The global issue of food insecurity has been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic but Dole, the world's largest fruit and vegetable producer, is pledging to bring healthy options to one billion people by 2025 in their #SunshineForAll initiative.
The campaign looks to provide nutritious foods to underserved and poorly served communities, starting in Jackson, Mississippi, said Brad Bartlett, Dole packaged foods president, told Cheddar.
"Within that area, only about 5 percent of those grocery stores supply locally-sourced produce, he said. "There's about 20 grocery stores in the city. That's about one for every 10,000 people."
When it comes to assessing a location as food insecure or not, Bartlett said there are a number of factors that come into play.
"It really has a situation of numbers of people, grocery stores, and the amount of fresh produce and nutritious foods that are available in a particular populous. Really, within a food desert only about maybe 23 percent or so of the people have access to fresh produce," he added.
Dole decided to first introduce its #SunshingForAll campaign to Jackson due to the city's lack of accessible public transportation, a surplus of fast food establishments, and a median income of just over $35,000, Bartlett said.
While many communities are impacted by a lack of adequate access to healthier food options, Dole is leaning on the public to help the company decide which locations should be next. Bartlett said all people have to do is log on to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter and explain to the company why their location qualifies as a food desert while using the tag #SunshineForAll.
"We're looking forward to expanding this. This is something that is an ability for us to get in and help to spread knowledge and awareness, affordability, accessibility, and also to improve the education of an area about healthy products, nutrition," Bartlett said.
While many are excited to watch the final two NFL teams square-off and see which one ultimately takes home the trophy, some, on the other hand, are there for another mian attraction -- the commercials. Companies during this year's game are looking towards the future From electric vehicles, to robots, and crypto-currency, several first-time advertisers are expected to join long-time advertisers like Pepsi, Budweiser and Doritos during the NFL's biggest game. Tom Morton, Global Chief Strategy Officer at R/GA, joined Cheddar News' Big Game Special to discuss.
Americans are expected to spend nearly $24 billion in 2022 for Valentine's Day, and many of those gifts will be in the form of chocolate. John Galloway, interim president of the Americas and CMO of Godiva, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss what chocolate trends the brand is seeing this year, plus the impact of inflation and supply chain issues on the industry.
New York City's famous subway system is currently facing scrutiny after several recent attacks on platforms. Now, local leaders in the Big Apple are calling on the MTA. To step in and take action.
New York City ride-hailing app drivers are about to get a pay raise. According to the city's Mayor Eric Adams, New York will increase its minimum driver pay rate for both Uber and Lyft drivers. This means both platforms would now be required to pay their drivers a minimum of $1.61 cents per mile and about 0.50 cents per minute. Ultimately, the move would give riders at least a 5.3% race. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Tensions in Ukraine continue to rise. According to NATO and U.S. officials, Russian troops are still being built up despite Moscow's claims of de-escalation. However, Ukraine does not believe the troops are enough to mount an invasion. The government in Kyiv has also reported several cyber attacks against its defense agencies and banks which is the largest attack in the country's history. Foreign Affairs Reporter based in Ukrain, Terrell Starr, joined Cheddar to discuss more
