Bayer Invests $20,000 in the United Fresh Start Foundation to Increase Children’s Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
September 20, 2016
Sunnyslope Elementary Students Receive New Salad Bar and Participate in Apple Variety Taste Test
Wenatchee, WA. (Sept. 21, 2016) – Bayer, in partnership with the United Fresh Start Foundation, is providing a new salad bar to Sunnyslope Elementary School, Wenatchee Public Schools. To promote the new salad bar, the announcement was made at a special assembly for 4th and 5th grade students, where they taste tested 3 new Stemilt apple varieties, and voted on their favorite tasting apple.
“The new salad bar will allow us to replace our old equipment, and provide students with an attractive display of fresh fruits and veggies every day,” said David Perkins, Principal, Sunnyslope Elementary School. “Our district’s foodservice team does a fantastic job sourcing local produce and offering different veggie choices. The salad bar will definitely highlight that.”
Bayer has committed $20,000 to the United Fresh Start Foundation, in support of their mission to increase children’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables. As part of the partnership, Bayer is funding salad bars to elementary and secondary schools in the Pacific Northwest and California, providing healthy lunch choices for students. Schools will implement the salad bars in their school lunch and breakfast programs, starting in the coming weeks.
“Over 5 billion school lunches were served last year, and we are thrilled to support the United Fresh Start Foundation and their Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative,” said Jennifer Maloney, Food Chain and Sustainability Manger, Bayer. “With more than 30 million American children participating in the National School Lunch Program each day, providing salad bars to schools will expose kids to a variety of fruits and vegetables, and help continue the conversation about the importance of eating more fresh fruits and vegetables for better health.”
Bayer serves as a member of the United Fresh Start Foundation’s committee that’s charged with providing guidance on new and innovative avenues to increase children’s access to fresh produce.
“We greatly appreciate having the support of companies like Bayer to encourage healthy eating habits for the next generation of produce consumers,” said Tony Freytag, Chairman, United Fresh Produce Association and Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Cashmere, WA based Crunch Pak. “We’re pleased to have more companies supporting salad bars for schools and partnering with growers to host fun events that introduce children to new produce items. When students are engaged in the process of selecting choices from the salad bar or voting for their favorite apple, it’s another opportunity to get them excited about choosing fresh produce with their next snack or meal,” Freytag added.
School districts also receiving salad bars from Bayer include the Galt Joint Unified School District (Galt, CA) and the El Monte City School District (El Monte, CA).
To coordinate the salad bar contribution, Bayer worked with the United Fresh Start Foundation, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the United Fresh Produce Association. As part of the Foundation’s partnership in the national Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative, they are working with the produce industry, non-profits and allied businesses to support salad bars to schools across the United States. To date, the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative has donated salad bars to over 4,800 schools in all fifty states, benefitting more than 3 million children. Bayer’s salad bar investment supports the national initiative.
Current research indicates that the use of salad bars in schools promotes healthy food choices in school-aged children. With access to a salad bar, students are encouraged to try new items and are empowered to make their own healthy choices now, and in the future. The Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative aims to help school districts meet new USDA school lunch nutrition standards and promote a healthier lifestyle for students nationwide.
Bayer’s commitment to sustainability and agricultural education begins with the people it serves every day. This commitment extends to fighting food insecurity and encouraging healthier food choices for a happier and well-educated community. For additional information and background on Bayer and its other programs, please visit cropscience.bayer.us/our-commitment.
In this photo, L to R are:
Tony Freytag, Chairman, United Fresh Produce Association and Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Cashmere, WA based Crunch Pak
Jennifer Maloney, Bayer Crop Science Food Chain Sustainability Manager
Kent Getzin, Food Service Director, Wenatchee Public Schools)
Sunnyslope Elementary Students (4-5 graders)
Tate Mathison – Director of Sales, Stemilt Growers
David Perkins, Principal, Sunnyslope Elementary School
Bayer is committed to bringing new technology and solutions for agriculture and non-agricultural uses. For questions concerning the availability and use of products, contact a local Bayer representative, or visit Crop Science, a division of Bayer, online at www.CropScience.Bayer.us.
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Bayer: Science For A Better Life
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2015, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of EUR 46.3 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.3 billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.About the United Fresh Start Foundation
The United Fresh Start Foundation is focused exclusively on increasing children’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and inspiring the next generation to “choose fresh” whenever and wherever they are eating their next snack or meal. Working with the produce industry, local nonprofits, healthcare organizations, allied businesses, and others, the United Fresh Start Foundation is committed to helping today’s youth achieve the public health goal of making half their plate fruits and vegetables in order to live longer, healthier lives. Join our movement to ensure kids everywhere are “Growing Up Fresh!”About Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools
Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools is a public health campaign to increase salad bars in schools across the country so that every child has the choice of healthy fruits and vegetables every day at school. Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools supports First Lady Michelle Obama's “Let's Move!” initiative to end childhood obesity in a generation. For more information: www.saladbars2schools.org.Contact:
Bayer Media Hotline, 1-862-404-5118, or
Kelly O’Halloran
Crop Science, a Division of Bayer
Tel: (919) 661-3389
Email: kelly.ohalloran@bayer.com
Andrew Marshall
United Fresh Start Foundation
Tel: (202) 303-3407
Email: amarshall@unitedfresh.org
Find more information at CropScience.Bayer.us.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
