June 28, 2009
I attended the Fancy Food Show at the Javitz Center in New York City during the last weekend in June. The gathering is a trade show that brings together producers, suppliers, and distributors from around the world with a dose of food groupies – my constituency. The event gives you insight into where the food industry is heading (for instance, a few years ago a new category labeled “vitamin water” arrived), and is a fantastic way to sample a phenomenal amount of different, innovative and emerging products.
My focus was on learning about healthier foods we can serve in our school, with more environmentally sensible packaging. As preparation I read “Food, Inc.” (and I plan to see the movie on Friday, July 24th in Concord). While healthy food choices for kids remains largely at the margins of the food industry, you can see that the category is gaining momentum, and that both producers and consumers are getting more sophisticated. I came away fairly optimistic about our ability to make progress in this area for our children.
Comments, thoughts and discussions with Craig Sellers, Head of School of The Derryfield School, Manchester, New Hampshire
