SAN DIEGO – Today, the United Fresh Produce Association announced the landmark donation of salad bars to 436 California schools. The donation will benefit 300,000 California students who will now have access to a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables every day at lunch. United Fresh made the announcement at the Let’s Move Salad Bars to California Schools Celebration press conference in San Diego, which brought together government, education and child nutrition officials, school food service directors from throughout California, students from San Diego area schools, and more than 100 produce industry and foundation donors. The Let’s Move Salad Bars to California Schools Celebration was held on the opening day of the United Fresh 2013 annual produce convention at the San Diego Convention Center.
The schools receiving salad bars are located in 71 school districts throughout CA – from Humboldt County in the north to San Diego and Imperial County in the south, and from the Bay Area to Tuolumne County in the east. School foodservice directors from 37 of those districts attended the event and were recognized as “salad bar superstars” and leaders on the front line in increasing children’s consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The goal of United’s Let’s Move Salad Bars to California Schools campaign is to increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption and improve their health by donating salad bars to schools throughout California. Over the past year, this campaign has collaborated with TEAM California for Healthy Kids and the California Department of Education to meet that shared goal. State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, who spearheads TEAM California for Healthy Kids, gave keynote remarks at the event, noting that salad bars are an integral piece to supporting increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Torlakson also emphasized the positive impact that the donation will have on 300,000 school children in the state and shared his vision for continuing to build on the momentum of Let’s Move Salad Bars to California Schools.
“When our students aren’t healthy, they are less likely to be in class and learning,” Torlakson said. “With Team California for Healthy Kids, we are working to ensure our kids have access to nutritious food, clean water and physical exercise – so that the right choices are easy choices. That’s why I applaud the effort to make fresh fruits and vegetables available right in the lunchroom.”
“This remarkable donation of salad bars to 436 California schools truly demonstrates the power of public-private partnerships to improve child nutrition. Produce industry leaders, businesses, and foundations all came together to support increasing children’s fresh fruit and vegetable consumption,” said United Fresh CEO Tom Stenzel. “These salad bars will transform school cafeterias and help 300,000 students develop healthier eating habits that will last a lifetime.”
“Receiving salad bars from Let’s Move Salad Bars to California Schools has afforded us the ability to implement changes that are transforming the way that students eat on a daily basis. The fresh, vibrant salad bars look amazing. They are stocked with a wide variety of fresh produce items and have led to increased lunch participation at each site where we have implemented these beautiful and generously donated salad bars,” said Brad Knipscheer, director of nutrition services at Hemet Unified School District. His district has received 14 salad bars from Let’s Move Salad Bars to California Schools, and recently received national recognition for leadership in improving healthfulness of school meals.
A complete list of California school districts receiving salad bars is available here.
“This donation was made possible by the generosity of more than 100 produce industry leaders, retail partners, businesses and foundations,” said Stenzel. “And a special thank you to the four California campaign co-chairs Karen Caplan, President and CEO, Frieda’s Inc.; Margaret D’Arrigo-Martin, Vice President of Community Development, Taylor Farms; Lisa McNeece, Vice President of Foodservice and Industrial Sales; and Dick Spezzano, President, Spezzano Consulting; who rallied support and built momentum for this effort.”
A complete list of donors to the Let’s Move Salad Bars to California Schools campaign is available here.
Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools supports First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative to end childhood obesity within a generation. United Fresh is a founding partner of the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative, which has a goal of donating salad bars to 6,000 schools nationwide. Research and experience in schools across the country demonstrates that children significantly increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables when given a variety of choices in a school fruit and vegetable salad bar. When offered multiple fruit and vegetable choices, children respond by incorporating greater variety and increasing their overall consumption.
Over the last several years, United Fresh has been a driving force behind the nationwide adoption of school fruit and vegetable salad bars as a proven strategy for significantly increasing children’s produce consumption.
Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools is a public health campaign to increase salad bars in schools across the country so that every child has the choice of healthy fruits and vegetables every day at school. Lets Move Salad Bars to Schools supports First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative. Founding partners are: United Fresh Produce Association Foundation, National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, Food Family Farming Foundation, and Whole Foods Market. More information can be found online at www.saladbars2schools.org.
Founded in 1904, the United Fresh Produce Association serves companies at the forefront of the global fresh and fresh-cut produce industry, including growers, shippers, fresh-cut processors, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, foodservice operators, industry suppliers and allied associations. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and Western Regional office in Salinas, Calif., United Fresh and its members work year-round to make a difference for the produce industry by driving policies that increase consumption of fresh produce, shaping critical legislative and regulatory action, providing scientific and technical leadership in food safety, quality assurance, nutrition and health, and developing educational programs and business opportunities to assist member companies in growing successful businesses. For more information, visit www.unitedfresh.org or call 202-303-3400.
Source: United Fresh Produce Association