“Last Summer’s inaugural Fresh Impact Tour was an incredible experience for our members and our staff,” said Tom Stenzel, president and CEO of United Fresh.  “The tour allowed members to engage in personal discussions about issues important to their businesses, and spotlighted how United Fresh can help leverage the passion of individual members to make a difference for the greater industry.  We’re excited to reprise that format in engaging with our members, and take it to a new level both globally and across the United States,” he said.

This February and March, members of the United Fresh Board and senior staff will meet with industry members from the Southeast U.S. to the Pacific Northwest, from Texas to California, as visits take several different teams across the United States.  Kicking it all off is the first United Fresh Impact Forum, to be held at Fruit Logistica in Berlin.  The forum will feature a roundtable discussion led by United Fresh leaders from Ireland, Germany and Italy.  The program is designed to address issues such as ways to increase produce consumption and harmonization of food safety standards, challenges that are common to United Fresh members in 30 countries around the world.  The tour’s second global event will bring the United Fresh Produce Industry Leadership Class and staff to Chile to visit member operations.

The Fresh Impact Tour will begin officially with the United Fresh Impact Forum in Berlin on February 8, with the final stop of the tour March 9 in Dallas, Texas, the site of United Fresh’s 2012 Annual Convention.  “This month-long whirlwind tour is the perfect lead-in to our annual convention,” said John Toner, vice president of convention and industry relations.  “Our volunteer leaders and staff will talk with members about their goals for this year’s event, and make sure that we deliver the right education, networking and business opportunities the industry needs when 5,000 industry peers come together under one roof.”

The Fresh Impact Tour Town Halls and member visits are scheduled as follows:

Throughout the trip, visits will include numerous fruit and vegetable growers, distributors and retailers in each of these areas, and members and staff will be posting updates and photos to the United Fresh Twitter (www.twitter.com/unitedfresh) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/unitedfreshproduceassociation) pages to facilitate engagement and discussion among the entire industry.