Clean Eating Challenge participants to share results at Viva Fresh 2022
A highlight of the Texas International Produce Association’s Viva Fresh Expo will be the culmination of the third annual Viva Fresh Clean Eating Challenge.
Fourteen applicants from the produce industry were selected to be featured participants in the six-month program that focused on a healthy lifestyle, said Dante Galeazzi, TIPA president and CEO.
Participants chronicled their journey on the Clean Eating Challenge website, vivacleaneating.com, and participants in previous challenges served as peer mentors.
The results will be revealed at the expo’s keynote lunch on Saturday, April 23.
Megan Jacobsen, vice president of sales and marketing for Gills Onions LLC, Oxnard, Calif., said she signed up for the challenge “because I truly believe there is a magic found within fresh produce and being connected more to your food.”
“Holistic health and wellness takes effort,” she said, “but it has absolutely proven to be worth it.”
Her top successes have been increasing energy levels and eliminating brain fog, Jacobsen said.
“Many of us can relate to the struggles of balancing health and wellness to the stress and demands life throws our way,” she said. “Being more mindful and intentional of everyday choices has been my biggest takeaway from the Viva Fresh Clean Eating Challenge.”
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George Szczepanski, director of production, the supply chain and environmental policy for the International Fresh Produce Association, said he joined the Viva Fresh Clean Eating Challenge because, even though he’s spent 15 years in the produce industry, he still was one of the nine of 10 Americans who don’t get the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
“I knew that had to change, not just to walk the talk, but also to create a healthy life for myself, which is more important than ever, as my wife and I are raising two toddlers,” he said.
The challenges of parenting small children during a pandemic make it hard to make the right eating choices, he said. But the mindful eating he has done with the Clean Eating Challenge has built good habits that will remain for his entire lifetime.
“I eat more fruits and vegetables, more routinely, than I ever have in my life,” he said. “It’s just how I go about my day now, and it’s delicious.”
Jacobsen thanked TIPA and challenge sponsors for “creating an environment for our group to thrive and achieve our goals together, as well as helping us put our words into action by practicing what we preach in fresh produce — eating more fresh fruits and vegetables.”
She also expressed gratitude for “the accountability, daily check-ins and monthly calls” that were a part of the process.
“Ashley Ojeda Porter [associate business development manager] with H-E-B has been a wonderful mentor and guided us well,” she added.
Szczepanski said he lost about 10 pounds as of mid-March, but that wasn’t his primary goal.
“I’m proud of that,” he said. “I’m not perfect, and my journey isn’t over, but I’m on my way.
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Eating more fruits and vegetables was an important part of the experience, which also included consuming whole grains, animal and plant-based protein, nuts, seeds and oils; consuming minimally processed foods; removing added sugars from daily diets; and reducing refined carbohydrates, such as breads, chips, white pasta and rice.
The appearance of the Clean Eating Challenge participants will be the lead-in to the keynote speaker at the Viva Fresh Expo, Dave McGillivray, technical and race director of the Boston Athletic Association Boston Marathon, Galeazzi said.
