PBH explores sustainability effort

The Produce for Better Health Foundation kicked off September’s National Fruit and Veggies month by hosting a webinar for exploring the role sustainability efforts can play in increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables.

PBH’s President and CEO Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak moderated the discussion, discussing some of their efforts and ideas to move towards a more sustainable world while increasing produce consumption. Kapsak went over PBH’s initiatives over the last few years, discussing the company’s “Have a Plant” campaign, which was launched to inspire lasting behavioral change in creating healthier people and a better environment. She also added that PBH’s theme for fruit and vegetable promotions in September is “Celebrating the roots of our foods.”

One member of the webinar, Mike Binda of U.S. Foods, discussed his company’s efforts to deliver foodservice products to all parts of the country from its 70 warehouses. He talked about the company’s transportation plan, “straight lining” to take food miles off the trip and deliver fresh food to every customer in the most efficient way. Binda also touted the company’s “Scoop Platform,” which they designed to get ahead of product trends to be more cost effective and efficient while creating more foot traffic and utilizing less labor. 

Frank Muller of M Three Ranches also discussed sustainability and being environmentally responsible. He said his main task is to use resources more efficiently to produce a growing food supply, while finding a way to leave the land and soil in better shape than he found it. One way he’s been able to find sustainable farming through California’s drought is his process of drip irrigation. “That cuts our water usage by 40 percent, while improving our productivity by 25 percent,” he said. Muller added that the result is more than double the production per acre foot of water.