Fruit and vegetable industry challenged to compete with processed food in schools
June 18, 2014 | 12:58 PM
CHICAGO — A prominent school food service director last week challenged the fruit and vegetable industry to compete with the processed food industry in convincing school officials to buy their products.
Bertrand Weber
Bertrand Weber, the director of culinary and nutrition services for the Minneapolis Public Schools, told officials of the United Fresh Produce Association at their meeting here last week that he has already received eight invitations from processed food companies to go to parties during the School Nutrition Association annual meeting in Boston in July — and that he has not received a single invitation from a fruit or vegetable provider.
Weber said he was making “a challenge” to United Fresh to establish closer relations with the school food service directors to woo his peers, just as the SNA, which represents the food service directors and the companies that make food for schools, is asking Congress or the Agriculture Department to end a requirement that students be served a half cup or fruits or vegetables at each school meal.
SNA maintains that some students don’t want the fruits and vegetables and are throwing them away. Weber is an enthusiast for the new fruit and vegetable requirement, but believes that the produce industry needs to promote itself more with the schools.
Weber said that instead of calling for a waiver and asking Congress to get rid of the fruit and vegetable requirement, SNA should work with the Agriculture Department to resolve issues. Weber said that, for example, he wishes USDA would adjust the strict calorie requirements that make him serve the same amount of food to a short girl, a tall athlete and a pregnant teenager.
United Fresh officials acknowledge that their members have not had as close a relationship to the school food service directors as the processed food companies, and that one reason some food directors don’t like the fruit and vegetable requirement is that they don’t know how to buy produce efficiently.
Fruit and vegetable companies did pay for 30 school food service directors to attend the United Fresh meeting in Chicago.
United Fresh is also an SNA member and has for the first time taken a large pavilion at the SNA conference, where fruit and vegetable distributors will be on hand to try to advise school food service directors on the best purchasing practices.
Tom Stenzel
In an email to The Hagstrom Report on Tuesday, United Fresh CEO Tom Stenzel acknowledged Weber’s challenge.
“United Fresh is doing all we can to reach out and support the school nutrition directors at SNA,” Stenzel said.
“This is the first year we’ll sponsor a fresh produce pavilion, and that is a large amount of money on our budget. We’d love to host more receptions and fun events for the directors if we could. For now, we are focusing our dollars on the educational aspects of the trade show and workshops to help directors.”
“We’ll never likely be able to compete with food vendors directly, but hope that SNA members will take advantage of the learning opportunities we can bring,” Stenzel said.
“We’d really love to do more to help with webinars, special training events, etc., if SNA could make it more affordable for us.”
The website for Schwan’s Foods, a major provider of pizza to the schools, reveals the close relationship between SNA and the processed food companies.
According to the “Branded Concepts” section of Schwan’s website, school food service directors can “earn valuable SNA Rewards to use towards conference registrations, meetings, membership dues, books, and more!” through their purchases of Schwan products.
“Schwan’s Food Service recognizes your loyalty to our brands and we want to reward you for serving your customers premium menu options. Through the Branded Concept Rewards Program you earn the items you need for your operation,” the website says.
The SNA section warns, however, that SNA Rewards do not pay for travel.
▪ Schwan’s Branded Concepts — SNA Rewards
Bertrand Weber, the director of culinary and nutrition services for the Minneapolis Public Schools, told officials of the United Fresh Produce Association at their meeting here last week that he has already received eight invitations from processed food companies to go to parties during the School Nutrition Association annual meeting in Boston in July — and that he has not received a single invitation from a fruit or vegetable provider.
Weber said he was making “a challenge” to United Fresh to establish closer relations with the school food service directors to woo his peers, just as the SNA, which represents the food service directors and the companies that make food for schools, is asking Congress or the Agriculture Department to end a requirement that students be served a half cup or fruits or vegetables at each school meal.
SNA maintains that some students don’t want the fruits and vegetables and are throwing them away. Weber is an enthusiast for the new fruit and vegetable requirement, but believes that the produce industry needs to promote itself more with the schools.
Weber said that instead of calling for a waiver and asking Congress to get rid of the fruit and vegetable requirement, SNA should work with the Agriculture Department to resolve issues. Weber said that, for example, he wishes USDA would adjust the strict calorie requirements that make him serve the same amount of food to a short girl, a tall athlete and a pregnant teenager.
United Fresh officials acknowledge that their members have not had as close a relationship to the school food service directors as the processed food companies, and that one reason some food directors don’t like the fruit and vegetable requirement is that they don’t know how to buy produce efficiently.
Fruit and vegetable companies did pay for 30 school food service directors to attend the United Fresh meeting in Chicago.
United Fresh is also an SNA member and has for the first time taken a large pavilion at the SNA conference, where fruit and vegetable distributors will be on hand to try to advise school food service directors on the best purchasing practices.
Tom StenzelIn an email to The Hagstrom Report on Tuesday, United Fresh CEO Tom Stenzel acknowledged Weber’s challenge.
“United Fresh is doing all we can to reach out and support the school nutrition directors at SNA,” Stenzel said.
“This is the first year we’ll sponsor a fresh produce pavilion, and that is a large amount of money on our budget. We’d love to host more receptions and fun events for the directors if we could. For now, we are focusing our dollars on the educational aspects of the trade show and workshops to help directors.”
“We’ll never likely be able to compete with food vendors directly, but hope that SNA members will take advantage of the learning opportunities we can bring,” Stenzel said.
“We’d really love to do more to help with webinars, special training events, etc., if SNA could make it more affordable for us.”
The website for Schwan’s Foods, a major provider of pizza to the schools, reveals the close relationship between SNA and the processed food companies.
According to the “Branded Concepts” section of Schwan’s website, school food service directors can “earn valuable SNA Rewards to use towards conference registrations, meetings, membership dues, books, and more!” through their purchases of Schwan products.
“Schwan’s Food Service recognizes your loyalty to our brands and we want to reward you for serving your customers premium menu options. Through the Branded Concept Rewards Program you earn the items you need for your operation,” the website says.
The SNA section warns, however, that SNA Rewards do not pay for travel.
▪ Schwan’s Branded Concepts — SNA Rewards
