SUSTAINABILITY, ITS A WORD WE HEAR ALOT THESE DAYS.
IN FACT, ON THE FARM IT MEANS HIGHER YEILDS USING GROWING TECHNIQUES WHICH WORK EFFICIENTLY
WITH NATURAL PROCESSES.
ON THE TABLE IT MEANS MORE NUTRITIOUS FOOD AND FOOD PRODUCTS.
AND IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS THROUGHOUT FLORIDA THEY ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT FRESH NUTRITIOUS
AND SUSTAINABLY GROWN FOOD.
WE ARE HERE THIS MORNING AT PERO FAMILY FARMS, CELEBRATING FRESH FROM FLORIDA FARM TO SCHOOL,
AND JOINING ME THIS MORNING ARE THESE TWO GENTLEMEN SCOTT SEDDON, BRAND MANAGER AND
CORPORATE CHEF.
AND NICK BERGSTROM, CHIEF SALES OFFICER, BOTH FROM PERO FARMS.
GOOD MORNING.
WELCOME.
GOOD MORNING.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.
GOOD MORNING, AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AT THE FARM.
OG, ARE YOU KIDDING I LOVE BEING AT THE FARM, AND I LOVE PEPPERS I GOT TO TELL YOU THEY
ARE MY FAVORITE MORNING, EVENING, AFTERNOON, ALL DAY LONG.
WELL APPRECIATE THAT.
APPRECIATE THAT.
NICK, LET ME START WITH YOU.
SUSTAINABILITY, YOU KNOW IT'S AN IMMENSE UNDERTAKING IN THE FARMING INDUSTRY.
SO WHAT IS PERO FAMILY FARMS DOING TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN?
ABSOLUTELY, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION, AND SUSTAINABILITY IS SOMETHING THAT REALLY DRIVES REALLY HOME
WITH THE PERO FAMILY AND WITH OUR FARMS.
BOTH FOR OUR FARMS AS WELL AS A WHOLE AS AN INDUSTRY.
BOTH FROM THE GROWING PRACTICES OF THE FARMING, TO ALSO NEXT TO THE PRODUCTS AND THE DEVELOPMENT
OF NEW PRODUCTS.
AS WELL AS EVEN THE WAY WE SELL AND MARKET BOTH OUR COMMODITIES AND BECOMING FULLY INTEGRATED
TO FIND WAYS OF CREATING MORE CONVENIENT PRODUCTS FOR NOT ONLY CONSUMERS AND RESTAURANTS, BUT
ALSO THE SCHOOLS AND THE CHILDREN AS WELL.
OH WHICH IS GREAT, ESPECIALLY IN THE SCHOOLS.
SCOTT WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHIME IN?
I THINK YOU KNOW SUSTAINABILITY, IT MEANS EVERYTHING NICK SAID EVEN TO OUR OPERATIONS
SIDE.
I MEAN WE'RE USING LOW BURNING LIGHTS IN OUR OPERATION.
WE'RE RECYCLING ALL OF OUR CORRUGATE BOXES.
I MEAN, WATER LEVELS, EVERYTHING.
DRIP IRRIGATION IN THE FIELD, IT'S FROM START TO FINISH.
SUSTAINABILITY.
AND I WAS AMAZED WHEN I GOT HERE.
I MEAN THE FARM IS UNBELIEVABLE, AND WHAT YOU GROW HERE.
TELL OUR VIEWERS THE STUFF YOU GROW HERE, WHICH IS ALL SCRUMPTIOUS.
WELL WE'RE HERE RIGHT NOW.
WERE LOOKING AT OUR FARMS IN DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA.
HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA.
THROUGHOUT THE STATE WE DIFFERENT CROPS IN DIFFERENT AREAS, FOR DIVERSITY.
HERE WITHIN DELRAY BEACH, WE'RE FARMING A MAJORITY OF OUR CART BELL PEPPERS, OUR MINI
SWEET PEPPERS, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR NEWER VARIETIES IN THE LAST TEN YEARS.
UM, BUT WE ALSO GROW GREEN BEANS, THROUGHOUT THE STATE, CUCUMBERS, SQUASHES, AND DIFFERENT
VEGETABLES AS WELL.
SCOTT.
