DID YOU KNOW?

Produce sales per year from 1994 to present have risen at the rate of approximately $3 billion dollars a year? In 1994 total fresh produce sales were $59.7 billion, now they stand at $79.5 billion in 2000.
USDA (2001)

That 30% and as many as 70% of all cancer deaths are diet related?
Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health (1988)

That only one in four Americans (24%) eat 5 or more servings of fruits/vegetables per day?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1998 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Data

The average consumer suffers from an annual fruit and vegetable deficit ranging from a low of 219 servings to a high of 1,679 servings.
Foundation research by MRCA Information Services: America's Daily Fruit and Vegetable Deficit

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, spending by state and federal governments per person per year for disease treatment is more than 1,000 times greater ($1,390 vs. $1.21) than preventive measures like proper diet and exercise.

"Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables daily" is one of the 10 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These guidelines form the cornerstone of federal nutrition policy in the U.S. and establish the science-based guidance on what Americans should eat to stay healthy. The guidelines affect the National School Lunch Program and nutrition education programs, particularly the Food Guide Pyramid.

Many of the nation's health leaders are declaring obesity an epidemic. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Healthy People 2010 Objectives report, 58 percent of Americans aged 20 and older are overweight or obese. Furthermore, 23 percent of the population are considered obese. Particularly with children, 11 percent of children and adolescents are overweight or obese, which is twice the amount compared to a decade ago. The overall goal for all age groups is to get a greater percentage of the population to live at a healthy weight. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help achieve a healthy weight. The Healthy People 2010 Objectives recommend 5 A Day as a strategy to stay healthy.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that healthier diets could prevent at least $71 billion per year in medical costs, lost productivity, and lost lives. That figure represents the USDA's entire annual budget.

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