Tour de Fresh Exceeds Fundraising Goal of $120,000

Tour de Fresh, the first collaborative event to bring together leading fresh produce brands and industry influencers to benefit the United Fresh Start Foundation’s Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools (LMSB2S) campaign, announced that they exceeded their inaugural fundraising goal and raised $124,303, ensuring more than forty schools will receive salad bars. "At Tanimura & Antle, we believe in the Tour de Fresh mission and are dedicated to providing children with healthier eating options at school. Our riders created a weekly salad bar at our main office as part of the major fundraising efforts for this event and we have decided to continue these efforts as a company,” says Caitlin Antle Wilson from Tanimura and Antle. “Our participation in this event has brought our company together for the overall need to increase the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables everywhere. Tour de Fresh has taught us to walk (or ride) the walk and lead by example - the lunch time salad bar works in schools and it works at our office too!" According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention the number of obese children has tripled since 1980 and affects nearly 38 million today. Obese children have a greater risk of developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. “We believe healthy eating options should be made readily available to all school age kids,” says Cindy Jewell, director of marketing, California Giant Berry Farms. “We are very proud of our involvement in this worthy cause to address the childhood obesity epidemic in the U.S. The salad bars will have an immediate and positive effect on students’ health, and will greatly influence their ability to establish healthy eating habits now and in the future.” “We would like to thank all of the participants in the race, the press who have shined a spotlight on the startling situation our youth face, the companies that have donated their time and resources, as well as the public for their generous donations that allowed us to exceed our fundraising goals and provide our kids access to more fresh produce,” says Brock Nemecek, rider and employee of DMA Solutions. The Tour de Fresh event takes place during National School Lunch Week when schools across the country are highlighting their healthier school meals and snacks to parents, community leaders and media. The LMSB2S campaign was founded by the United Fresh Start Foundation, Chef Ann Foundation, National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance and Whole Foods Market in support of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative.