Staying connected to members is always a goal for industry associations, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made it very difficult to do so with typical events.
For the Produce Marketing Association, CEO Cathy Burns said the group’s ongoing weekly Virtual Town Hall meetings during the COVID-19 crisis have helped members connect and find answers.
The Packer’s Tom Karst visited on May 5 with Burns about PMA’s adjustments to serve the industry during the global pandemic.
“(The Virtual Town Hall) has been a great opportunity to bring people together,” she said. “We’ve had representation as high as 29 different countries as part of the town hall meeting.”
Listening to the concerns of members around COVID-19, PMA responded by creating the Joy of Fresh toolkit, she said.
The Joy of Fresh campaign is designed to reaffirm the safety and health benefits of fruits and vegetables in the midst of general unease over the virus.
“People were concerned and quite frankly, unfortunately, (are) still concerned about the transfer of the virus on produce,” Burns said. The Joy of Fresh campaign uses PMA’s periodic surveys of consumer attitudes to understand and answer their concerns.
She said the Joy of Fresh campaign is an opportunity for the industry, and for PMA, to communicate with influencers and consumer media on narratives around fresh produce.
“Either we reinforce a great narrative, or we influence and change a harmful narrative to our industry,” she said.
COVID-19 reactions
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit PMA members in countries all around the world, and Burns said virtual connections have allowed industry leaders to understand and prepare for the evolution of the outbreak.
“China was way ahead of us (in facing the virus) and so we’re trying to get some learnings from China,” she said. In addition, Burns said the Virtual Town Hall meetings have pulled in strong representation from Europe.
“We try to secure perspectives from different (areas) in the (industry sector) roundtables as well; and so for Europe, as they start to reopen even before we did here in the U.S., they are saying, ‘Here is what you can expect,’” she said.
Burns also talked about the needs of the foodservice sector and the PMA’s upcoming virtual conference, Foodservice: Delivered, set for July 20-24.
Government programs like the USDA’s food box program can help the industry, but time will be needed for a full-fledged rebound, she said.
“The long-term solution is resurgence of the whole supply chain with fresh produce flowing through every element of our foodservice market — restaurants, schools, colleges, universities, hotels, entertainment facilities,” Burns said.
“We have research just coming out that (seeks) understanding of the consumer and their road back to foodservice channel.”
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