Pears and Portland Public Schools Make a Perfect Pair with Harvest of the Month Program

School cafeterias to serve Oregon-grown pears in February;  New Seasons Market to conduct in-store pear tastings to help celebrate the Harvest of the Month

Portland, Ore. – February 11, 2009 – Pears, the official state fruit of Oregon, will “Bosc” in the limelight throughout the month of February thanks to the “Harvest of the Month” program in Portland Public Schools.  Developed by Portland Public Schools Nutrition Services in partnership with Ecotrust's Food & Farms program and other community partners, Harvest of the Month is designed to deliver farm direct fruits and vegetables to Portland’s public elementary schools. 

The Harvest of the Month program encourages children to develop life-long healthy eating habits by including more fruits and vegetables in meals, exposing them to new produce items, and educating students about local farms and the farmers who produce their food.  In addition to pears, other featured produce items include Oregon berries, parsnips, cabbage, corn on the cob, and asparagus.

"Harvest of the Month is one step toward realizing the vision Portland Public Schools holds for school cafeterias as a model for health, wellness and food system sustainability," said Kristy Obbink, R.D., director of Nutrition Services at Portland Public Schools. "We see the cafeteria as a learning laboratory to introduce students to local foods like fresh pears."

Pear Bureau Northwest, the non-profit marketing organization that represents the 1,600 pear growers of Oregon and Washington, is partnering with New Seasons Market to extend the healthy lessons learned in the cafeteria to the produce aisle.  In-store fresh pear tastings of Green Anjou, Red Anjou, and Bosc pears will engage students and families in the Harvest of the Month program while educating about the many varieties of pears grown in Oregon.

“By extending this program from schools into local New Seasons Markets, we are able to generate even more enthusiasm for pears, Oregon’s State Fruit, and the Harvest of the Month program,” said Kevin Moffitt, president and CEO of Pear Bureau Northwest.  “Elementary students will have another opportunity to taste fresh Northwest pears and can share the experience with their families.  With recent research* showing that more than 90 percent of Americans don’t meet the daily recommended intake for fruits and vegetables, excitement surrounding a tasty and healthy piece of fruit is a very good thing.”

Jeff Fairchild, Director of Produce at New Seasons Market adds, “As the economy falters, buying and supporting local becomes an even higher priority here at New Seasons Market—and what better item to feature during these cold winter months than Northwest Pears?”  He continues, “As an example of both our support for Northwest Pears and our local schools we have developed our School Aid program where we take all the profits from 2 local items {Organic Gold Delicious Apples and Organic Anjou Pears} and donate 100% of our profits for the year to the school district that our stores are located in. Now with the Harvest of the Month program, we can even further our connection to our local schools by sampling in our stores the same great pears that Portland Public Schools is using in their lunch program!”

The Harvest of the Month program will continue in Portland Public Schools through the spring spotlighting Oregon berries in March (frozen at the peak ripeness so they can be enjoyed year-round) and asparagus in May.

* Fruit and Vegetable Intake Among Adolescents and Adults in the United States: Percentage Meeting Individualized Recommendations: Joel Kimmons, PhD; Cathleen Gillespie, MS; Jennifer Seymour, PhD; Mary Serdula, MD; Heidi Michels Blanck, PhD. Medscape Journal of  Medicine,  2009;11(1):26.

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About Pear Bureau Northwest
The Pear Bureau Northwest is a nonprofit marketing organization established in 1931 to promote the fresh USA Pears grown in Washington and Oregon. The Bureau represents more than 1,600 growers who grow 84 percent of the nation’s fresh pear crop, and develops national and international markets for Northwest pear distribution. For more information, visit www.usapears.org.

Contact:

Cristie Mather

Communications Manager

Pear Bureau Northwest

cmather@usapears.com

(503) 652-9720