RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif – Garden Highway™, a Renaissance Food Group (RFG) brand, once again teamed up with Tessemae’s All Natural to deliver Crop Circles, a community event that features a pop-up style Farmers Market with a free produce giveaway at New Hope Academy in Baltimore, MD. The event took place on Saturday, November 21st, 2015 and gave away an estimated 40,000 LBS of commodity fruit and vegetables and 3,000 LBS of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables. An estimated 4,000 attendees came to collect donated fruit and vegetables in anticipation of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Crop Circles is a national event designed to bring fresh fruit and vegetables and an awareness of living a healthy life to food deserts across America. This is the third of its kind this year, following two successful events in Compton, CA and Englewood, Chicago, IL, respectively.
Attendees stood in line to receive a complimentary tote to fill with a variety of fruit and vegetables. In addition to healthy produce, Garden Highway™ handed out their brand of cut fruit and vegetables, Tessemae’s distributed bottles of clean salad dressing and marinade, and the event included a variety of booths that featured wellness-based companies, an appearance by NFL star Ed Reed, a competition-style cook-off, and a live DJ.
United Fresh Produce Association (http://www.unitedfresh.org/) also sent a team of volunteers who were instrumental in handing out produce and educating Crop Circle attendees about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.
F&S Produce Company, Inc., a regional fresh-cut processor based in Rosenhayn, NJ, helped to secure 40,000 LBS of donated produce, as well as donate transportation for all product, and provide volunteers to support the event.
“Heading into our third Crop Circles event, we have seen the increasing need for fresh fruit and vegetables in ‘food desert’ communities. Our goal is to help residents in these communities understand the importance of living healthy lifestyles,” said Nelia Alamo, RFG Director of Marketing. “Crop Circles is dedicated to making a positive impact and bringing a healthy food and lifestyle awareness to the food desert communities we serve with this great event.”
To view videos from past events:
For more information about Garden Highway™, visit http://www.gardenhighway.com.
About Renaissance Food Group
Renaissance Food Group, parent company of the Garden Highway™ brand, is passionate about crafting quality, fresh food products that enrich the lives, families, and communities of our consumers. Nationally recognized as a market leader for product quality and innovation, Renaissance Food Group is constantly evaluating our diverse food portfolio and its relationship to evolving consumer lifestyles. Renaissance Food Group products are regionally produced and made-to-order, with an open and honest policy about the journey our food takes from field to table. Renaissance Food Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Calavo Growers, Inc.
About Tessemae’s
Tessemae’s All Natural is a leading company in the natural products industry, producing the freshest line of salad dressings and condiments on the market. Their mission, since day one, is to shake the way people think about eating by reminding them how food was meant to be. This guiding philosophy is at the forefront of everything we’ve come to represent as a company. Tessemae’s All Natural is nationally distributed through Whole Foods, Safeway, Kroger, and Costco.
About United Fresh Produce Association
Founded in 1904, the United Fresh Produce Association brings together companies across every segment of the fresh produce supply chain, including growers, shippers, fresh-cut processors, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, foodservice operators, industry suppliers and allied associations. The Association empowers industry leaders to shape sound government policy. United Fresh delivers the resources and expertise companies need to succeed in managing complex business and technical issues, as well as provide the training and development individuals need to advance their careers in produce. Through these endeavors, United Fresh unites our industry with a common purpose – to build long-term value for our members and grow produce consumption.
About F&S Produce
F&S Produce Company, Inc. is a leading supplier of fresh-cut and individually quick frozen (IQF) produce, as well as specialty prepared refrigerated foods. F&S services retail, foodservice, and industrial customers, and processes over 100 million pounds of produce annually from their 125,000 sq. ft. operation.
Source: Renaissance Food Group