The Produce Moms Podcast

"[The branding] is a callout to help the consumer remember the apple when they go to the store and pick it up"  Vince Lopes (25:51 - 25:58)   While there are a hefty amount of different apple varieties available on the market right now, many are being taken out due to lack of consumer preference. This gives companies like T&G the opportunity to create new variations on an old favorite. At the fore...

"Our CEO, Shah Kazemi, felt like it was important to give back to the families that are behind the brand."  Lindsey Occhipinti (06:47 - 06:52)   Celebrating its 50th year in business, Monterey Mushrooms has taken the "family first" philosophy to new levels over the years. Still family-owned, Monterey has given back to its employees' families over the last 30 years, assisting their children in furt...

"Managed varieties are something that give consumers a fresher look at the categories they love"  Jennifer Parkhill (11:39 - 11:49)     All produce isn't created equal in the agriculture industry and with the introduction of managed varieties consumers are able to find precisely the taste and texture they're looking for. SweeTango has been a trailblazer in the apple category, providing a sweet var...

"Qi Gong helps us get into that flow state where we feel our best selves and bring our best selves into all the activities of our lives." Lee Holden (8:56-9:08)   Would you like to be able to release stress and gain energy in just a few minutes?   By practicing a form of ancient Chinese medicine called Qi Gong, you can do just that. It's is an easy feel-good practice that can be done in just a sho...

"We came up with this formula to combine produce distribution and nutrition education with a fun food experience"  Lisa Helfman (06:06 - 06:13)   At baseline, low-income families are eating so little produce, they're ignoring it at the grocery store because they're intimidated by it. Parents fear spending money on food that might spoil, because they are unaware of how to properly prepare it. Brigh...

"My passion is supporting busy people so that they can have an economical, healthy and fast way to feed their families"  Katie Hotze (20:43 - 20:54)   There is always the impeding question of "what's for dinner" at the end of every day. As we are busy balancing work and home life, the go-to meals are often recycled every week, leading to possibly bland and less healthier options. A new application...

"What you see on the packaging is what you get"  Dr. Lior Lewenszatin (09:03 - 09:05)   Fruits are one of the most accessible foods on the food pyramid, and yet a hefty amount of Americans don't get the amount they should daily. When cruising down the aisles at the grocery store, fruit snacks might be more appealing especially to kids. The hard truth is that a lot of fruit snacks we see are loaded...

"We realized what needs to happen is that we need to create a distribution network that ensures that food really makes it to the people in need."    Dan Zauderer (14:30 - 14:47)   It's an unfortunate truth that there are still families in this country that struggle to put food on their own tables. As we look to find ways to assist, sometimes it can be difficult to figure out what is the right thin...

"We want to show that you can have it all and eat really well in a way that you can feel good about it." Dan Riegler (03:50 - 03:57 )   Meat replacements in a plant-based society typically aren't necessarily what they are cut out to be. As we try to eat better, we still want to enjoy the flavors we have become accustomed to. Processed meat replacements are either clearly not the same texture, or f...

"This is a product that was created for me. It was something that I couldn't find on the market when I stopped eating meat." Jason Rosenbaum (04:18 - 04:24)   The term "plant-based" gets thrown out a lot, especially in recent years, as more people are going towards a vegetarian/vegan diet. But not all "plant-based" products are created equal. While some *are* plant-based, they can contain a lot of...

"Michigan blueberries and varieties are just miles ahead of where we were 65 years ago when our farm started." Andrew VanTil (13:06 - 13:19)   Did you know there are nearly 150 different varieties of blueberries? Given any trip to your grocery store or farmers market, you're more than likely going to be exposed to any of the 30 main varieties. As a smaller farm, Bowerman Blueberries has been famil...

"There's a food revolution underway and it's not a fad. It's not letting up. It's a really exciting place to be" Josh Schroeter (05:05 - 05:11)   Josh Schroeter is truly an entrepreneur at heart. After working as a TV reporter and journalist for years, he went head first into the food industry in 2004 after starting Sahale Snacks with his best friend. Focusing on innovation, the company truly rein...

"Our goal is to have a product that is so close to fresh produce as you can get it, but also making it shelf stable" Natalie Mariani Kling (04:48 - 04:55)   Attached to the Mariani name, Natalie Mariani Kling was already in the thick of growing produce and providing nutritious food to consumers. But that mindset elevated when she became a mother. In-depth research about eating habits from around t...

