WASHINGTON, DC & NEWARK, DE - This year’s International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) Foodservice Conference is said to have a focus on K–12 school programs, but to what extent? Building consumption amongst children is a top goal, and the Conference will feature a new buyer segment this year with K–12 menu planners from some of the nation’s largest school districts.

“Every school day, nearly 31 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program, with individual school districts serving meals to thousands, and sometimes tens-of-thousands of children each day,” said Andrew Marshall, IFPA’s Staff Liaison for wholesaler-distributor members, and lead staffer on engagement with the K–12 school nutrition community. “We look forward to welcoming this important community of buyers and creating opportunities for them to connect, share, and learn about the industry, while getting ideas about new ways to introduce and excite students with fresh produce.”

Representing school district menu planners, chefs, and procurement professionals, the buyers will participate as part of the K–12 School Forum, which includes special programming to connect school participants with the produce industry. Another program that is dedicated to providing not only fresh produce but nutrition education to children and their families is Brighter Bites. According to a press release, the organization will be celebrating its 10^th birthday this year and hosted a virtual wine auction yesterday.

Overall, the program has distributed over 50 million pounds of produce and millions of nutrition education materials to more than half a million individuals.

“Brighter Bites recognizes that creating healthy eating habits is more than just solving access to healthy foods,” said Brighter Bites Chief Executive Officer, Rich Dachman. “It’s critical to also create an opportunity for children and families to learn about nutrition and the benefits of produce while also learning how to prepare and enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables. We are proud to be a part of this year’s Foodservice Conference where we will host the Brighter Bites Wine for a Cause virtual wine auction. All proceeds will provide us with the resources to impact more families across the country.”

Foodservice Conference registration is still open here.

The ANUK team will be making our rounds, so keep an eye out for us!

International Fresh Produce Association Brighter Bites