Dole Food Company has donated two salad bars to the Fred L. Williams School in Oxnard and the Richard Bard School in Port Hueneme, both in California.
The company was joined by Mayor of Port Hueneme Sylvia Schnopp, Mayor Pro Tem of Oxnard Dr Irene Pinkard and others to mark the occasion, according to a press release.
“According to the Farm Bureau of Ventura County, our farms produce enough strawberries each year to provide for the annual consumption of 85m Americans. It would take 135m Americans to consume the county’s annual celery crop and 45m to eat all its avocados,” said Mayor Schnopp.
“It’s only right that the students who live here have access to fresh salad on a daily basis. Overall, increasing our consumption of fruits and vegetables will go a long way toward reversing the obesity epidemic for both children and adults.”
Dole said its salad bar donations are a natural extension of the group’s ongoing commitment to childhood nutrition.
“By targeting school settings, we can help young people make healthier choices and get more fruits and vegetables on their plates,” explained Marty Ordman, Dole’s vice-president of marketing and corporate communications.
