TAMPA, FL--(Marketwire - September 14, 2010) - Food banks provide a critical service in feeding the nation's hungry, and today their work is even more vital in light of the severe economic downturn. In this time of need, the California Association of Food Banks (CAFB) has just improved its capacity to supply its member food banks with fresh produce that is so critical to maintaining good health and often difficult for low-income families to afford or to access.
Thanks to participation from international logistics service provider IFCO SYSTEMS, CAFB is now providing fresh produce to food banks and people in need throughout California and beyond through its Farm to Family program. IFCO is subsidizing the use of its reusable plastic containers (RPCs) to growers for the transport of fresh produce to local food banks. The pilot program was launched with Ocean Mist Farms and Pacific International Marketing (Pacific).
In the program, the use of RPCs allows growers a cost-effect method of transporting donated fresh produce to food banks, finally making the valuable and nutritious produce available to low-income Americans. "Food banks across the country are desperate for fresh produce," said CAFB Executive Director Sue Sigler. "The problem has been finding a way to harvest and transport donated produce that makes it affordable for growers." By subsidizing participating growers' use of its RPCs for this purpose, IFCO has solved this problem for the food banks.
"In low-income communities, fresh produce is unaffordable and often unavailable," said Sigler. "Because of this, when we're unable to provide produce through the food banks, people go without it. Providing the healthiest food possible to our state's hungry is job number one for us, and the support of companies like IFCO, Ocean Mist, and Pacific is critical to helping us achieve our goals."
Food banks feed over 2 million people per year – and since the economic downturn began, that number has only grown. According to the CAFB, demand for food bank services jumped 30-50% in the summer of 2008 alone. "We need our food banks now more than ever," said Fred Heptinstall, president and general manager of IFCO's RPC Division. "The IFCO team is very pleased we are able to provide our service and support to such a worthy cause."
How the program works: CAFB reimburses growers for the cost of harvesting the produce, and IFCO allows growers the use of its RPCs for packing and transportation, then retrieves empty RPCs from food bank locations after use at IFCO's expense.
"Locally, Ocean Mist has supported Ag Against Hunger for many years," said Art Barrientos, VP of Harvesting for Ocean Mist Farms. "This new program allows us to expand both the ways and the number of food banks we can support throughout California."
Dave Johnson, Vice President of Pacific International Marketing, shares this enthusiasm: "We are thrilled to be working with CAFB to be the first in the industry to do concurrent harvesting." He says, "The quality, unused product that was previously left in the field is now being rescued and used in conjunction with this worthy cause. It is our pleasure and honor to work with CAFB on such an important program."
For more information on the Farm to Family Program, visit www.ifco-us.com/cafb or www.cafoodbanks.org.
Additional Information
IFCO is an international logistics service provider with more than 210 locations worldwide. IFCO operates a pool of over 102 million Reusable Plastic Containers (RPCs) globally, which are used primarily to transport fresh produce from growers to leading grocery retailers. In the United States, IFCO also provides a national network of pallet management services. IFCO is the market leader in this industry with almost 200 million pallets sorted, repaired and recycled annually.
WORLDWIDE RESPONSIBILITY is an IFCO initiative, under which IFCO not only continues to assume its social and environmental responsibility but, working with strong project partners, expands its sphere of responsible activities. With the initiative's first social-engagement project, IFCO supports Food Banks worldwide in their honorable effort to provide food to the needy through the provision of reusable containers and by co-financing delivery vehicles.
California Food Banks
The California Association of Food Banks' 43 member food banks provide over 5,000 non-profit agencies with food. These agencies in turn distribute food directly to over 2 million hungry families and individuals. More than 25,000 volunteers support the food bank network. The mission of California Association of Food Banks is to provide a unified voice among food banks to maximize their ability to build a well nourished California.
Documents and/or Photos available for this release:
IFCO CAFB Program Press Release
To view supporting documents and/or photos, go to www.enr-corp.com/pressroom and enter Release ID: 270406