Fresh Summit exhibitors donate more than 316,000 pounds of produce to the Atlanta Community Food Bank

ATLANTA, Ga., Oct. 19, 2011 —Thousands of economically challenged Atlanta residents will be eating better thanks to donations from the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition at the Georgia World Congress Center on October 17.

—Not really according to Produce Marketing Association—

Newark, Del., Aug. 4, 2011 — The August 2011 issue of Health Affairs included a study leaving Americans wondering if they can afford to eat healthy.

Fresh Connections México 2011

En la conferencia Fresh Connections México 2011, se presentó información y análisis crítico sobre cómo han sido impactados el sector minorista y el sector de exportación.  También, se ofreció entendimiento profundo sobre tendencias del consumidor y de la industria.  Fresh Connections México fue más allá del análisis y ofreció una perspectiva fresca e ideas para lograr soluciones concretas y exitosas.   

El diseño de la conferencia Fresh Connections México, ofreció la oportunidad para que la industria l

At Fresh Summit PMA revealed its new research that details what it costs consumers to eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables (or 4.5 cups), the recommended amount for healthy adults. Depending on how intent a consumer is on finding bargains, s/he can get nine servings for $2.18 (not very intent), $1.40 (fairly intent), or 88 cents (very intent).

Check before you roll your eyes. A third of searchers say they give up when they can't easily find information -- and one in six say info about small businesses online is incorrect or confusing, says a new study. The annual study, called Local Search Usage Study: Bridging The Caps, From Search to Sales, is a joint effort of comScore and TMP Directional Marketing, a local search marketing firm.

For those that missed it, on Saturday morning at Fresh Summit in Orlando, noted retail consultant Harold Lloyd led a panel of supermarket produce department managers in a discussion of consumer trends they are seeing in their respective market areas.

It isn't that we aren't buying enough fruits and vegetables. We're buying plenty of fruits and vegetables. It's that we're buying them and throwing them away. "I've recently seen a study that put a dollar amount on the produce that we throw away, and that is a little more than $500 a year per family," said dietician Tina Miller, a Meijer healthy living advisor. "I think what's really happening is, when it comes to produce, our shoppers don't have a plan," Ms. Miller said.

The Oakland Unified School District is encouraging parents to take advantage of produce stands that are set up weekly at 12 schools in the city. The "Oakland Fresh" school produce markets are a collaboration between the district and the East Bay Asian Youth Center, and are designed to encourage young students to eat healthier, said Jennifer LeBarre, director of the district's nutrition services department.

Somewhere along the path toward food safety, we often make a detour toward obsession. An obsession that compels us to throw out food before we really have to. And that, in turn, costs us money. The challenge: How to be a food-savvy cheapskate versus a food-sickened cheapskate. A new Web site, ShelfLifeAdvice.com delivers bushels of articles on the topic: how to store food, save food, clean food, freeze food and, yes, clarification of those dates on packaged and fresh foods.