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News & Notes BRIEFS GOURMET NEWS OCTOBER 2018 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 6 UNFI Foundation Funds Report on Safety and Health of Farmworkers More than 1 in 10 American Households Experiencing Food Insecurity An estimated 88.2 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2017, meaning they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members, according to a report released in September by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The remaining households (11.8 percent) were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 4.5 percent with very low food security, meaning that at times the food intake of one or more household members was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted because the household lacked money and other resources for obtaining food. The rate of food insecurity declined from 12.3 percent in 2016, and very low food security declined from 4.9 percent, continuing downward trends. PepsiCo Launches Nutrition Greenhouse Program PepsiCo has launched its Nutrition Greenhouse accelerator program in North America, an innovation initiative designed to discover and support emerging brands in the food and beverage sector. The North American program follows the launch of PepsiCo's Nutrition Greenhouse in Europe, now in its second year. In 2017, eight start-ups in the European program delivered an estimated combined sales growth of over €10 million – a fourfold increase throughout the duration of the six-month program. PepsiCo is seeking 10 start-ups based in the U.S. or Canada that are helping transform the food and beverage industry and whose values are consistent with PepsiCo's Performance with Purpose vision. The selected start-ups are guaranteed $20,000 in grant funding and will participate in a six-month business optimization program designed to accelerate growth. The program includes personalized mentorship with experts from some of PepsiCo's leading and emerging brands, including Quaker, Naked, KeVita, Stacy's, Red Rock Deli and Off the Eaten Path. At the end of the program, one start-up will be awarded an additional $100,000 in funding to continue its expansion, and an opportunity to continue partnering with PepsiCo to further their growth. Applications are open until October 12. Colavita Cares Helps Provide Bicycles to North Carolina Kids With support from Colavita, the Bobby Labonte Foundation and its Charity Bike Ride Title Sponsor Thomas Built Buses assembled and delivered more than 80 bicycles to children in need in the High Point, North Carolina, area. Colavita has a long-standing commitment to encouraging healthy living through running and cycling, and has donated more than 80 bikes to children through its Colavita Cares program. The bikes and new helmets were given away in September to cheering crowds of children at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater High Point and the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of High Point after a bike safety presentation by NASCAR Champion Bobby Labonte and four-time U.S. National Champion Cyclist Freddie Rodriguez. Farmers and farmworkers are fundamental contributors to our overall well-being, pro- viding food for our families and an eco- nomic scaffolding for our country. Unfortunately, their safety and health are often overlooked, with this segment of our population suffering grave consequences from this oversight. With funding from the UNFI Foundation, The Organic Center is bringing this topic to the forefront by re- leasing a report investigating the impacts of pesticide exposure on farmer and farm- worker health—and lessons learned from organic farming that can help minimize those exposures. This project details the health effects of occupational exposure to pesticides for agricultural workers, and how the organic regulations reduce these exposures, provid- ing a safer working environment on the farm. It also highlights techniques used on organic farms that can be incorporated by all farmers – regardless of farming tech- nique. Some of the common preventive techniques used by farmers to manage pests in lieu of pesticides include extended crop rotations, intercropping, use of buffers and hedgerows, and promoting soil health. By shifting to more sustainable food production systems that rely on balanced ecosystems as a first line of defense against pests, we can ensure sustainable food se- curity and healthy agricultural communi- ties into the future. Practices used by organic producers that support robust agroecosystems that naturally control pests can be adopted to reduce chemical inputs in any farm setting. Consumers can also take action to support healthy farm- ing communities by choosing food grown organically. A large body of research documents the health hazards associated with occupa- tional exposure to pesticides commonly used on conventional farms, yet the contri- bution of organic farming systems to the health of farmers and farmworkers by re- ducing their exposure to toxic pesticides has been largely overlooked. The report was released last month dur- ing Natural Products Expo East. GN Agriculture Must Become Integral to Urban Life, Says Texas A&M Vice Chancellor Urban residents making up some 80 per- cent of the U.S. population remain discon- nected from agricultural food sources and are increasingly afflicted by nutrition- and diet-related chronic disease, said Dr. Patrick Stover, Texas A&M University Sys- tem Vice Chancellor and Dean for Agricul- ture and Life Sciences. "About half of U.S. adults are acquiring some type of medical condition related to the food they eat, costing the country about $1 trillion each year," he said. Stover said agricultural science must shift its focus beyond generating food to generating a "food environment that pro- motes healthy people." "We must enhance health-promoting qualities in agricultural commodities and connect growing urban populations to the rural agricultural activ- ity improving their health and quality of life," he said. The Vice Chancellor, who joined Texas A&M in March, made the remarks during a two-day tour of initiatives at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas. The center's new head- quarters is slated to open late this year. "Agriculture must become integral to urban culture," he said. "People today, as we become more urbanized, don't know where our food comes from or its role in our health. That has to change." Meanwhile, he said, agricultural science must grow its capacity for harnessing big data to improve food quantity, quality and economic value based on the varying nu- tritional needs of individual persons. "Robust data does not exist yet for us to affect this," Stover said. "But these resources will enable us to begin setting recommen- dations for food production and legislation based on reducing chronic disease." During his visit, the Vice Chancellor met with regional leaders of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service to discuss ef- forts of the agency's Healthy Texas initiative on preventive health, which includes a range of food and nutrition programming. He also met with AgriLife Extension's re- gional 4-H officials to discuss ongoing learning initiatives at local schools. Stover spent a day touring the field re- search plots and laboratories of the Dallas center's turfgrass breeding, plant disease immunity and genome research teams, where he and center personnel discussed emerging technologies in fundamental plant sciences and their applications in bet- ter agricultural systems. He also met with turfgrass program stakeholders including the Turfgrass Producers of Texas trade as- sociation, the U.S. Golf Association and Tanglewood Golf Resort of Pottsboro. GN Baked by Melissa Celebrates 10th Birthday New York-based bite-size cupcake com- pany Baked by Melissa is celebrating its 10th birthday in a sweet way with the "Find the Golden Cupcake" contest. The contest, launched in mid-September and running through October 7 gives dessert lovers around the country the chance to win 100 cupcakes on their birthday for the next 10 years. Plus, there are over 1,000 other instant prizes. Baked by Melissa is wrapping every Lat- est & Greatest cupcake assortment sold during the contest period with a special golden cupcake scratch off sleeve that gives 10 winners a chance at the grand prize. As an added surprise, the Mini of the Month Vanilla Cookies & Cream cupcakes in these winning packs will feature a special gold stuffing. Baked by Melissa was founded by Melissa Ben-Ishay in 2008 after she was fired from her job in advertising. Upon learning the news, she ran to her older brother's office. He recommended she go home to bake her cupcakes and that they would start a business out of it. Melissa had already been known for baking cupcakes to share with the people she loved. Baked by Melissa was born that day. After six months of catering events and hugely successful holiday market pop ups, Baked by Melissa opened its first retail location in New York City's Soho neighborhood. Now 10 years later, the company operates 14 retail loca- tions and ships its products nationwide through a thriving e-commerce business. "When I began making cupcakes at my apartment on that fateful day after being fired, I could never have imagined what Baked by Melissa would become," said Ben-Ishay. "These last 10 years have been a magical journey, and I feel incredibly lucky to have created a company that makes peo- ple happy. I am excited to continue work- ing with our hard-working, passionate team to bring the delicious joy of Baked by Melissa to as many people as we can around the country." GN

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