and can also be read to display text, video, or a Web page. PCC plans to test the QR codes in shelf talkers for melons and avocados in the produce department. The SN story explains that “once a shopper snaps a photo of a QR code with their smart phone, a two-minute, how-to video will appear on the phone’s screen. The videos will provide tips on how to select, cut, and serve the fruit.”

In addition to piloting the QR codes, PCC is also utilizing Google Maps (each time someone visits the retailer’s website and looks up store locations, a coupon pops up that offers a deli discount) and Foursquare (which gives users points and rewards for frequent ‘check ins’ at store locations) to generate new and repeat business.

PMA consumer research has shown that the quality of a supermarket’s produce department plays a large part in making it a shopper’s favorite destination. When you combine that with new technologies like the QR code, it opens a world of possibilities when it comes to giving consumers more information about the fruits and vegetables in front of them at the point of sale as they browse the department.

And while the use of QR codes in produce might seem a bit high-tech, keep in mind that a recently published “mindset list” about incoming college students claims that, for this group, e-mail is just too slow, and they seldom if ever use snail mail. Used to having instant access to information, this demographic represents the future consumers to whom we’re trying to sell our products, and interactive or mobile technologies may provide a way to reach them.

Often on Field to Fork when we share sustainability stories, those items come from growers, processors, and distributors; however, retailers are also taking strides to become more sustainable. Recently I read that three of Weis Markets’ new stores will incorporate technologies and systems to reduce store refrigerant charges (usage) to 50 percent less than a typical supermarket. This change will decrease the stores’ impact on the ozone layer.

Also at Weis, their Carlisle Street store in Hanover, Pennsylvania, was the first supermarket in the state to earn a certification award from the GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership, a voluntary Environmental Protection Agency alliance with food retailers to reduce refrigerant emissions. Specifically, the Hanover store installed a glycol refrigeration system, which reduces refrigerant charge to less than half of what a typical supermarket uses. In a statement, Weis Markets noted that just 35 of the nation’s 35,000 grocery stores have received EPA’s GreenChill Store Certification awards.

In addition to changing its refrigerant use, Weis also recycles 14 million pounds of cardboard and one million pounds of plastic bags throughout its retail operations. Although there are no Weis Markets in our area, at the stores where my wife and I buy groceries each week, I see more and more retailers offering eco-friendly reusable bags in lieu of the standard plastic bags, as well as drop-off bins for plastic bag recycling.

Little steps like these can make a difference. What about your organization? Do you have a sustainability story or video you’d like to share with us and other PMA members? If so, please let us know. In the meantime, for more industry sustainability success stories and videos, visit the PMA website.

Following last week’s successful traceability symposium in Grand Rapids, Michigan, PMA will continue the discussions and implications of this food safety technology during our upcoming Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition, October 15 to 18 in Orlando, Florida. Two traceability workshops are on the agenda:

• Traceability in the Real World: Find out first-hand from companies that have already implemented the produce traceability initiative with great success. In this session, an entire supply chain panel, from growers to retailers, will share their findings, discuss how traceability worked for them, and provide invaluable insights as to what you can expect when the traceability initiative takes effect.
• From the “How” to the “Why”- A New Look at Traceability: Since the initiative’s launch a few years ago, a lot of attention has been on “how” companies can implement traceability, but not much focus has been on the “why” (the business implications and benefits). Come to this session and join industry members in a group discussion to learn why traceability is a smart strategy for your business.

For a complete listing of the event’s education program, visit the Fresh Summit Web site 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.

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I had a local news station on the television and I learned that underserved communities in Philadelphia will be receiving more access to fresh produce. These community farmers’ markets will be financed by a portion of $15 million worth of stimulus funds coming to city.

As the morning show anchors discussed how this is a great thing for families in those neighborhoods (because it’s so much easier to by chips and a soda than it is to buy fresh fruit), a representative from the Philadelphia Business Journal said that The Food Trust in Philadelphia is helping decide where to place the farmers’ markets and, where they can’t go, more fresh produce will be made available to corner stores.

On a related note, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network researchers are teaming up with a supermarket chain for a pilot study aimed at encouraging families to eat healthier. This pilot program includes coupons for free fruits and vegetables.

We periodically talk about access issues here on Field to Fork, and while many PMA members have taken steps to dry up “food deserts,” we’d like to know more about what our members are doing in this arena. Has your company launched initiatives to improve access to fresh produce? If so, please let us know. Similar to what we’ve done with sustainability, we’ll be highlighting members’ access “success stories” here on the blog and elsewhere.

