Bayer donates $40,000 to increase children’s access to fresh produce

Bayer has committed $40,000 to the United Fresh Start Foundation, in support of it mission to increase children’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables. As part of the partnership, Bayer is funding salad bars for eight schools in California and Idaho.

To promote this collaboration, and one of the new salad bars, the announcement was made during an assembly at Barnett Elementary in Ramona. At the school event, more than 50 fourth grade students were introduced to their new salad bar and participated in a melon taste-test. Students tried several varieties of sweet melons and voted on their favorite.

In addition to Barnett Elementary, schools receiving salad bars from the Bayer-United Fresh Start Foundation collaboration, were James Dukes Elementary School, Ramona; Ellwood Elementary School, Goleta Union School District, Goleta; Foothill Elementary School, Santa Barbara; Alameda (Calif.) Community Learning Center; Nea Community Learning Center, Alameda; Blue Oak Charter School, Chico; and Barbara Morgan STEM Academy, Meridian, Idaho.

“Each day more than 30 million U.S. children participate in the National School Lunch Program, in many communities, schools are the ‘largest restaurant in town.’ By providing children with access to a salad bar at school, they can easily choose from a variety of fresh produce every day, and find what they like best,” said Jennifer Maloney, Food Chain and Sustainability Manager, Bayer. “A salad bar puts a focus on fresh fruits and veggies in the lunch line, and with our recent contributions, we hope children will go home and tell their parents, sparking a conversation about the importance of eating healthy and choosing more fresh fruits and veggies at every meal.”

To coordinate the salad bar contributions, Bayer worked with the United Fresh Start Foundation, a non-profit organization affiliated with the United Fresh Produce Association.

As part of the foundation’s partnership in the national Salad Bars to Schools initiative, they are working with the produce industry, non-profits and allied businesses to support salad bars to schools across the United States.

To date, Salad Bars to Schools has helped facilitate the donation of salad bars to more than 5,000 schools in all fifty states, benefitting 3 million children.