<p>As American consumers become increasingly health-conscious, many companies are jumping on board to capitalize on the trend. Starbucks is one example. Its offerings, featuring fresh produce as the centerpiece, are growing fast and creating quite the buzz as a major produce player for fast food formats.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/starbucks071713body.jpg" alt="images071613" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">In addition to its fresh cut fruit options and whole bananas available upon checkout, the company is now offering a line of salads, sandwiches, and paninis with a healthy slant. For example, the Chicken & Greens Caesar Salad Bowl highlights lettuce, kale, and roasted tomatoes while the Hearty Veggie & Brown Rice Salad Bowl features roasted butternut squash, beets, kale, red cabbage, steamed broccoli florets and garden peas. It seems as though this coffee and convenience king has taken a step in the fresh direction.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/starbucks071713body2.jpg" alt="images071613" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Indicative of a long-term commitment to produce, the company is also currently looking to hire a Produce Procurement Manager, according to a listing on <a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.joeproduce.com/users/starbucks?utm_source=JoeProduce+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1c74c21720-July_16_20137_10_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0e3bb06d22-1c74c21720-56999985" target="_new">Joe Produce.com </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>With so many distribution outlets, Starbucks has the potential to quickly become a much larger produce venue and could open the doors to increasing produce consumption amongst consumers on the go.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.starbucks.com/" target="_new">Starbucks</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
