New England Produce Council Inc. held a dinner meeting, sponsored by Dole, at the Greater Boston Food Bank on March 14. The day began with a volunteer group of NEPC members sorting and packing healthy food items for member agencies in eastern Massachusetts followed by Anthony Sattler, senior vice president of C&S Wholesale and NEPC president, welcoming the group and sharing exciting NEPC updates for this year, including the 20th year anniversary celebration of the NEPC Produce, Floral & Food Service Expo set for Sept. 19.
Laura Sulllivan (front row) of NEPC, Bonnie Lundblad and Bob VonRohr of Sunny Valley International, and Rob Russo of Dole with (back row) Alden Guptill of DiSilva Fruit, Scott Maher and Tom Murray of Roche Bros., Marc Bonneau of Hannaford, Greg Kosofsky of Always Fresh and Janice Stallone of Decas Farms.
“NEPC is committed to supporting hunger relief efforts,” said Sattler. The dinner meeting continued with a presentation by Chris Hill, senior director of sales for the Northeast and Canada Dole Fresh Vegetables. The evening concluded with a delicious dinner and socializing. This event was attended by many retailers, vendors and foodservice representatives.
Three major points highlighted in Hill’s presentation included Dole’s new alliance with Total Produce (a Dublin-based company) and Safeway Foods in Vineland, NJ. The second point was Dole’s strong partnership with Disney, and third, the recent Romaine issues that have led Dole to find new solutions to improve instances like this as it relates to the overall business of leafy greens.
Dole is committed to working closely with the FDA, CDC, CFIA to lead these efforts. “The experience at the food bank was awesome and can really make one think about how blessed we are and how all of us can help reach out to those in need more often than we do to make a difference. Very impressed with the staff and level of enthusiasm across all GBFB team members,” said Hill.
Another highlight of the evening was the presentation by Hill on behalf of Dole and NEPC of a $3,000 donation to the Greater Boston Food Bank. Cheryl Schondek, senior vice president, was on hand to receive this donation. Schondek spoke about food insecurity and thanked the Dole, NEPC and entire produce organization for their support of the mission to end hunger.
“The data is alarming — one in 10 residents in eastern Massachusetts is food insecure, they don’t know where their next meal is coming from. One in eight is a child. With your ongoing support, we can change that staggering statistic. Last year GBFB distributed over 62 million pounds of healthy food to 530-member agencies in 190 cities and towns. Over 35 percent is fresh produce. We can’t do that without this organization,” she said.
NEPC and Dole have been partnering for over five years, hosting this dinner event at the Greater Boston Food Bank. During that time NEPC and Dole have donated close to $30,000 in addition to volunteer groups working at the GBFB. “We look forward to this special meeting every year and we hope to continue our partnership with Dole and the Greater Boston Food Bank,” said Laura Sullivan, NEPC executive director.
