Staff loading boxes of produce in a warehouse

Students collaborate with Food Forward to maximize the produce industry’s impact

From January to April 2024, Food Forward was the ‘client’ of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) Marketing Competition Team. NAMA runs a student marketing competition in April every year where 30 of the leading agribusiness schools compete by creating a marketing plan. Cal Poly SLO is one of the only schools that competes using a real client.

Over the course of four months, the Cal Poly NAMA Marketing Team researched, developed, and completed a competition presentation using Food Forward’s model.   This followed with a detailed Opportunity Analysis and Marketing Plan with the Food Forward team–designed to show how Food Forward  could recover and redistribute even more fresh fruits and vegetables by working directly with growers. While the team did not win the NAMA competition, the work they delivered was nothing short of amazing and Food Forward was proud to partner with an esteemed group.  The following article from the Cal Poly NAMA Team Faculty Advisor, Lisa Cork and the NAMA Team Captain, Cassidy Fasulo, highlights the project from their perspective. 

How much produce goes unsold? 38.5 billion pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables 

The Cal Poly NAMA Marketing Team’s project’s first step was to determine the market opportunity for ‘recovered’ fresh produce. Their research found that there are 38.5 billion pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables produced annually in the 16 counties within a 6-hour radius of Food Forward’s Produce Pit Stop, with a large potential for food recovery even from just the small percentage at risk of going to waste. 

Grower research verified that 1% of total production is ‘not sold’ due to unforeseen events such as oversupply, weather, or poor quality. Growers indicate that this produce would be available for donation if the right donation partner was found. 

Overproduction and oversupply 

Overproduction happens due to the perilous nature of growing fruits and vegetables outdoors and the need to meet retailer contracts. Oversupply is a constant challenge and growers are open to better solutions.

The students conducted interviews and surveys with  leading fresh produce companies to understand their sales and produce distribution challenges and their perceptions of fresh produce donations. Given the importance of retail contracts, growers often overproduce to offset weather and production risks. As a result, there are often situations when growers experience oversupply. 

Typically, in an oversupply situation, growers lack options to move truckload volumes. Their first option is to supply their local food banks as growers are very committed to ‘doing good’ within their communities. The challenge is that local food banks fill fast when there is an oversupply. Once the local food banks are full, growers have limited options, either sending produce to the wholesale market or diverting the oversupply to animal feed. 

In talking with growers, they were very interested in options to donate truckloads of produce to people experiencing food insecurity, but they lacked awareness of how to do this easily and cost-effectively. This is where Food Forward can come in. 

The students learned that only 11% of California fresh produce companies were aware of Food Forward versus 95% were aware of their local food banks. Once the students described Food Forward’s specialized fresh produce expertise and the fact that Food Forward could pick up truckload volumes of oversupplied produce from companies, every company was interested in learning more.

An opportunity for Food Forward

In quantifying Food Forward’s opportunity to work more directly with California growers, packers, and shippers located within the six-hour radius of the Produce Pit Stop, the numbers indicate Food Forward has an amazing opportunity to recover more produce more directly by making growers aware of the solutions Food Forward can provide when fresh produce is in oversupply. 

Not only is there the opportunity for volume growth, but in sourcing more fresh produce more directly, Food Forward will also ensure they receive produce of highest quality and freshness. 

This opportunity aligns perfectly with Food Forward’s 2026 vision to source 290 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables.

For more information on Food Forward’s produce industry recovery, subscribe to our Quarterly Sprout Newsletter and learn how you can donate produce. 

Professor Lisa Cork is a Cal Poly Agribusiness Lecturer and is the Faculty Advisor for the NAMA Marketing Team. She is a Cal Poly AGB Alumni (1988) and a former NAMA Marketing Team Captain (1987). In addition to lecturing, Lisa runs a marketing consultancy called Fresh Produce Marketing Ltd with offices in New Zealand and California. She is a 35-year veteran of the fresh produce industry, specializing in marketing, branding, and packaging strategy.

Cassidy Fasulo was captain of the 2024 Cal Poly NAMA Marketing Team. Cassidy is an Ag Business Major and after graduating in June, joined Markon Foodservice based in Salinas in a business development role. Cassidy’s passion is fresh produce marketing and she is excited to join the fresh produce industry.