America's Second Harvest to Feeding America

From the offices of Rick Bella and America's Second Harvest, a significant message about a name change and repositioning of the organization designed to better convey the message of the mission. The letter from Vicki Escarra, president of America's Second Harvest:



As a valued partner, you already recognize the importance of doing your part in the fight against hunger in America—thank you. For that reason, we contact you today with some terrific news. Background As you know, our vision is a hunger-free America. In order for us to realize that vision, we must mobilize the public around the issue and motivate their involvement in our mission. We have spent the last year conducting research to understand how to engage the public in our movement. We have been careful and methodical in our approach. We have undertaken the critical steps of gathering a fact base, so that we better understand who in the public would be most responsive to our messages. We conducted the first consumer segmentation study in the history of our organization. Having this information will allow us to better focus resources. We also identified a brand positioning for our organization that best captures the intersection of who we are with what motivates the public. It is called Feeding Hope, providing the fuel to survive and even thrive. This brand positioning will undoubtedly compel Americans to become more passionate about the fight against hunger. An Exciting New Name We are at our next critical juncture: what name and logo best deliver the organization’s capabilities, mission and future potential, while stimulating public attention and commitment. Once again, we have adopted a fact-based approach towards understanding whether we should keep our current name or move to another option. This process has included multiple touch-points with stakeholders and is being led by a cross-functional team of senior-level network members and national office staff. I am proud to say that I serve on this team, alongside our heads of marketing, development and communication. Likewise, four members from our food bank network serve, one of them a founding member of our network. So, with great enthusiasm, I share with you our new national organization name: Feeding America. Feeding America is the resounding winner among the public segments. It will best allow us to reach our goal of mobilizing the public more significantly behind fighting hunger. Here are some of the exciting highlights:
Scored higher (among the public) on more criteria than any other name option (including our current one)
Particularly strong with faith-based segment, our most valuable group, though also very positive across other two priority segments
Best fit with Feeding Hope positioning
Best suggests an organization committed to hunger relief
Increases interest among the public in addressing hunger
An emotional connection/motivating
Is simple
When affiliated with local member, most likely to increase support to local member
In brand valuation, shows most future potential of any name candidates
Comparable ratings (vs. other lead name options) on following attributes for the public
Rated Feeding America as strong performer on Access to food; a commitment to feeding people • Sustenance


Next Steps We are moving to logo and architecture development and testing with this new name immediately. Our plan is to have this developed and tested by the end of June 2008. We plan to debut the new name and logo internally at the end of June and then release to the public in September 2008, in support of Hunger Action Month. Please see attached information detailing further specifics about our name selection, our timeline and an invitation to connect with our Chief Marketing Officer and Resource Development team regarding our name change and next steps.

Alongside these dates, we have full planning underway for a careful migration strategy for our key constituents (namely current individual donors, Corporate Donors and Foundations and Government/Allied organizations). You should expect a logo framework and usage packet in July/August. We want to minimize any loss from the name change and recognize this news as an opportunity to strengthen our commitment to the fight against hunger in the US. We sincerely appreciate your ongoing support and look forward to taking this next important step. Please contact me or your contact on our Resource Development team if you have any questions or would like to discuss further.

Warm Regards,

Vicki Escarra
President & CEO

TK: Look for an Ad Council campaign for Feeding America from September through November, and full launch of the brand by November.

Cost of production question answered

Rick Bella of America's Second Harvest wrote recently with a request for information about fresh produce costs as it moves through the supply chain. Rick said he wanted to show food banks how the program seeks to to capture produce at the best time in the supply chain for not only costs but for quality as well.

I asked Gary Lucier of the USDA Economic Research Service if he might have any links to cost of production sources for fresh produce and he was gracious to respond fairly quickly.

Gary provided the following "cost of production" sites that also might be of interest to other Fresh Talk readers.

http://www.agbuscenter.ifas.ufl.edu/cost/COP04-05/tableofcontents.htm

http://coststudies.ucdavis.edu/current.php

http://www.ag-econ.ncsu.edu/AgBudgets/vegetable.htm

http://cherokee.agecon.clemson.edu/f&v_bud.htm

http://cdp.wisc.edu/Freshmarket.htm

One of great things about the way business is done today is the use of the Web, email, blogs and discussion groups to get questions answered. Thanks again to Gary for his quick response.

Shining light on helping others

From Rick Bella, guest blogger:
I recently returned from the United Fresh (United) & Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Trade show held in Las Vegas. Each year, these two organizations ask exhibitors to donate display food to the local America’s Second Harvest food bank. This year was no different. After the show closing on Wednesday, over 100,000 pounds of food including 60,000 pounds of fresh produce was collected by food bank volunteers. As some readers can attest to, the show closing is certainly organized chaos as workers remove carpet from the show floor, fork lift drivers deliver display shipping containers and exhibitors begin to break down their booths. After all, they have been there day after day and it is time to exit and get back to the dozens of emails that we all seem to receive these days.

The local member located in Las Vegas is called Three Square Food Bank and they were able to seek help from over 75 volunteers who all removed display products that were tagged by exhibitors for “donation”. It is certainly moving to see how vendors protect their food so they can offer good quality to the food bank. One exhibitor on the FMI side of the show used what looked like police crime scene tape to “tape off and protect” their entire booth area and placed signage around the booth informing guests that All Product is For Donation “Don’t Take” so that show attendees, other exhibitors and even show workers didn’t help themselves to some samples.

It’s that kind of understanding that was so impressive at this particular show, my personal 12th show that I’ve attended over the years. United and FMI did an excellent job of notifying the exhibitors as to the need for donations as well as provided organized communication tools for vendors to use to let the food bank know that their food was indeed for donation. One exhibitor named Mike Beausang was with Sunkist/Jelly Belly Candy Company and I caught him loading items from the Sunkist display directly into the food bank totes. I asked him what he was doing and his response was simple but impactful, “there are many folks out there who can use these donations”. Naturally, I snapped his photo.

