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R e s t a u r a n t D a i l y N e w s M o n d a y, M a y 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 5 0 NORTH AMERICAN TEA CHAMPIONSHIP NAMES 16 BEST HOT TEAS The North American Tea Championship – the only independent and professionally-judged tea compe- tition in North America – named the 16 best, premium hot teas from the fall 2014 harvest. The evaluation was held Feb. 26-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and all of the high-quality winning teas are commercially available in the marketplace. Companies that took home an esteemed first-place award include: The Tea Kings; Glenburn Tea Direct; Mountain Tea Company; Garden to Cup Organics; Nepali Tea Traders; Chico Chai; Florapharm Tea-USA LP; and La Creme Coffee & Tea. A complete list of first, second and third-place winners of the North American Tea Championship is available at teachampionship.com. The next North American Tea Championship will be held in June 2015 for an evaluation of iced teas. To inquire about entering the competition, e-mail info@teachampionship.com. TWINOAKS ANNOUNCES TASTE STATION LAUNCH Shopper marketing agency TWINOAKS has just announced the launch and test of Treasury Wine Estates' taste stations in 1,000 Kroger stores across 20 states this spring. It allows shoppers to sample three varietals of Beringer commercial wines via single serve "flavor strips". TWINOAKS led the concept develop- ment and design of this innovation which not only benefits the shopper but also addresses the legal complexities within the wine category as the strips deliver the full flavor of the wines while being nonalco- holic. "We are proud to have partnered with Treasury Wine Estates and are tremendous- ly excited by the marketing advances this technology delivers. It uniquely addresses the needs of both the shopper and our client. Further, it provides retailers with a new form of shopper engagement and abil- ity to convert shoppers within the catego- ry," commented Steve Devore, Managing Director, TWINOAKS. The launch of the taste stations is the result of a year-long campaign based on research findings that state 94 percent of women running households say sampling gives them a better idea of a product than advertising, and 83 percent of shoppers say that an item they've sampled has become a repeat purchase.Other key contributors to the launch included Acorn Design and Manufacturing, Acupac Packaging, Inc., and News America Marketing. "We are thrilled with the thought- leadership and resolve demonstrated by our agency partner, TWINOAKS, throughout this process. This is an inno- vation the category has never seen and they were instrumental in bringing it to fruition," said Tammy Ackerman, Senior Brand Manager for Beringer. NAVAJO NATION IMPLEMENTS UNHEALTHFUL FOOD TAX On November 21, Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly signed an unhealth- ful food tax law, believed to be the first in the nation. The law slaps a 2 percent tax on food that has little to no nutritional value. A separa0te law implemented in October removed the sales tax on health- ful food items. These pieces of legisla- tion are aimed at confronting the signifi- cant nutritional deficiencies that exist on the Navajo Nation and working to bring more healthful foods onto the Reservation. For many residents of the Navajo Nation, a 27,000 square mile Southwestern region that has been classi- fied as a "food desert" by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the roundtrip drive to purchase groceries can be as much as 100 miles. The nutrition picture among the Nation's 300,000 residents is serious indeed. Plagued by a dearth of markets and sparse, remotely grown pro- duce that is often moldy, and hampered by desert land that is largely unsuitable for farming, the Navajo Nation is truly a food desert in a nation of plenty. The sit- uation is further complicated by a 50 per- cent unemployment rate and the fact that thousands of residents live without elec- tricity and refrigeration. "It's a crisis," said Denisa Livingston, Community Health Advocate at Diné Community Advocacy Alliance, an organization that works to improve the health of Navajo Nation residents. Livingston describes the daunting, com- plicated circumstances her organization faces as it works to improve nutrition on the reservation. From her perspective, a number of elements contribute to the problem: First, the food network on the Navajo Nation relies heavily on conven- ience stores and is slanted toward junk food. There is a dearth of farming, in part because the Reservation's inhabitants – once a population of skilled farmers – have become habituated to processed foods. In addition, the Nation's popula- tion is largely undereducated about nutri- tion, and leadership and policies in the Nation lag behind the evolving crisis. A central problem in the food crisis is the nature of the Reservation's food supply. While residents lack access to healthful foods, junk food is another story. There are plenty of potato chips and donuts to go around. As a result, obe- sity rates run as high as 60 percent in some age groups, and one out of three Navajos are diabetic or pre-diabetic. While the Navajo Nation and DCCA are hard at work encouraging residents to select healthier foods, the problem of the lack of availability of healthful foods is a more difficult one