Researchers have found that people who read food labels have healthier diets than those who don’t pay attention to such information. Scientists analyzed data from the 2005-06 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and found that 61.6 percent of respondents said they read the nutrition facts panels, 51.6 percent examine the list of ingredients, 47.2 percent read the serving size, and 43.8 percent review health claims at least sometimes when deciding whether to buy a food product.

Study authors noted that, if the food label is to have a greater public health impact, rates of use will likely need to be increased among U.S. adults. To have this impact, the food label may need to be modified.

We noted here on Field to Fork a few months ago that FDA was considering issues related to nutritional labeling placement on food packages, possibly moving the location from a back-of-the-package strategy to a voluntary front-of-package labeling strategy. We’re presently monitoring FDA actions on this labeling concept. Concerning nutrition labeling and nutrition facts, PMA has resources for our members on this topic.

On a personal note, the issue of front of package (and to some degree, nutrition) labeling hit home last weekend. As she prepared our almost 11-month-old’s dinner, my wife gave her a broken-up rice cake to nibble on; she had eaten rice cakes before at daycare. Since we were in a hurry at the store when we bought the snack, we scanned the nutrition facts box and not the ingredients list. Unbeknownst to us, our selection contained sucralose (an artificial sweetener).

Upon seeing the sucralose listing, my wife exclaimed that this kind of information should be on the front of the package so shoppers can know and make better choices. She then replaced the rice cakes on our daughter’s high chair with tiny cut watermelon pieces – which ended up being not only a better nutritional choice but much more fun to eat and play with (and throw on the floor) than the dry rice cakes.

In this business, you never know when professional and personal worlds will bump into each other.

I live in a development with a community association. The rules we have make our community a very nice place to live. They also sometimes make me think that the board is a bunch of retired CEOs who have lost their power base and are using our community to be the Big Boss. But that’s not why I’m writing this.

We recently had a referendum to change each of two documents – the Declarations and the Bylaws. We dropped our votes off at the office and had a couple of weeks to vote. As with many elections, some folks just voted for it because the Board said to do so. Others read everything and made a more-informed choice.

We got the results: Both sets of changes were approved. One measure passed by one vote and the other passed by two votes. That alone is proof that your votes and voices count. A couple of days later, we heard that the board had had the vote audited because it was so close. And the audit showed two homes voted twice. One measure passed; the other failed.

So what does this have to do with our day jobs? We need to be sure that the folks who have power over how we operate understand the realities of our operations so that they can make good decisions. Here at PMA, we have an easy way for you to do that: Grassroots Organized to Win (GROW). You can join this free group at PMA to get alerts when Congress or the U.S. federal agencies are considering actions that would affect your business. We’ll give you talking points, and we offer a three-minute online Advocacy Action Center to communicate with your legislators and regulators. You can use it for issues we alert you to and you can use it anytime you have something to say.

Make sure your voice is heard.

In last year’s PMA Healthy Eating Trends 2009 report, the study found that few consumers (due to the economy) are moving away from fresh produce, but what they are doing is making adjustments among categories of fresh fruits and vegetables, toward varieties they recognize and depend on. On a larger scale, the economic environment has caused consumers to change their purchasing behavior. They’re spending less money on impulse purchases and more time at home. But will these new habits continue as the economy changes?

At Fresh Summit, join The Supermarket Guru, Phil Lempert, as he explores potential scenarios for consumer spending in the next few years with a focus on how these scenarios will impact the produce industry and your company’s business model. During the “Consumer Behavior: What’s Next?” workshop, learn what the produce industry is likely to look like in the future, and what challenges and opportunities your business will face as a result of future consumer spending patterns.

For a complete listing of the event’s education program, visit the Fresh Summit Web site 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.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced there’s been 16 percent growth in the number of U.S. farmers markets over the 2009 figure, with 6,132 farmers markets open for business in 2010. The top ten states with the most farmers markets are: California (580), New York (461), Illinois (286), Michigan (271), Iowa (229), Massachusetts (227), Ohio (213), Wisconsin (204), Pennsylvania (203) and North Carolina (182).

Growth in farmers markets isn’t surprising as consumers continue to make connections with the foods they eat. Last year, PMA research found that 35 percent of consumers buy their fresh produce at farmers markets as their primary buying channel.

Here in Delaware (as I’m sure it is in your state), there are probably a number of farmers markets – 12 for us, per the USDA database – combined with a slew of informal roadside stands highlighting seasonal fruits and vegetables. As I ride my bike during the week, I see some roadside stands that consist of nothing more than a card table with fresh produce in various containers in someone’s front yard, while others are more elaborate. No matter the format, these sellers are giving consumers more access to fresh produce – consumption of which is even more important in light of the dire obesity news released by CDC this week.

To learn more, visit the USDA National Farmers Market Directory, which can be searched by state, county, zip code and participation in federal nutrition assistance programs.