Are we up for a challenge?
On April 19, the Produce Marketing Association convened a UN Food Systems Summit Dialogue. A Brighter Bites leader, a celebrity chef with a worthy cause, a senior U.S. Department of Agriculture official overseeing Double-Up Bucks and Produce Prescription, as well as global leaders of nonprofits with boots-on-the-ground networks shared PMA’s virtual stage to highlight investment-ready programs from around the world that deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to under-served communities.
In presentation after presentation, it became clear that hunger and obesity are the same – increasingly global – problem, borne out of a lopsided approach of relying on calorie-dense foods to address food insecurity. However, a solution to food insecurity cannot be a pandemic of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Any program that aims to address hunger must primarily focus on addressing nutritional insecurity and supply fruits and vegetables to those in need. This message was at the heart of the challenge issued by PMA CEO Cathy Burns.
With so many nonprofits vying for attention, which ones should we prioritize for partnering? We heard from organizations that are data driven, who not only track dollars spent but also evaluate long-term health outcomes in the communities they serve. We learned about programs that match every dollar they raise with federal grants to double the buying power of SNAP (“food stamps”) to purchase fresh fruits or vegetables or to literally prescribe fresh fruits and vegetables to treat diet-related conditions.
Investing in these and other innovative programs can reshape how we buy and eat fresh fruits and vegetables to create durable change in consumption patterns and invigorate public-private partnerships globally and locally. It is these partnerships that can make possible what now feels futuristic: using data and predictive algorithms to develop smart food box programs that both sequester excess produce and address nutritional insecurity.
How does the Growing a Healthier World challenge work? First, find an organization that promotes access to fresh produce in your community. Second, reach out to them. Next, ask how you can partner. Finally, brag.
To find organizations in your communities, check out searchable databases from the networks that were showcased in our challenge, and are now available on PMA’s website. Partnership can take many shapes: donate your time and expertise (strategy or marketing advice, for example), donate product or cash, or offer to call your elected representative. To brag, send an e-mail to mhill@pma.com and we will recognize your contributions at this year’s PMA Fresh Summit in New Orleans.
There was a time when addressing hunger was about getting food – any food – to those in need. That time has passed. The problem, and our experience and knowledge, have evolved and our oath to grow a healthier world requires us to ensure access to healthy, nutritious food to those who need it most. We invite you to join the #GrowingAHealthierWorld Challenge. Because when our industry feeds the world, we nourish it.
Max Teplitski is chief science officer for the Produce Marketing Association.
More from Max Teplitski:
Three conversations for National Nutrition Month
More than public health rides on COVID-19 vaccine’s success
Three science and tech trends to watch in 2021