to tackle. In a recent survey of Navajo food retailers, DCAA found that stores stocked as much as 80 percent junk food. Even residents who are more educated on nutrition and seek out healthful foods have problems find- ing the products they want. "Children are learning about healthy eating and healthy lifestyles at school," said Livingston. "There's a great pro- gram run by Indian Health Service, so the kids are learning, 'Hey, I need to eat healthy.' But when they go into the stores and go back home, there is an over- whelming presence of unhealthy foods." For parents who want to give their families more nutritious food, the solu- tion is simple: road trip. Whether it's to Gallup, New Mexico, Flagstaff, Arizona or another of the cities and towns that ring the borders of the Navajo Nation, it is common to see family trips of 100 or even 200 miles to buy groceries. Seventy percent of spending by Navajo Nation residents (including both food and non- food expenditures) takes place off the reservation. This accounts for $1.6 bil- lion in total annual activity. A good chunk of that spending could support new food markets on the reservation, and DCAA is excited about the prospect of working with Navajo Nation officials to attract potential new retailers. In the serv- ice of this objective, DCAA, plans to advocate for tax incentives to entice retailers to come to the Reservation. Another piece of the Navajo Nation nutrition puzzle concerns the promotion of local farming. Soil quality varies greatly over the Reservation's 27,000 square miles that span parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. In addition, the land suffers from uranium tailings in the soil and uranium in the water supply – the result of mining for the nuclear weapons and nuclear energy programs. However, there is plenty of arable Navajo land that could serve an agricultural pur- pose. In addition to a patchwork of pri- vate efforts, the USDA is launching a program geared toward helping Navajo Nation families start their own farms. The Navajo Nation benefits from federal programs that provide direct food assistance. Some 60 percent of reserva- tion residents receive some sort of feder- al nutrition benefits. Private organiza- tions are part of the efforts as well. An example is Harvard University's Partners in Health organization, which will be providing Navajo Nation families with monthly vouchers that can only be used to buy healthful foods. However, while outside assistance helps members of the Navajo Nation in their efforts to improve reservation nutri- tion, Livingston believes that ultimately it will be the people themselves, as well as local retailers, that form the most vital piece of the puzzle. By getting Navajo citizens to visit local retailers and become involved in the legislative process, Livingston reports that DCAA is already effecting some change. "On Facebook, we see posts about our people eating healthy foods, drinking fruit water, exercising, and [about] store owners buy- ing produce from local farmers to sell in their stores," she said. "We've heard stories like this hap- pening across the Reservation," Livingston added. "The consistency of it, we don't know, but starting from a point where citizens didn't even know they had the power to do this – go into a store and say, 'Hey, we want more healthy food' – it's very exciting to get people … to replace unhealthy foods with healthy food." DAVID SUGARMAN NAMED CEO OF THE MANISCHEWITZ COMPANY The Manischewitz ® Company, the world's largest matzo manufacturer, has named specialty food industry vet- eran David Sugarman as President and Chief Executive Officer. Sugarman, who most recently served as President and CEO of The Allan Candy Company, a division of The Hershey Company, has already assumed his new responsibilities. Sugarman will direct Manischewitz Company's business strategy, develop and foster customer relationships, and oversee all daily operations. He brings over 20 years of experience with busi- nesses in North America, including Sabra Dipping Company, where he served as Country Manager for Canada, and at Billy Bee Honey Products and Succession Capital Corporation. Sugarman led the sale of Allan Candy to Hershey Canada in 2014, and earlier in his career he was responsible for launch- ing Sabra's line of fresh foods items in Canada. "We are delighted to have David on board as his experience as a food indus- try executive makes him a valuable leader to help execute the company's growth plans," said Brett L'Esperance, a member of Manischewitz's board of directors. "David's dynamic leadership and vision are great assets which will substantially benefit the company." "I am honored to be selected as the next leader of Manischewitz, a company with such strong brands and a rich histo- ry," said Sugarman. "I look forward to working with the team and our customer partners to continue to produce the high- est quality kosher products possible." Sugarman succeeds interim CEO Mark Weinsten, who served in the role until a successor was identified, as previ- ously announced. Sugarman holds an M.B.A. from The Schulich School of Business at York University (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), and a BS from The University of Toronto. He was awarded Canada's Top 40 Under 40 Award, is a member of Young Presidents Organization, and has served as a Board Member of Covenant House Toronto.