As for the volunteers, how can we thank enough the people who serve to assist the food banks across the country without compensation? They are caring individuals who want to help, perhaps make a difference; one of the most sought after desires of most in the workforce these days. Imagine that, money doesn’t even top the list. Some will never personally see the end recipient of food that they collect. They only know that agencies across the country (about 60,000 of them) need food to assist American’s with hunger issues. These volunteers worked tirelessly collected 112,000 pounds of food to assist their neighbors in Las Vegas.
As we all “think greener”, it is certainly a wonderful feeling knowing that display food at trade shows is going to good use. Thank you United, FMI and the Produce Marketing Association for continued support of helping the hungry. It is great that our need to market goods to buyers across the U.S. is also used to support less fortunate American’s right here at home. Thank you to all that were involved in making this each and every year. It’s the right thing to do.

~Rick Bella, America’s Second Harvest-The Nation's Food Bank Network.

Interview with Rick Bella of America's Second Harvest

Had the chance to visit with Rick Bella of America's Second Harvest today. Rick does good work with produce suppliers in providing tens of millions of pounds of fresh produce to the nation's food banks. You'll be interested in some of his thoughts about the impact of the economic slowdown on food banks, and the importance of sourcing produce from nearby suppliers if at all possible. Stay tuned for coverage in The Packer....

A question from Rick

A question from our good friend Rick Bella of America's Second Harvest. I think of the USDA's Agricultural Prices report first. Does anyone have any other thoughts for Rick on cost comparisons?



Hi Tom,
I know that you track produce f.o.b. costs over past years and usually post those to the blog.

I have pasted below our experience with costs over the past 5-years and wonder if you have comparable data in the categories listed.

Naturally, packs and sizes varied but we’d like to just get a feel for what the industry did on like items listed. Can you assist or point me in a direction to obtain this type of data? Some of our own increases were due to program pack changes moving to more retail sized packaging which naturally costs more.

Thanks much and I hope we can get together at United. Rick

F.O.B. cost per pound - top 10	2003-2007 percentage change	4 year Compound annual growth rate
Potatoes	46.0%	9.9%
Apples	6.1%	1.5%
Watermelon	28.2%	6.4%
Onions	103.0%	19.4%
Yams	106.7%	19.9%
Carrots	29.1%	6.6%
Cabbage	36.7%	8.1%
Oranges	-56.6%	-18.9%
Pears	270.0%	38.7%
Sweet Corn	81.0%	16.0%

More on Bill

We here at The Packer have received several responses from industry veterans who enjoyed seeing the recent Q and A with Bill Coon, retired publishing director of The Packer. Industry leaders like Ed Odron, Rick Bella, Chuck Curl, David Marguleas and Ron Orr have checked in with kind words about Bill.

One letter from Ron Orr, director of business development for Graves Menu Maker Foods, Jefferson City, Mo., said it well.

"I know I speak for so many in stating that the fresh produce industry at large is appreciatively better off and further ahead, because of the commitment Bill Coon made to it."

If any other industry friend wants to connect with Bill, shoot me an email (tkarst@thepacker.com) and I'll give you his contact info.

Wanted : Retail managers

Rick Bella of America's Second Harvest passes on this link of a story published some weeks ago from USA Today about the need for dedicated retail store managers in the U.S. The story isn't specific to supermarkets, but there are obvious truths that transcend the mass merchandisers and food retailers.

Here is a great quote from the story:

"A day in the life of a retail manager would be a nightmare job for a lot of people," says Kathy Mance, vice president of the NRF Foundation, which helps retailers train and recruit employees and managers.


More from the story, about one retail manager:

Working a variety of day and night shifts suits her just fine, Koteski says. On a recent week, her day shifts were 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. and an evening shift was 1 to 11 p.m. She likes to sleep in and do errands on the days when she starts in the afternoon. Even though her shifts are typically 10 hours, during this season it hasn't been unusual for her to work 12 hours, given the restocking necessary to keep up with sales and recalls.

Of the holiday season, which included lines that stretched to the back of the store early on the day after Thanksgiving, Koteski says, "You just need to keep it all in perspective, have an organized plan and be flexible." Part of the plan: "You pick up stuff as you go, so at the end of the night, you don't have 20 carts that need to go back."

More reaction from other ex-managers:

Dillard says she left retailing last year because she didn't feel challenged or appreciated and rarely had time for her family and friends. "The final straw," she says, was when she was diagnosed with the flu and her district manager thought she should still report for work despite doctor's orders that she rest for at least three days.


And here are some choice reader comments

It appears to me that the retail industry fears they will no longer be able to hire and retain people with a selfess work ethic (suckers) any longer . Any semi-intelligent high schooler let alone a college grad knows retail is a dead end road to a miserable existence. This article is a lame propaganda piece. I pity that poor woman. Until Americans either refuse to work under such circumstances or unite to bargain with their employers collectively they will continue to suffer in the work place. One of the earlier comments talked about civil service as unmotivated or ambitionless (I nor any of my immediate family is civil service) and I disagree with this statement. Maybe civil service workers are smarter and like things Americans used to take for granted like a pension, healthcare,vacations, etc. Does this make them lazy or us stupid. Why is it a badge of honor to slave for an ungrateful employer who has disdain for their workers even our country itself and receive substandard pay and benefits for our labors? Maybe most of us are suckers sold a bill of goods about a good work ethic and what it will get you in this country other than taken advantage of. Employers are out for maximum output for minimum input how is it lazy unmotivated or wrong for workers to have this same philosophy?


From another:

I work at Sears part time and my managers HATE their jobs. All day they deal with: having to be a jerk to employees for not selling enough protection agreements and credit cards, problems created poor delivery service (the delivery managers always say its our fault, not theirs), problems created by poor service, (again, service managers blame us for their problems), people buying things online to pick up in store that we don’t have (it may say in stock online, but often is not the case), people angry we don’t have simple things in stock like gas cans ALL SUMMER, on and on and on

And another:

How I do not know what to tell my wife who works as a store manager and is starting to get stressed about all the hours versis the pay , all the theft , unmotavated employees, a over bering district manager ,sales goals that are just out of reach every year to accually make a bounus, the list goes on and on.
all I have ever done was to try and be there for her and give all the understanding and positive input that I could. I do know this much Not everyone out there has a Job better than min wage or just over and we are living a happy life and looking forward to the retirement years (about 12 years away) so all in all guess we will just keep going on and just be happy that we both still have jobs to go to .

TK: I appreciate this last comment. "Suck it up. We all have jobs to do." Managing employees at retail is not easy, and obviously it is a heavy cross to bear for some people. Improving job satisfaction with performance related bonuses, granting more flexible schedules, giving more recognition and providing more communication would be a start.

Hunger in America

While I touched on the irony of obesity in Africa in a recent post, Rick Bella of America's Second Harvest reminded us in a comment that we don't have to go beyond our borders to find hunger. Thanks to Rick and his organization for helping to ease the hardship of those who find themselves in a chapter of their lives where they cannot purchase enough food for their family. The Food Research and Action Center also does a good job in highlighting stories that bring this reality to the attention of policymakers.

Here are some FRAC summaries of hunger related news reports.

California Budget Cuts Will Affect Assistance Programs
(Monterey Herald, January 11, 2008)

Cuts in the governor's proposed budget will make it harder for resident immigrants to access the Food Stamp Program in California. Resident immigrants counting on the Food Stamp Program, which assists the state's seasonal job force and children through CALworks, will have to wait longer to be eligible for the assistance. The budget also calls for major cuts in other assistance programs and school spending. Monterey County director of social services Elliott Robinson called the cuts "major" and said, "If they are implemented, it will be very challenging and difficult…for children and families trying to make ends meet."

Food Stamp Challenge Continues to Reveal Scope of Hunger Problem

(Colorado Springs Gazette, January 10, 2008)

In this letter to the editor, Care and Share Food Bank board member Richard Wood reflects on his experience trying to live on $3.72 worth of food per day. Subsisting on a diet of mostly potatoes, bread, rice, water drove home for him the need for the Farm Bill to "nourish families [and enable] them to become self sufficient" through food stamps, The Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.

Food Stamp Boost Considered to Help Block Possible Economic Recession
(NPR, January 11, 2008; Associated Press, January 11, 2008; Reuters, January 17, 2008, New York Daily News, January 21, 2008)

Food stamp recipients could receive 20 percent more buying power for six months, one of several economic stimulus tactics being considered by the federal government. The food stamp suggestion, which would boost benefit levels for six months, is a method supported by former Reagan advisor Martin Feldstein in a recent Brookings Institution forum convened to address current economic trends (including the current real estate downturn and lower hiring rates nationwide). According to Feldstein, increasing food stamp benefits could proceed quickly and recipients would most likely spend benefits quickly. A few days later, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke went on record with a similar view, saying food stamps are small additions which could help stimulate the economy. Democrats view any plan as needing to be "timely, targeted and temporary." Experts see the issues are possibly affecting voter decisions in the fall, especially among those Americans worried about their well-being.

Some Women in WIC Buy More Fresh Produce in Farmer's Markets

(The New York Times, January 15, 2008)

Researchers found that women taking part in the WIC program who are given $10 vouchers for grocery stores or farmer's markets will eat three times more fresh produce than women in a control group. In addition, voucher recipients who shop at farmers' market eat more servings of fruits and vegetables compared to supermarket shoppers. WIC participants feel the farmers' market produce is fresher and told researchers they enjoyed the experience of meeting local growers. The report, published in the American Journal of Public Health, suggested that the new WIC allotment amounts still don't reach what's needed - the study's vouchers were for $10 each week, while WIC vouchers will only provide between $6-8 per month.

TK: The reader replies to this last story were illuminating. One comment decried LA supermarkets, another said that canned veggies would stretch the dollar more. Another wrote:

This policy on fresh foods should be implemented immediately, everywhere. I am appalled and disgusted by the so-called “food” that is given to WIC recipients. In my neck of the woods, virtually every recipient is African-American. And yet, the preponderance of products that some agencies give away to WIC recipients is dairy. Do government dairy farm subsidies outweigh the need to address lactose intolerance — something that affects 70 percent of the African American population? We won’t even get into the high sugar and fat content. A friend who is white stopped getting WIC long before she needed to because she really didn’t need a case of evaporated milk every month, or high sugar brand name yogurt cups, especially with a child diagnosed with ADHD. Put this together with the excellent recent column on the high price of healthy foods and you may start to figure out why low income people are less healthy. They start out that way, and it doesn’t get any better.

New consumer Web site for Del Monte

Rick Bella of America's Second Harvest alerted me to a new consumer oriented Web site by Fresh Del Monte, at this link, www.fruits.com. First of all, I'm impressed Del Monte nabbed that primo Web address; I would assume they have had it in reserve for quite some time.

The site opens up with an uptempo song "Stay fresh in every way, say yes in every way." For those of us in open cube environments at work, volume control needs to be at the ready.

The site itself is very polished. with categories for products, recipes, kids and nutrition and fitness. Under the products section, each commodity has info on varieties, recipes, nutrition, tips for selection and how to store. The games section for kids is surprisingly extensive, so big ups for Del Monte for an impressive rollout.

It will be interesting to track the traffic at this Web site and compare it with other consumer oriented produce Web sites - other consumer brand marketers like Dole and Chiquita, www. fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org, www.produceguru.com, etc., I don't necessarily vouch for the accuracy of any traffic-tracking service, but I know one company that purports to measure such comparative stats is www.alexa.com. Do Fresh Talk readers use any others? Pass along any you use......

Call for support

I'm passing on this important message from America's Second Harvest Rick Bella:

America's Second Harvest Issues National Call for Support

America's Second Harvest is urgently calling for national support to raise funds to help millions of Americans facing hunger during the holiday season.

America's Second Harvest and the people served by food banks from coast to coast are facing a potential crisis. We are projecting an immediate food shortage of 15 million pounds -- the equivalent of more than 400 truckloads or 11.7 million meals -- by the end of the year.

Need is High Nationwide

The demand for food assistance is strong across the United States. The ailing economy and rising food and fuel prices are taking a toll on struggling families' budgets. Moms and dads face impossible decisions like whether to pay to heat their homes and keep their children warm or buy groceries to feed them. When they find themselves in desperate need, they turn to our network and the agencies we serve for help. Right now many of our member food banks and food-rescue organizations are seeing an increase in demand, as high as 20% in areas including Denver, Orlando and Phoenix.

The Farm Bill

Meanwhile, food banks nationwide are experiencing dramatic declines in food aid from surplus commodity purchases by the federal government. This has occurred because a healthy farm economy has required less intervention in order to support prices.

The Farm Bill, which is currently stalled in the Senate, authorizes funding for nutrition and food assistance programs for low-income families. Enacting a new Farm Bill would strengthen a long-term successful partnership between food banks and USDA, and provide much-needed food for those most in need throughout our nation.

America's Second Harvest food banks and the people we serve need a strong nutrition title in the Farm Bill enacted as soon as possible to begin replenishing dwindling inventories. Additionally, we need help from corporate and individual donors to help us replenish empty food banks shelves.

How You can Help Make a Donation: The best way to help hungry Americans is to make a financial donation to America's Second Harvest. Your donation will help us secure and distribute food for this campaign that will benefit our food banks and their agencies in need. Help give struggling families a reason to be hopeful this holiday season. Call 800-344-8070 or visit www.secondharvest.org to give a gift today. Urge Your Senator to Pass the Farm Bill: You can also help by visiting the Hunger Action Center at www.hungeractioncenter.org to contact your senators and urge them to push for the quick passage of the Farm Bill; please urge them to also support increased resources for federal nutrition programs, including $250 million with indexing for TEFAP food purchases for distribution to food banks.

While Americans across the country celebrate the holiday season, more than 35 million Americans, including 12.6 million children, live in food insecure households. Support is urgently needed to stock our food banks and get food and groceries to those in desperate need.

Now is the time to give your most generous gift. The need is more critical than ever.

http://www.secondharvest.org/how_to_help/call_to_action.html

Rick Bella
America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Foodbank Network
35 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 60601

Office: 312-641-6507
Cell: 219-712-3685
Fax: 312-263-1730

www.secondharvest.org

As Thanksgiving nears, the cupboards of millions are bare

From Rick Bella:
Annual USDA Report Finds 35.5 Million Hungry in America as Food Banks Struggle to Stock Shelves: Points Out Critical Need for a Strong Farm Bill

Today, as many of us are planning menus and deciding which holiday gatherings to attend, the United States Department of Agriculture released a sobering reminder that millions of Americans are making decisions between rent, utilities, medicine and the most basic necessity -- food. Its annual study of hunger in America indicates the number of people living at the margins of hunger, struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table, has increased from 35.1 to more than 35.5 million, including 12.6 million children. Remarks from America's Second Harvest CEO Vicki Escarra: "This study is just one more testament to why food banks and hungry Americans need Congress to pass a strong nutrition title in the Farm Bill."

More than one in ten Americans is hungry or at risk of hunger. Meanwhile, food banks across teh country are experiencing dramatic declines in food inventory. Many empty shelves were filled with food from the federal government just a short time ago. Surplus food donations, or bonus commodities, from USDA to food banks have declined more that 70 percent in the last three years due to a strong agriculture economy. In 2006, the value of this food support to food banks was down $175 million from 2003. Food banks are also struggling to meet the rising costs of transporting food and groceries.

A continued rise in food prices is also compounding the food shortage. In October, the Associated Press reported the U.S. is currently facing the highest rates of food inflation since 1990, 4.2 percent annually -- twice the rate of overall inflation. The report found that milk prices are up 18 percent since the start of the year; eggs cost 35 percent more than they did a year ago and the USDA estimates overall food price inflation will run 3 percent to 4 percent in 2008.

Strong Farm Bill is Essential for Millions
America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Network of foodbanks is hopeful that some help is on the way this year in the form of a strong nutrition title in the Farm Bill. Nutrition programs funded through the Farm Bill, such as The Food Stamp Program and the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) are the first line of defense for millions of low - and fixed income Americans. Federal funding for these programs has not kept pace with need since the passage of the last Farm Bill in 2002 and significgant investments must be made to ensure that they are bolstered to reach the people that need them most. Adequately funding TEFAP at $250 million with the amount indexed for inflation in the Farm Bill this year will ensure that food banks can keep up with increasing demands for emergency food assistance. The House passed its version of the Farm Bill in late July with $4.3 billion in new investments for federal nutrition programs, and the Senate is debating the Farm Bill this week.

Hunger is one of the most solvable problems facing the U.S., yet it reaches into every community across the country. The holidays tend to amplify the problem, but the need is truly year round and millions of Americans are living day-to-day dependent on the generosity of strangers. You can help by your donation of food or funds. Visit www.secondharvest.org for more details or contact Rick Bella at 312-641-6507 or email rbella@secondharvest.org

Impact of PMA & Exhibitors donation is monumental - thank you!

From Rick Bella: More than 15,800 members embarked on the Produce Marketing Association’s annual Fresh Summit International Convention and Expo this year, held October 12-15 in Houston, Texas. It was the first time held in Houston and attendance exceeded PMA’s expectations. Even exhibitor participation was great with over 500 produce related companies showing their goods and another 150 or so industry support companies. Overall a great event again put on by Bryan Silbermann and his talented staff as well as board and committee members.

Each year now, for many years, exhibitors donate display produce to America’s Second Harvest-The Nation’s Food Bank Network http://www.secondharvest.org/ . This year, The Houston Food Bank http://www.houstonfoodbank.org/ collected the produce at the close of the show utilizing about 200 volunteers working in two different shifts. They collected row by row, and booth by booth over 311,000 pounds (yes, three hundred eleven thousand) of fresh produce donated by each exhibitor at the PMA. The fresh produce was then distributed to the food banks member agency network (400 hunger relief agencies in 18 southeast Texas counties) that collectively provided 38 million pounds of food last year to the cities hungry and nearby counties reaching 80,000 different people each week.

Most exhibitors might not think about the impact of their produce donation and that’s understandable as they are all very busy with the business at hand during a show of this magnitude, however a special thank you to all of those companies is in order as well as a thank you to PMA for recognizing the need and suggesting the donation process to each exhibitor and providing the means to allow companies to easily mark their produce for donation as well as providing much of the logistics’ to support such a huge donation.

It is important to note that fresh produce has been the #1 category of food that the network distributes through the national program and has been for the past three years. Last year, the network collectively distributed over 200 million pounds of fresh produce through 204 member food banks providing food to 50,000 different charity agencies. It’s great to know that they are right there aliening with the industry to increase the importance of eating fresh produce. In a way, you could say that they are actually increasing the industries customer base, since most folks needing food assistance are right back in the supermarkets after a few months as a consumer once they are back on their feet.

The variety and quality of the PMA organized donation certainly exposes many consumers to fresh produce experiences that they might not otherwise ever experience. Thank you to PMA and the wonderful exhibitors at the show who continue to support the efforts of hunger relief. It really falls right in line with the entire industries values; helping others is not new to this group, for sure! Donations are accepted every day... contact Rick Bella at America’s Second Harvest – 312-641-6507 or email rbella@secondharvest.org

On labor and agriculture

The House Agriculture Committee's hearing on agricultural labor, held yesterday, featured too much information to absorb for one day. I haven't had time to go through all the documents yet, but I know Holt and Stallman both bring a ton of stats in their presentation. So, I will publish all the prepared remarks to Google Docs or the Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group (depending on file size) so you can review them at your leisure. Find the links below, after the news release from the committee.


WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the House Committee on Agriculture heard from agriculture organizations and farmers concerned with the growing shortage of farm labor in the United States.
As a labor-intensive industry, agriculture relies heavily on seasonal workers to produce and harvest a wide variety of products.
Agriculture employs more than 3 million people every year in this country, and the need for an adequate agriculture labor force is a serious concern for producers.
"I've traveled across this country, and no matter where I am, labor is one of the top concerns I hear from farmers and ranchers,"
Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson said. "Before we can find a meaningful solution to address the labor crisis we face, Congress must understand the scope and depth of this problem across many industries, agriculture included. If we don't have enough farm laborers, the great bounty of American agriculture will wither on the vine, so this issue cannot go unresolved."
"The agriculture industry needs reliable farm labor. Workers need access to stable, legal, temporary employment. It is in our nation's interest to create a sensible way for workers to come in on a temporary basis, fill empty jobs, and go back to their home countries. It is possible to simultaneously streamline the guest worker program, reduce illegal immigration, and protect our borders," said Ranking Member Bob Goodlatte.

Witness List
Panel I
· Dr. James Holt, PhD, James S. Holt & Co., LLC, Washington, D.C.
· Mr. Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Washington, D.C.
· Mr. Bruce Goldstein, Executive Director, Farmworker Justice, Washington, D.C.
· Mr. Lee Wicker, Deputy Director, North Carolina Growers Association, Vass, North Carolina
· Mr. Scott Herring, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Farm Credit of Western New York, ACA, Batavia, NY
· Mr. Mike Brown, Senior Vice President for Legislative Affairs, American Meat Institute, Washington, D.C.
Panel II
· Mr. J Allen Carnes, President, Winter Garden Produce, Vice President, Carnes Farms, Inc., and Chair, Texas Vegetable
Association, Uvalde, Texas
· Mr. Mason G. Smoak, Citrus Producer and Cattle Rancher, Lake Placid, Florida
· Mr. Harry B. Yates, Board Member, National Christmas Tree Association, and Christmas Tree Producer, Boone, North Carolina
· Mr. Randy Mouw, Misty Morning Dairy, Ontario, California
· Mr. Keith Atkinson, Tobacco Producer, Java, Virginia
· Mr. Rick Roth, Specialty Crops Producer/Packer, Roth Farms, Inc., Belle Glade, Florida

Discussion board roundup 9/13

Our Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group has these topics lined up this morning:

Farm runoff feeds deadzone Big Apple posts link that warns increasing corn production has resulted in higher fertilizer runoff problems in the Mississippi and a widening Dead Zone in the Gulf.
Wheat at $9 per bushel, permanent ag disaster relief fund and subsidy cuts Big Apple posts links to news about record wheat prices and the push for permanent disaster relief program in farm bill
Almond marketing order rule Big Apple posts FR rule that requires handlers who transfer almonds to other handlers to report to the Board whether or not the almonds were treated to achieve a 4-log reduction in Salmonella bacteria (Salmonella). This action will help the Board track treated and untreated almonds and facilitate administration of its mandatory Salmonella treatment program.
First International Lettuce and Leafy Greens Food Safety Symposium Luis posts news of the symposium. The First International Food Safety Research Symposium on lettuce and leafy greens will be held Sept. 20-21, 2007 in Washington, DC.
Outstandng in the field Luis comments on a post by Rick Bella and notes another group trying to connect consumers and farmers. From Luis: Another twist is to take the people to the farm. These folk at outstanding in the field have a bus like a Chez Panisse on wheels. Have "local food" culinary tours featuring local food celebrities and dinner in farms and community gardens. Booked solid until December.
Interestingly, a prominent local farm promotes activities like cycling ("Le Tour de Farm") a seasonal corn maze and are now planning to open a restaurant.
http://www.outstandinginthefield.com/home.html

Retailer promotes "Locally Grown" with product farmer

From Rick Bella: There has been much talk recently about the value of promoting locally grown produce at retail. There are many approaches that one can take to do so, but one retailer recently took it to a new level. What if you actually had the grower present inside the produce department to speak with customers about their crop, items, how it was grown and the nutritious benefits their fresh produce had to offer? Wow, what a statement that could make. That’s exactly what Illinois based Dominick’s did.

Last month my wife and I visited the newly remodeled Dominick’s supermarket located in Northbrook, Illinois in support of long time friend and farmer Dan Hinkle of Hinkle Produce, Cissna Park, Illinois. During a visit at his farm, Dan explained that he would be present during a weekend at a newly remodeled Dominick’s store to promote his sweet corn. This naturally intrigued me so we decided to take a ride to see Dan on Sunday. As we entered the store, we were greeted by someone passing out fresh baked cookies from the bakery. We could also smell the freshly brewed coffee from the new Starbucks little store now located inside the store (one next door too). Yes I was getting excited as touring retail stores has been a big part of my career in the past 25 years.

As we rounded the corner we noticed that there were many vendors displaying foods, offering tastes, cooking and preparing a wonderful variety of foods. The hoopla was to celebrate the Grand Re-Opening of this store, one of many that Dominick’s operates in Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Finally after a few tastes along the way to the produce department (last aisle in this store which I found odd) was a huge display of fresh sweet corn, properly signed with a very attractive retail price. Standing next to the display was the actual grower of the product himself, Mr. Dan Hinkle. Dan’s eyes lit up as we approached, but he was quickly distracted by a little girl asking about the corn and if she could try it. “Sure” he said as he placed a small sized ear of corn on the little girl’s plate. Dan was handing out samples of his bi-color fresh sweet corn; corn that was “locally grown” just 90 miles due south of the Northbrook, Illinois store location.

Most customers at first thought that Dan was just a demonstrator handing out some samples. It was to their surprise when Dan asked if they liked the corn and he said, “good, because I grew it.” The look on shopper’s faces was priceless and that allowed Dan to give his pitch about the type of seed used, when the corn was actually picked (the day before) and the process of how it actually got to market or in this case that display at the local Dominick’s store.

The store was extremely busy that Sunday as the re-grand opening advertising and great specials offered drew customers in the store. But I couldn’t help thinking what an impression Dan must have made to the shoppers there. Almost every shopper purchased sweet corn at the special price of .16 cents per ear. The produce department was top notch offing great variety and overall displayed fresh selections in bulk for customers. But that day, customers received something more. They met one of the many growers who supply the 100+ store chain with food. Food grown in a little unknown town in southern Illinois called Cissna Park by a farmer they may have never known named Dan Hinkle. One customer, named Carol Pugh of Northbrook, Illinois, really made Dan’s day when she reluctantly tried a sample announcing that her father many years ago grew fresh sweet corn and she had never found any better than that. As she and her little girl tried the sample of bi-color corn, she smiled at Dan as asked her little girl to “get a bag honey; we’re buying some sweet corn today.” That would not have happened without Dan’s presence and Dominick’s commitment to offering a great promotion idea to its customers. That moment made the 2 hour drive for Dan worth the effort. Oh yes, a couple bags went home with us too... have you ever just had sweet corn for dinner? I recommend it for sure! Hinkle Farms can be located at http://www.hinkleproduce.com/

Food safety roundup 8/18

Doug Powell of K-State's Food Safety Network passes along these links today.

FDA cancels plans to close field labs, focuses on food safety From The Chicago Tribune:

Bowing to growing pressure over apparent lapses in the nation's food safety system, the Food and Drug Administration Friday canceled plans to close several field laboratories and district offices.In a memo to her staff, Maggie Glavin, the FDA's assistant commissioner for regulatory affairs, was cited as saying the decision would give the agency more time to examine its food-safety enforcement role.Glavin's decision makes permanent an earlier FDA move postponing the closure of seven of its 13 field laboratories. The labs are used to test foods that FDA inspectors suspect may be contaminated.Glavin wrote in her memo that it was appropriate to consider changes at the agency "in light of the new import and food safety initiatives." She added, "To assure our success and allow additional time to gather input, I am canceling plans for the rollout of all changes to our organizational structure."The plan to close the labs, which would have affected about 250 FDA employees, had drawn sharp criticism from some in Congress, where food safety has become a hot topic in the wake of scares over contaminated food imported from China and domestic food-borne illness outbreaks involving bagged spinach and peanut butter.In addition, Glavin announced the agency would cancel plans to reduce its 20 district offices to 16.

FLORIDA: Food-safety standards are taking root From The Palm Beach Post

Last September's nationwide E. coli outbreak stemmed from California spinach, and didn't include any greens grown in Florida.But lettuce and spinach growers here are now looking to California for food-safety guidance, adopting the Golden State's new voluntary guidelines for the crops, while tweaking them for Florida's growing conditions.Rick Roth, president of Roth Farms east of Belle Glade was cited as saying the state's $50 million to $75'million commercial lettuce and leafy greens industry consists of five western Palm Beach County growers.The story says that known as the Everglades Agricultural Area, it's the only major lettuce-growing region in the state, producing romaine, endive, iceberg and escarole lettuce and baby spinach.Toby Basore, president of TKM/Bengard Farms in Belle Glade and chairman of the Florida Vegetable Exchange, was quoted as saying, "What this will do more than anything is make sure we are all playing by the rules."


CFIA: Health Hazard Alert - Los Angeles Salad Company Baby Carrots may Contain Shigella Bacteria From the Canadian Food Inspection Agency:
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume Los Angeles Salad Company Baby Carrots described below because the product may be contaminated with Shigella.The affected product, Los Angeles Salad Company Genuine Sweet Baby Carrots, is labelled as product of Mexico and imported by Los Angeles Salad Company. It is sold in 672 g/1.5 lb plastic bags bearing ITM 50325, UPC 8 31129 00137 7 and Sell By dates up to and including 8 /13 /07.This product was sold in Costco stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland.There have been four reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.Food contaminated with Shigella may not look or smell spoiled. Shigella infection can cause diarrhea (which may be bloody), fever, nausea, and vomiting. Illness usually lasts from 4 to 14 days. In some persons, especially very young, and very old people and people with compromised immune systems, the diarrhea can be more severe. Infection can occur after eating and drinking food and water that is contaminated with Shigella and can be passed from person to person.Costco Wholesale, Ottawa, Ontario, is voluntarily recalling the affected product from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.For more information, consumers and industry can call the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).For information on Shigella, visit the Food Facts web page at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/causee.


Eight defendants dismissed from Sheetz tomato case From The Altoona Mirror:
HOLLIDAYSBURG — The civil lawsuit concerning distribution of tainted tomatoes to Sheetz stores in Pennsylvania and other states during June and July 2004 was slimmed down considerably Thursday by a Blair County judge, who dismissed eight defendants from the case.President Judge Jolene G. Kopriva said in an opinion that “it is impossible to track back and differentiate which particular supplier sold the one or many contaminated tomato[es].”For the sake of consumer protection and safety, she called for better record keeping from the farm to the salad bar.The salmonella poisoning outbreak lasted from July 3-9, 2004, and affected stores throughout Pennsylvania and other states and sickened hundreds of customers. It led to investigations by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Department of Agriculture.The primary lawsuit in the case stemmed from the illness of Altoona resident Max Christian Anslinger. He and his wife, Nanette Marie Anslinger, sued Sheetz and Coronet Foods.“The cause of the outbreak was traced back to pre-sliced Roma tomatoes used by Sheetz,” Kopriva said.Sheetz, an Altoona-based corporation, had one supplier for its Roma tomatoes — Coronet Foods Inc. of Wheeling, W.Va. Coronet said it received its tomatoes from Procacci Brothers Sales Corp. of Philadelphia and Consumer Produce Co. Inc. of Pittsburgh.State agriculture representatives tested a tray of sliced Roma tomatoes July 13, 2004, at a Sheetz store in Greencastle and found a sample tested positive for salmonella.Sheetz, Coronet and several experts attempted to trace the tomatoes distributed by Coronet but ran into problems.
Studies showed that at one point, tomatoes from Procacci and Consumer Produce were commingled.Because of the tests and a timeline when Procacci and Consumer Products supplied Coronet with tomatoes, Sheetz and Coronet leaned toward Procacci as the company that supplied the bad tomatoes.
The judge ruled the evidence was not strong enough to establish a circumstantial case against Procacci.She dismissed civil charges against Procacci and Consumer Produce, Six L’s Packing Co. Inc., Island Tomato Growers Inc., Wm. P. Hearne Produce Co. Inc., Wishnatzki Farms, Classie Growers Inc., and Taylor and Fulton Inc.The judge’s decision leaves Sheetz and Coronet as the only defendants in the case. Attorney Mike Cortez, Sheetz vice president and general counsel, said an appeal is an option.Attorney Eric Anderson of Pittsburgh, representing Coronet, said Thursday that he will study the opinion before deciding the next step.He defended Coronet’s record keeping, saying, ‘‘We think it was sufficient to prevail on the issues before the court.’’Meanwhile, Kopriva has called for a status conference to discuss the future of the case Sept. 26.


From farm to salad; local processing plant would put greens in the bag From the Greenfield, Mass. Recorder.
With more 'green' in hand, Deerfield-based Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture will study whether a processing plant for bagging salad greens could help local farmers.
The plant could help local growers expand their markets to large retailers and regional institutional kitchens by meeting increasing safety standards.
The $33,825 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will pay for a study to see whether it makes sense for Massachusetts farmers to process salad greens to current industry standards of safety.
Recent outbreaks of illnesses traced to pre-bagged salad greens have raised industry and consumer concerns about salad green safety. More and more, larger retailers and buyers, such as Whole Foods Market or Sodexho, require that greens be certified according to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points standards.
Some area growers who were producing greens for Whole Foods pre-cut salad mixes lost business when the chain's owners tightened its requirements in the wake of concerns about spinach contaminated with E. coli last year, according to CISA Program Director Kelly Coleman.
'Now there's an industry standard, with a lot of large food management companies moving in this direction,' Coleman said.
There are no Massachusetts facilities where farmers can process ready-to-eat salad greens to HACCP standards, which she said are becoming more widely demanded among institutional buyers. The HACCP standard for handling of processed foods describes a systematic, preventive approach that addresses physical, chemical and biological hazards at all stages of food production, rather than relying on inspection of finished products.
CISA has done preliminary work on the HACCP study with part of a $117,000 state Agricultural Innovation grant awarded in May to study construction of a dairy-processing plant in the Pioneer Valley.
At the time, CISA Executive Director Annie Cheatham said, 'Without access to HACCP-certified processing facilities, commonwealth farmers cannot sell fresh salad greens to grocery stores and commercial cafeterias where most prepackaged salad is sold. Our farmers are effectively locked out of a market that could be very profitable for them.'
Through the year-long feasibility study, CISA will help determine the cost of producing and processing HACCP-certified salad greens and assess the statewide market demand for them.
It will examine the feasibility of developing such a processing facility as part of the Greenfield Food Processing Center run by the Franklin County Community Development Corp., or a similar community kitchen, or whether on-farm facilities are feasible.
CISA already has evidence that there is significant demand for locally grown HACCP-certified salad greens in western Massachusetts. More than half the region's hospitals and almost three-fourths of area colleges are interested in or are already buying local food. Many area food service managers have expressed interest in finding local pre-washed salad greens to anchor their salad bar menus, but they have had difficulty finding farmers who can meet this need.
'Right now, the vast majority of pre-bagged salad greens are grown in California and Arizona. Meanwhile, many of our state's farmers -- many of whom can grow greens 10 months out of the year -- are struggling to stay in business,' Cheatham said.
The study ultimately may give Massachusetts farmers new ways to compete with this national market, she said.

Food Banks post another record fresh Produce year

Okay, this “TOP TEN” is not as popular as Letterman’s (a fellow Hoosier), but I wanted to try something a little different this year (new fiscal year started July 1) thinking that as we share this type of data with all of you, it may serve as valuable tools for you to use when seeking the best food bank deals for our fresh produce program. Listed below are the top ten produce items moved last month (July). They account for 95% of our total and represent over 9-million pounds of produce or 237 truckloads worth of great nutritious food.

Naturally, potatoes top our list and are now being shipped almost entirely in consumer packed bags like 10# and 5# bags. Some member still like the 50# sacks, but that list is growing smaller and smaller for obvious reasons. Some food banks still supply food to agencies that have feeding sites, so it is there that bulk bags are useful to keep costs as low as possible, but for many members, 50# sacks are just too heavy for the agencies to distribute as the bulk of our food is distributed through food pantries.

I am pleased to report that we have been given an increase in produce program budgeting for this new fiscal year (started July 1). Our goal is to move as much produce as possible using the limited funds that are entrusted to us for this program/purpose.

I hope you all find this list useful as you continue to offer us best pricing on a variety of produce items. Please review how you are seeking pricing and offer some out of the box thinking this year. I would like to offer LTL’s (less than truckload qantities) this year to the network so smaller sized members can take advantage of the produce program as well. We tested this idea last year with some good results.

As always, let me know how else we can assist you so you can continue assisting us. I am always available to all of you, our partners in our mission to end hunger. Thank you all for your service to our cause. Last year, our members distributed 115,900,000 pounds of fresh produce through the national office program. Below is the list of most popular items that we shipped in July of this year...

Ranked #1 - Potatoes at 33% of the total
Ranked #2 - Assorted combo produce loads (three or more items) 25%
Ranked #3- Watermelons at 16%
Ranked #4 - Sweet Corn 9%
Ranked #5 - Green Cabbage 4%
To finish out the list all in single digit percentages were onions, apples, bananas, carrots and sweet potatoes listed here respectively.

Last year: over 27 food banks each received over 1-million pounds of fresh produce. The program spend was just over $10M, 75% used for product procurement, 25% used for transportation. Over 200 member food banks received fresh produce through the program.

Please contact Rick Bella at 312.641.6507 or email rbella@secondharvest.org Join this new growing market!

1,001 posts: I could use more cowbell

Yes, this is the 1,001 post for Fresh Talk. We've seen readership grow since we began tracking in January and we are poised to set another high point in July with visitors and page views. Users from more than 60 countries have checked in at one time or another; about 91% of our readers are from the U.S. and 6% are from Canada.

In my first post, I wrote: "I will be pundit with a small p." I have never placed too much importance on the profundity of my own perspective, though I haven't hesitated in sharing what I believe. My bias is toward sharing news and information rather than "sitting on it."

The content and tools used in the blog have evolved. I have incorporated audio clips, some ill-fated blog polls, Web picture albums, a Youtube clip or two, price and volume charts and a plethora of links and RSS feeds. Guest bloggers like Lance Jungmeyer of The Packer and Rick Bella of America's Second Harvest will continue to post, plus a few others .

Agriculture policy and food safety issues remain a key focus of Fresh Talk, but I also want to provide windows to the worlds where the shippers and buyers interact and where consumers pick their produce.. Providing snapshots to the supply/demand outlook for commodities at shipping point and an evaluation of retail promotions will be an ongoing focus.

One of the better things I decided to do is start an industry discussion group. We've got 59 members of the group today and a few are particularly active. Big Apple and Luis are already enshrined in the Hall of Fame wing of the group. So join that group and you won't be disappointed.

This blog and the discussion group have enough of me, morning noon and night. Like the SNL skit, we need more cowbell. And that is you. Your views, perspectives and insight are always welcome here.

More good news for A2H

Here is an email from America's Second Harvest and Rick Bella to the group's partners in the produce world. Congratulations for a great work and record volume.
From Rick:


It is with great pleasure that I announce to you that the Fresh Produce Program has again broken another record. Our fiscal year ended on June 30th, and as the dust settles from our work last year, I will report a program total of 115,900,000 pounds. That’s one hundred fifteen MILLION pounds from national donors to our network of over 200 member food banks. Food banks also received local donations from many sources besides the national offerings listed above.

State association programs grew over 300% last year with more and more members experiencing the value of collaboration. We certainly couldn’t have enjoyed this growth without the great support from many of our donor and supplier partners. This year, 27 members each received over one-million pounds of fresh produce with some members recording 10-million and 6-million pounds.

The program produced $7.9M in f.o.b. purchases to support network needs. Another $2.6M was provided to the transportation industry to transport fresh produce to member locations across the U.S.

We would like to thank each of you for the fine work in the past 12-months and look forward to continued growth in our new fiscal year. A complete listing of our donor partners will be available in our annual report. Thank you all for a productive year. As always, please let us know how we can improve our program. We value your advice.

Sincerely,
Rick

Rick Bella, Director of Purchasing & VAP
America's Second Harvest-The Nation's Food Bank Network
35 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 60601