"I can walk out into every field and eat what I've worked for. It's fun to share that product with people."  Drew Ketelsen (10:05 - 10:13)   Family is at the center of HMC Farms, which has been owned and operated by the McClarty Family since 1887. Starting with just 40 acres of land more than a century ago, HMC Farms now grows, packs, ships and sells tree fruit and table grapes. After falling in l...

"As more sustainable packaging becomes available, the cost will go down. We just really need to invest in that"  Kaci Komstadius (14:23 - 14:34)   While she recycled household products as a child Marketing Manager at Sage Fruit Company, Kaci Komstadius was influenced to take further steps to living a more sustainable lifestyle after seeing how conscious her fiance's family is with reducing waste....

"I could have learned what I did about plant-based nutrition and kept it to myself. But that's not who I am. I need to curate some experiences for folks."  LA Dunn (6:04 - 6:14)   As a city-kid raised in New York, Founder of Black Girls Eat, LA Dunn's parents always made sure she had a green vegetable at dinner. As she got older and noticed some changes to her body, she decided to take her nutriti...

"Strong curriculum resources are part of the tool box that teachers reach into and pull out so that they are successful in delivering the lesson for the day.  "  John Flanagan (17:30 - 17:44) Executive Director of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Nancy Bock, and President of Goodheart-Willcox Publishing, John Flanagan aim to work in tandem to recruit, prepare, and support...

"We're working hard with the co-op to try and get SweeTango apples into the hands of more direct farm marketers so that consumers can find them in more grocery stores"    John Jacobson (16:46 - 17:08) Second generation grower with Jacobson's Pine Tree Apple Orchard, John Jacobson knew the SweeTango apple needed to be added to the farm the moment he tried it in 2006. It took a bit of convincing for...

"There's so many opportunities to travel, network, and broaden your horizons. I don't think you can get that anywhere  else. "  Hannah Jones (10:46 - 10:56)   Kevin Homan, FCS student at Purdue University in Indiana, Hannah Jones, National FCCLA First Vice President and incoming political science freshman at The University of Kentucky and Kenzlee Camp, incoming FCS freshman at Oklahoma State Unive...

"We want people to get this premium product, but they're not stretching for it. They're getting it at an affordable price."  Noah Robbins (6:30 - 6:39)   Growing up in agriculture, CEO and Founder of Ark Foods, Noah Robbins saw a need to not only make farmers market vegetables more accessible, but to build a brand around making them enjoyable to consumers again.   The taste of the products Ark Foo...

"Students can go anywhere in the world, if they are an FCS teacher, and get a job"  Dr. Jacqueline Holland (23:13 - 23:21) Dr. Jacqueline Holland, Associate Professor and Director of the Department of Family Consumer Sciences at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, and Dr. Susan Turgeson, Associate Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences at The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point ar...

"Sharing content all started because of an onion tree. Boring!" Shay Myers (4:10-4:14)   You've probably seen or heard of Shay Myers, third generation farmer and CEO of Owyhee Produce, through his TikTok and Instagram handle @shayfarmkid. He's been educating consumers and showing them behind-the-scenes of his farm on social media, which thankfully helped him harvest this year's asparagus when ther...

"I'm definitely optimistic about the future of the restaurant industry. People always have to eat!"   Seth Karm (16:56-16:59) Salad Savoy, a one-of-a-kind vegetable that grows in beautiful white and violet heads, is the namesake of the company behind some of the healthiest, nutrient-dense vegetables around. The company was hit hard during the pandemic, but is thankfully bouncing back with the help...

"We are going to address our family and consumer sciences teacher shortage and truly work to increase the number of highly qualified teachers that best meet the needs of our schools and community." Kristin Vest (5:49-6:02) Reno Palombit, CTE Workforce Development Specialist from North Carolina, Melissa Webb, Family and Consumer Sciences Consultant at the California Department of Education and FCCL...

"The great thing about cocktails is they are cultures in a glass. You can learn so much about the history of a place, its people and its traditions just by what you are drinking."   Erin Petrey (5:33-5:41)   Erin Petrey, mixologist, cocktail coach, and longtime cocktail and culture writer for www.bourbonbanter.com , started the pandemic sharing how-to videos on Instagram to teach how to make delic...