When Potatoes USA (formerly the U.S. Potato Board) launched its Salad Bar Challenge initiative in April 2015, the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee (CPAC) had somewhat of a head start in the nationwide effort with two salad bars in place in metro Denver’s Mapleton School District.
Linda Weyers, CPAC assistant director, explained that Potatoes USA had challenged the national potato industry to sponsor 3,000 salad bars over a five-year period, and CPAC was “kind of the guinea pig for the project.”
In that first year, with its members contributing to the cause and matching funds from Potatoes USA, CPAC has donated several salad bars around the state and region, and more are planned between now and the end of fiscal year 2015.
“Right now we have funded 15 [salad bars] with our shippers, and there will be a total of 20 this fiscal year,” Weyers said in late March. “We are still budgeting funding for next year.”
Eleven salad bars have gone to Colorado schools since the first of this year, Weyers said. “Sanford School in southern Colorado received two—one a regular-sized salad bar and the other a smaller size for the elementary students. Durango in the southwestern part of the state received nine salad bars through the funding from CPAC and Potatoes USA.
Weyers said that, to date, the sheds and farms participating in the CPAC challenge are Mark Peterson, Rockey Farms, Martinez Farms, Kurt Kaiser, Keith Holland Farm, Mike Mitchell Farms, Price Farms, Aspen Produce, VanTreese Farms, Hi-Land Potato Co., RPE Colorado and the Colorado Fruit and Vegetables Growers.
Source: The Produce News