WASHINGTON, DC - The Global Produce & Floral Show may be well over, but its impact is still being felt in the Atlanta, Georgia, community. Following this year’s highly attended show, the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) donated 226,735 lbs of produce and 8,575 lbs of floral in partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank, a member of the Feeding America® network.
“We want to ensure our show is as sustainable as possible and being good stewards of our fresh product—both produce and floral—is a critical part of those efforts,” said Chief Executive Officer Cathy Burns. “We have been working with the Feeding America network of food banks since 1983 to help rescue and distribute product from the Expo. We celebrate the industry’s generosity in donating their product, and we cannot thank the Atlanta Community Food Bank and their volunteers enough for helping us to ensure that all rescuable produce and floral are able to reach the families in the Atlanta community.”
As a press release shared, this year’s rescued produce was distributed across the 29 counties served by the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and fruit and other shelf-stable items were also distributed to the Augusta Food Bank, which suffered damage during the recent hurricanes.
Over the past two decades, IFPA has helped contribute more than 5 million lbs of produce to food banks in the cities that hosted its annual Global Produce & Floral Show. Volunteers organized by the partner food banks enter the show floor each year to rescue and pack the produce and floral donations for transportation.
In addition to the hefty produce donation, this year’s floral donations were received by The Little Flower Group, Meals on Wheels Atlanta, more than 25 local nursing homes, religious institutions, Georgia Tech, nonprofits supporting single mothers, Girl Scouts troops, Nourish Botanica, and more. Floral exhibitors also donated 4 tons of green waste, which went to composting for neighborhood gardens.
“There are not a lot of organizations ready to receive over 8000 lbs of floral donations,” said Director of Trade Shows Kyle McMillan. “This year, we were absolutely blown away by the generosity of our floral exhibitors, but also the enthusiasm from our local partners who helped us be more sustainable than ever before by extending the life and use of our show’s floral and produce. The work our partners do for their communities is so important, we’re thrilled to help them celebrate and appreciate their neighbors and members.”
Read more about the donation here.
Continuing its impact, the Global Produce & Floral Show will return to Anaheim, California, in 2025 and will return to Atlanta, Georgia, in 2027. Until then, keep reading ANUK!
