WATSONVILLE, Calif. – This year’s first local Tour de Fresh Texas event, presented by The California Giant Foundation, was set for Oct. 1, with the goal of raising $10,000 to place at least three new salad bars for local Dallas / Fort Worth schools. In the midst of planning, however, Tour de Fresh saw an opportunity to partner with Mayor Betsy Price of Fort Worth, which would allow for more sponsor costs and donations to go to funding salad bars in the Fort Worth community. With this change, Tour de Fresh expects to donate up to five salad bars.
As part of her goal to make Fort Worth one of the healthiest communities in the nation, Mayor Price spearheads FitWorth, a local movement that encourages a healthy and active lifestyle through school and work programs, fitness events, and much more. Her annual Spooky Bike Ride on Oct. 27 from 5 – 10pm is where Tour de Fresh will present a check from fresh produce industry and local sponsors, along with donations from the community, to Fort Worth schools.
“Mayor Price’s commitment to the community of Fort Worth is inspiring and made our decision to partner with her event an easy one,” said Cindy Jewell, vice president of marketing at The California Giant Foundation. “Tour de Fresh’s mission has been, and will always be, to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to as many kids as possible, which is why we feel confident that our event redirection will make a larger impact in Fort Worth schools.”
“Our goal, much like Tour de Fresh, is to cultivate healthy habits at a young age,” said Mayor Betsy Price of Fort Worth. “I’m proud of Fort Worth’s efforts to encourage cities across the U.S. to make health a priority. I’m passionate about increasing health and wellness because of its far-reaching implications, impacting everything from life expectancy, healthcare costs and worker productivity.”
Tour de Fresh Texas sponsors include California Giant Berry Farms, Snappy Salads, Hort Americas, DMA Solutions, Tessemae’s, Del Monte, IFCO, Tsamma, and Birko. Without the donations of these companies, the opportunity to fund salad bars for Fort Worth ISD would not be possible.
“’We are healthy’ is one of our values at Snappy Salads, and this is a perfect way for us to demonstrate our commitment to that value,” said Chris Dahlander, founder and CEO of Snappy Salads. “It fires me up to know that we are making a positive impact on our community – a positive impact on the future of our children!”
The Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools campaign’s mission is for every U.S. school food service program to include a salad bar so that all children have daily access to fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and healthy proteins. With several DFW schools on the waiting list for a privately-funded salad bar, Tour de Fresh is rallying local businesses and families to ensure that healthier alternatives are a reality for students this school year.
To donate to Tour de Fresh Texas in support of Fort Worth schools, please visit the California Giant Berry Farms booth #2059 at PMA Fresh Summit, or donate directly at www.tourdefresh.com/Texas. For additional information or questions about the event, please contact Brock Nemecek at bnemecek@dma-solutions.com.
About Tour de Fresh
Tour de Fresh, presented by The California Giant Foundation, is the first-of-its-kind, collaborative event that unites the most significant brands and influencers in the fresh produce industry, as well as local community members, for a cycling event that raises funds to benefit the Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools campaign. In its first three years (2014-2016), Tour de Fresh has raised over $400,000 in donations to support the placement of more than 130 salad bars in schools across the country. At a cost of $3,125 per salad bar per school, sponsors and participants alike strongly believe that providing healthy eating opportunities for school children should be a requirement.
About FitWorth
FitWorth is a movement created in 2012 to inspire a sustainable culture shift toward increased daily physical activity and fruit/vegetable consumption for youth and their families. We do this by coordinating a grassroots approach to access, behavior awareness, and role model empowerment. Through our Fuel, Work, and Play programming, we act as a hub for coordinated and collaborative resources, generating momentum for a healthier future in Fort Worth. For more information, visit www.fitworth.org.
About Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools
Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools is a public health campaign to increase salad bars in schools across the country so that every child has the choice of healthy fruits and vegetables every day at school. Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools supports First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative to end childhood obesity in a generation. Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools founding partners are: The United Fresh Start Foundation, National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, the Chef Ann Foundation and Whole Kids Foundation. More information can be found online at www.saladbars2schools.org.
Source: Tour de Fresh
