Nogales, AZ — Ta-De Produce Distributing has partnered with a local non-profit medical organization to promote healthy eating in the U.S. border region as part of the “Healthy Border 2020” initiative developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the México Secretariat of Health. The goal of the program is “eliminating health disparities and improving the quality of life of all border region residents.”
The partnership involves the Mariposa Community Health Center and Ta-De working together on specific activities during September and October including a “healthy recipe” contest, participation in the Binational Health Week, October 3-7, along with chef demos in supermarkets and at the local farmer’s market.
Under the program theme COMER BIEN (Eat Well), Ta-De will be sponsoring the activities, including also the production of bi-lingual recipe handouts and a dedicated web site to help demonstrate how to prepare produce in innovative, healthy ways. Local food banks will also participate by ensuring supply to residents who can’t afford to purchase at supermarkets.
“We are very excited about this opportunity: a first such project involving a health organization and a produce company that we are aware of.” says Ta-De president Robert Bennen, Jr.
Mariposa Community Health Center’s Senior Director of Community Services, Patricia Molina, also expresses enthusiasm, noting: “Our group is pleased to have this opportunity to work together with one of the founding produce companies in our region to help us fight the battle of good nutrition in our communities.”
Healthy Border 2010 aims to improve health in the United States-México border region, an area that includes 80 municipios in 6 Mexican states and 48 counties in 4 U.S. states that form the border between México and the United States. (http://www.borderhealth.org/healthy_border.php?curr=bhc_initiatives)
Mariposa Community Health Center was founded in1980 and is now one of the largest and most comprehensive providers of medical, dental, disease prevention and health promotion services in SE Arizona. http://mariposachc.net
Ta-De Produce is a third-generation, family-run produce distributor founded by Carlos Bennen in the 1950s. The company, named 2015 Pillar of the Industry by the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, is known for its green beans, and also distributes bells, sweet mini and specialty peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, tomatoes and Asian greens. For more information visit http://tadeproduce.com
Source: Ta-De Produce
