The 2022 Packer 25 is our annual tribute to 25 leaders, innovators and agents of change across the fresh produce supply chain. Each year, The Packer invites the produce industry to nominate distinguished veterans, leaders and rising stars of the fresh produce industry. As always, our editorial team was energized and awed by the talented pool of nominees this year. Now in its 18th year, The Packer 25 is once again spotlighting 25 dynamic and inspiring people who are moving the produce industry forward.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Mollie Van Lieu, vice president of nutrition and health, International Fresh Produce Association
What has been the most inspiring moment in your produce industry career?
Van Lieu: I’m consistently in awe of how nimble the produce industry is but watching the Farmers to Families fresh produce box program go from a concept to a reality in 2020 has probably been the highlight. There were so many bumps along the way but seeing the produce industry figure out how to forge relationships with nonprofits in their communities to provide fresh produce to hungry neighbors during such a vulnerable time was so moving and continues to inspire me today. From a dietary quality perspective, we know that most forms of produce provide good nutrition, but we can’t underestimate the dignity and joy provided to someone by giving them access to high-quality fresh produce.
What drew to the produce industry and why are you passionate about it?
I had worked for about a decade on nutrition issues in D.C. — first on Capitol Hill and then in the nonprofit public health world. I grew up in the dairy industry in Pennsylvania, so I missed the ag world, but I wanted a role where I could positively contribute to public health every single day. I wanted to move into industry, but it can be really hard to be on the right side of nutrition policy within the food industry, unless you work for produce. We’re one of the only food industries where people, no matter who you are, need to be eating more, not less. It’s way more fun to play offense than defense. In my previous roles, I also worked alongside former Lorelei DiSogra at United Fresh and saw firsthand that industry takes public health issues seriously.
On a personal note, my dad died of a heart attack when he was in his 40s and I was in high school. I was devastated and it turned my and my family’s world upside down, but we also didn’t really question the ‘why’ or ‘how.’ I’m sure it was partly because I was a kid, but it wasn’t until I got to D.C. and really started peeling back the layers of our food system that it lit a fire in me.
I don’t love the hyperbolic ‘our food system is broken’ proclamation because it’s more complicated than that, but we absolutely are in a place today that makes it too easy for too many to fail.
My dad was the least lazy person I knew and did not fit the stereotype for what the average person would consider someone at risk of a fatal heart attack, but looking back, he had many of the risk factors. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America. Over the last 20 years, it has gotten better in terms of access to healthier choices, but diet-related diseases are killing more than a million Americans a year, and yet we largely treat nutrition policy as a passive issue. And it’s entirely preventable. It is what gets me up in the morning. Losing my dad and the financial security he provided to our family also afforded me a huge amount of empathy for those who have less. You never know someone’s story or their struggles, and I try to keep that in mind with my work.
What is the best advice you were ever given?
Don’t punch down.
If you had to brand your own mission statement, what would that look like?
As a federal policy person, I typically consider if a policy proposal has potential to make a population-based behavioral change. Short of that, we are just putting a band-aid on our problems and patting ourselves on the back. With that in mind I’d say my mission statement is: Scalable, evidence-based consumer- and outcome-focused solutions.
If you could only eat one produce item your entire life, what would that be and why?
I know I’m not supposed to play favorites, but it would absolutely be sweet cherries because they’re delicious.
