The Produce Moms Podcast

"You know the garlic is USA grown when it's grown by Christopher Ranch." - Lori   With the rise of awareness and education, consumers are becoming more conscious regarding the sourcing of their produce. When seeking responsibly sourced garlic, look no further than Ken Christopher and his family at Christopher Ranch, the only family-owned garlic farm in the United States. The ranch is rich with fam...

"Julie is authentically passionate about raising awareness of our industries' critical issues and teaching academic standard in the process. It's really a remarkable approach to education." - Lori   When it comes to innovation in the classroom, 6th-grade teacher Julie Cates, 2015 AG in the Classroom Teacher of the Year, is an inspiration. While she and her students live in Central Valley, a region...

"Our mission is to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables in the US and change the way America eats" In this pilot episode of the The Produce Moms Podcast, we hear from THE Produce Mom, Lori Taylor. Lori has 10+ years of experience in the produce industry and is working every day to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Her passion to "change the way America eats" comes fro...

"Sustainability is meeting the needs of the future without compromising future generations."   This week on the Produce Moms podcast, we are learning more about sustainability from Nikki Rodoni, the Founder and CEO of Measure to Improve. Measure to Improve exists to help producers and processors measure, improve and credibly promote their sustainability efforts. They provide analysis, resources, a...

"AgSafe is a critical resource that helps farmers in doing what they do best." - Amy Wolfe   This week on The Produce Moms Podcast, we're talking with Amy Wolfe, the President and CEO of AgSafe. AgSafe's mission is "to advance the food and farming industries commitment to a safe, sustainable workforce and food supply, by providing practical education and resources." Their aim is to provide support...

" There was really a need to help preserve the produce because it is so fragile and can quickly die without the proper environmental controls that help it stay fresh. My grandfather saw the need and we've been developing products ever since."   This week on the Produce Moms Podcast, we're joined by Emily Stavrou. Emily is the Vice President of Corrigan Corporation of America, also known as Corriga...

"Artificial intelligence helps us figure out answers using data that we wouldn't have been able to know before, maybe even sometimes to predict famine or food insecurity in different parts of the world. " What do drones and artificial intelligence have to do with farming? This week on The Produce Moms, we continue our adventure inside the Blue Room at FFA Convention. Lori and Mary Snapp, Corporate...

"Agriculture is here to feed the world, to protect the planet, to make people's lives better." This week, on The Produce Moms, Lori takes us on location to FFA Convention, inside The Blue Room, presented by Agrinovus and powered by Microsoft. Lori talks about the evolution of the FFA organization with Beth Bechdol, the President and CEO of Agrinovus Indiana, and the visionary behind this room full...

"A proper nutrition program is vital for athletes of all ages and all levels, whether you are training to get a PR at your next road race, in high school looking to go on and play college sports, or even if you are just simply a frequent user of your local gym." This week on The Produce Moms Podcast, Lori Taylor and Beth Miller, Director of Sports Nutrition for Duke Athletics, discuss the importan...

"One of our top priorities is how we can shift components of our plate to make them more nutrient dense and to bring in more of these under consumed vegetables into our daily diets. This product is a turn-key solution." This week on The Produce Mom's Podcast, we sit down with self-proclaimed "Veggie Nerd," and Founder of Cece's Veggie Co., Mason Arnold. Mason is also on the board with The United F...

Our vision is to bring together the global produce and floral industry to grow a healthier world. Not only in consumers and what they eat, but also our members and our members' prosperity." This week on the Produce Moms Podcast, Lori spoke with Lauren M. Scott, CMO of the Produce Marketing Association. The Produce Marketing Association is a global, member-led association that reaches to 46 countri...

"I had been paying attention to the food I was putting into my body, but not the drinks… I swapped out diet soda for water and 2 ½ weeks later I had lost 24 lbs, my skin was clear, and I had so much energy."   This week on The Produce Moms Podcast we hear from the Founder and CEO of Hint Water, Kara Goldin. Kara shares the story of Hint, birthed from her own journey to find health and wellness. Sh...

"We've always been focused on communities and schools that have less access… we've made sure that our meals are healthy, fresh, nutritious, and delivered everyday, but also that they are fully reimbursable through the federal meal reimbursement program." This week on The Produce Moms, Kirsten Saenz Tobey, Co-founder and Chief Impact Officer of Revolution Foods shared about the incredible impact be...

"We call ourselves the innovation factory in produce." This week on The Produce Mom's Podcast, we have the honor of chatting with Jacob Shafer, the Senior Communication Specialist for Mann's Foods. Mann's operated as a family-owned company from 1939 until earlier this year, when it was acquired by DelMonte. Mann's is a personal favorite at The Produce Moms, and we were so ecstatic to spend time di...

"It's about total nutrition. Fruits. Vegetables. Whole grain, along with low fat and fat free dairy." This week on The Produce Moms Podcast, Lori spends time chatting with Marc Blake, Vice President of Business for the National Dairy Council and Mac Riggen, Director of Marketing for Chelan Fresh. Chelan Fresh is a Washington-based produce provider of pears, apples and cherries. Chelan Fresh has be...

"The solution to our food insecurity lies within the networking and donors. " This week on The Produce Moms Podcast, Lori spends time talking to Shara Merten, the CEO of the Yuma Food Bank. This community food bank is the largest food effort in all of Yuma and La Paz County. To give perspective, Yuma itself has 205,000 inhabitants, and there are 200,000 individuals that benefit from the food bank!...

"She saw that there was a huge surplus of fresh fruits and vegetables that were being discarded every day... and on the other hand there were families who were suffering from diseases and not living their best lives because there was scarcity." In this Episode of The Produce Moms Podcast, Lori had the privilege of speaking with Ashley Miyasaki. Ashley is the Co-Founder of Pulp Pantry, a company on...

"The Watermelon Board represents 1500 shippers and growers in the United States" In this episode of the The Produce Moms Podcast, Lori sits down to discuss one of America's favorite fruits with Jesse Wiggins. Jesse is a fifth generation farmer and the President of the Watermelon Promotion Board. At 25 years of age, he is the youngest individual to ever hold this position and brings fresh perspecti...

"We have to think beyond what's on the menu, because people are starting to care more about, not just how things taste, but they want to know that the food is good for them, and it's also good for the world. " In this week's episode, Lori had the honor of chatting with Missy Shaaphok, RD. Missy is the Manager of Global Nutrition and Sustainability for Taco Bell. Her mission is to continue finding...

"We as consumers have to re-educate ourselves. It's my hope that Produce Moms can be a vehicle to educate us to shift our mindset." In this episode of The Produce Moms, Lori takes some time to recap all of the incredible episodes that have been released so far on the podcast. Lori's passion is to help moms everywhere become more educated on produce, and the issues that affect sustainability, avail...

"Our concept of fresh produce got exploited in the marketing of food. Color television, magazines, food network... changed the consumers mindset about produce. They took seeking out 'fresh' to seeking out 'perfect.' We're seeing food that has been waxed or dyed, or sorted out because it doesn't stack in those beautiful pyramids you see at grocery retailers..." Stacy Carroll, Director of Partnershi...

"Over 90% of the produce items USDA is purchasing for schools are dried, canned, or frozen… The opportunities created by the Farm Bill could be the only time that a child has access to fresh fruit and vegetables." Mollie Van Lieu, Senior Director of the Nutrition Policy for United Fresh Produce, spends her days on The Hill, promoting change in our government regarding nutrition. Her mission is to...

"We sell Health. We sell lifestyle. We're selling fresh fruits and vegetables and getting consumers into the produce department."   Tonya Antle, Co-founder and EVP of the Organic Produce Network (OPN), has been a driving force in the farming and produce industry for the past thirty plus years.  She grew up on her own family's table grape and citrus farm in Delano, California. She is recognized as...

"At Sage Fruit, our primary focus is on apples, pears, cherries, apricots, peaches, and nectarines"   In episode 12, Lori Taylor has a chat on all things fresh fruit with Kaci Komstadius of Sage F ruit. Sage Fruit Company is a sales and marketing firm of northwest tree fruits, located in Yakima, Washington. They are owned by five grower/packer/shippers who joined for the purpose of delivering high...

"Salad Savoy® is a one-of-a-kind veggie that grows in bright violet and white heads"   In this week's episode, Lori has a conversation with Seth Karm of Salad Savoy®. Salad Savoy Corporation is the brainchild of John Moore in 1983, following a trip to Sweden. While he was there, he visited a vegetable garden and was struck by what he saw, and tasted! Through detailed research and development, not...