Page 106 - January_2019

Hofmann, PWPM marketing coordinator, who noted PWPM’s advantages of cold chain integrity, cleanliness and conve- nience. “Our market holds a unique place among produce markets world-wide,” she said. “Our temperature-controlled facility allows our merchants to more ef ciently control and handle product. The clean and walkable concourse is easy to shop and compare. The experience of our merchants means they know their customers and can serve their needs.”
The market draws customers from New York to Virginia because of its technology and convenience. “Our location near the port and major highways makes for easy transpor- tation arrangements,” Hofmann said.
Participants walked the concourse of the fully refrigerated 700,000-square-foot facility, visiting the various show rooms and coolers of its 22 merchants as well as some on-site ripening rooms. After the wholesale market, the participants visited Wegmans store in Cherry Hill, NJ.
‘Thanks to the show and our partner, City Harvest, our families received gorgeous items such as cauli ower, pomegranates and persimmons. Many have never even seen these items much less tasted them.’
— Lisa Helfman, Brighter Bites
Non-pro t Brighter Bites delivered fresh fruit and vegetables partly donated from the New York Produce Show and Confer- ence to kids at a school in Queens.
Exhibitors at the one-day trade show in December donated produce that was on display during the show to the Hous- ton-based organization.
“I am grateful for the New York Produce Show’s commitment to Brighter Bites,” said Brighter Bites co-founder Lisa Helfman. “After a wonderful day partici- pating in the show and speaking to several audiences there, we were thrilled with
the bounty of produce that went from the show directly into our family’s hands the next day in Queens.”
Founded in 2012, Brighter Bites delivers fresh produce to needy children and families while also providing tips to the families on how to incorporate the produce into their diet.
It does this in a consistent way that it says has been shown to lead to behavioral change and increase most families’ intake of fruit and vegetables, even after the program has nished.
The organization now operates in six places around the U.S. – Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City, the Washington, DC, area and Southwest Florida – giving kids bags of fresh produce to take home.
It does this at each school over two eight-week periods of the year, working with a team of volunteers at each location to help pack the bags.
Since it began, Brighter Bites has provided more than 18 million pounds of produce to more than 265,000 individuals at over 125 sites around the country.
The fresh fruits and vegetables are sourced from suppliers and retailers through donations and purchases and
are then delivered to Brighter Bites’ partner food banks and distributors. Each week, the team chooses different types of produce from the warehouse coolers.
At the end of the trade show day each year at the New York Produce Show and Conference, the hundreds of exhibitors donate their top-quality fruits and vegeta- bles on display. These are then collected
by non-pro t City Harvest, which is Brighter Bites’ partner in New York City. This year, members from the Brighter
Bites team, including co-founders Helfman and Shreela Sharma, walked around the trade show oor, selecting fruits and vegetables to be donated to kids at the Queens school.
The produce from the show arrived
at the school on the morning of Dec.
13 alongside other fruits and vegeta-
bles donated by D’Arrigo Bros. and City Harvest – including from one of the latter’s donors, Blue Apron – and was swiftly put into bags as it moved along an energetic human production line made up of dozens of volunteers including kids’ family members.
“Thanks to the show and our partner, City Harvest, our families received gorgeous items such as cauli ower, pome- granates and persimmons,” said Helfman. “Many have never even seen these items, much less tasted them. To see the excite- ment in their faces when we handed out these over owing bags was tremendous.
“Every day I wake up with so much gratitude that we have built a program that is literally changing lives and empowering families across the country to achieve better health through fresh food. I can’t imagine anything better than that!”
Brighter Bites Delivers Fresh Fruit And Veg
From NYPS To Queens School Students BY EDWARD VERNON
NYPS22 JANUARY 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS