Washington, D.C. – The inaugural Produce For All Leadership Summit (PFALS), cohosted by The Foundation for Fresh Produce and Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), will convene on June 10 in Washington D.C.
The Summit will bring together 130 leaders from across the food, food equity and health spectrums, for resource and knowledge sharing, and to create an actionable plan to double produce consumption in communities around the United States. This builds on the commitment that IFPA and PHA announced as part of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health – to double consumption of fruits and vegetables in 15 cities by 2030. Denver, CO and Indianapolis, IN have already signed on as inaugural Good Food Cities.
“PHA has always believed in the power of collaboration; partnership is in our name after all,” said Noreen Springstead, President and CEO of PHA. “It’s going to take every sector coming together to uncover long-term, sustainable solutions to the complex issue of food inequity. This first of its kind event is the first step in uniting powerful and influential leaders across the produce sector to not only commit to, but create plans of action, to ensure that more people have access to the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, thriving lives.”
Organizations that will be in attendance include American Heart Association, DC Central Kitchen, Feeding America, FMI, the Food Industry Association, Milken Institute School of Public Health, the Rockefeller Foundation, USDA, and the Walmart Foundation, to name a few.
The agenda for the day will focus on why produce and access to produce plays a critical role in building community health, and more specifically – why that matters. Attendees will also hear about the Good Food Cities work through a diverse panel, including representatives from USDA, Instacart, the City of Indianapolis, the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, Novo Nordisk, and PHA as they highlight the power of acting together to drive system wide – and community wide – change.
“An overwhelming majority of Americans are currently struggling with a variety of one or more diet-related diseases caused by issues related to food access, availability, appeal, education, and choices. While the economic cost of this is measured at an astounding $1.3 trillion annually, the human cost is immeasurable and untenable,” said Cathy Burns, CEO of IFPA and The Foundation for Fresh Produce. “Our nation’s health crisis didn’t happen overnight. Creating lasting, sustainable change by coming together at the Produce for All Leadership Summit to develop strategies and interventions and to establish connections to boost consumption of fruits and vegetables will change the trajectory of human health. We believe the outcomes from this inaugural Summit will have a transformative impact on public health and shift the paradigm towards good food and healthier communities.”
The Produce For All Leadership Summit will take place on June 10 alongside IFPA’s Washington Conference, where the produce industry is invited to come to D.C. to advocate for produce and floral with those who craft the policy and legislation that has great impact on the larger industry.
PHA and The Foundation for Fresh Produce are proud to have support from this year’s inaugural sponsors: Instacart, The Mushroom Council, Amazon Access, Bayer, NHL Foundation, American Frozen Food Institute, Arctic Apples, Novo Nordisk, Principal Foundation, Stemilt and Taylor Farms.
About Partnership for a Healthier America
Partnership for a Healthier America is the premier national nonprofit organization working to create lasting, systemic changes that transform the food landscape in pursuit of health equity. PHA develops evidence-based approaches that are implemented in partnership with the private sector, nonprofits, and government, leveraging PHA’s assets and the partner’s knowledge to accelerate the pace of transformation. Learn more at www.ahealthieramerica.org.
About The Foundation for Fresh Produce
The Foundation for Fresh Produce’s vision is to grow a healthier world by changing the trajectory of human health. We believe the produce industry has the potential to provide solutions for many of the world’s greatest health and economic challenges – especially those surrounding nutrition and hunger. The Foundation focuses on improving the appeal of fruits and vegetables as an integral part of people’s diets, supporting the development of infrastructure and supply chain solutions that provide easier access, and establishing strategic alliances that enable children and families to form healthier eating habits. To galvanize the industry’s efforts to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, The Foundation for Fresh Produce merged with the Produce For Better Health Foundation (PBH) in January 2023. PBH programming (inclusive of the Have A Plant® Movement) continues under The Foundation, dedicated to helping consumers live happier, healthy lives by eating more fruits and vegetables every single day.