ONE THING SPECIFIC ABOUT THIS GROWING REGION HERE IN FLORIDA, IT'S THE WARMEST PLACE IN
THE COUNTRY IN THE WINTER TIME.
WE HAVE THE GULF STREAM THAT RUNS RIGHT OFF OUR SHORE HERE.
THAT'S WHY THIS LAND IS SO PERFECT FOR GROWING THESE WONDERFUL VEGETABLES YEAR ROUND, OR
AT LEAST IN OUR WINTER SEASON.
AND THAT'S WHY WE LIVE HERE, BECAUSE IT'S NICE AND WARM AS WELL.
(LAUGH) NOW TELL ME ABOUT, IN TERMS OF THE APPROACH
YOUR TAKING, IT REALLY HELPS THE LOCAL ECONOMY HERE AS WELL.
THE ENTIRE IMPACT THAT FARMS THROUGHOUT OUR STATE HAVE ON OUR LOCAL COMMERCE, AND THE
IMPACTS THAT WE PROVIDE REVENUES FOR THE STATE WITH TAXES AND DIFFERENT THINGS IS IMMENSE,
BUT IT'S NOT JUST FOR OUR OWN FARMS.
WE TOO AS FARMS HAVE VENDORS.
SO EVERY FARM HAS IMPACTS ON A MASSIVE SCALE FOR ALL OF OUR LOCAL COMMERCE AND GDP.
WE CREATE JOBS.
NOT ONLY ON OUR OWN FARMS, BUT ALSO FOR DIFFERENT COMPANIES AND VENDORS THROUGHOUT THE STATE
AS WELL.
AWESOME.
SCOTT, YOU'VE GOT A GREAT STORY OF CHILDREN THAT COME HERE FROM THE SCHOOLS.
TELL OUR VIEWERS BECAUSE IT'S REALLY AMAZING.
YEAH, WE HAVE SEVERAL THOUSAND SCHOOL KIDS THAT COME OUT HERE TO THE FARM EVERY YEAR,
AND WE TAKE THEM RIGHT BACK IN THE FIELD.
WE PUT OUR FINGERS IN THE DIRT.
WE TALK ABOUT START TO FINISH.
WE LET THEM KNOW IT DOESN'T JUST GROW ON THE SHELF AT THE SUPER MARKET.
BY THE TIMES THE TOURS FINISHED WE HAVE KIDS FIGHTING OVER RAW VEGETABLES.
EATING RAW GREEN BEANS.
AWESOME.
SQUASH, AND THEIR TEACHERS ARE JUST IN AMAZEMENT.
AND I WOULD SAY SCOTT IT'S REALLY BECOMING POPULAR, SWEET PEPPERS AT SCHOOL AS WELL.
WOULD YOU AGREE?
OH YEAH.
DEFINITELY.
THEY EVEN HAVE GOT A FLAVOR PROFILE, YOU KNOW IT'S NOT LIKE THE REST OF YOUR GREEN PEPPERS
ARE GOOD, BUT THE SWEET PEPPERS--THEY'RE RIPE, THEIR SUGARS ARE IN THERE, AND THEY ARE FULL
OF FLAVOR.
AND NICK THE FRESH FROM FLORIDA CAMPAIGN, WHAT A SUCCESS IT'S HAVING, I MEAN FLORIDA
IS LEADING THE NATION IN DOING THIS.
THAT'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
THE FLORIDA GROWERS AND WHAT OUR SCHOOLS ARE DOING HERE HAS REALLY TURNING INTO A REALLY
POSITIVE STORY, NOT ONLY FOR OUR OWN STATE, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY BEING REPLICATED THROUGHOUT
THE COUNTRY.
SO WE'RE PROVIDING FRESH VEGETABLES FOR THE WINTER SEASONS ALL THE WAY FROM HERE TO LOCAL
SCHOOLS, TO EVEN DISTRIBUTORS AND SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE EAST COAST OF THE UNTIED STATES.
AND SCOTT YOU MUST FEEL SO PROUD KNOWING THAT YOUR MAKING THAT IMPACT FOR THE CHILDREN OUT
THERE IN SCHOOLS, BECAUSE I GOT TO TELL YOU FROM THE TIME THAT I WENT TO SCHOOL TO TODAY--BIG
DIFFERENCE.
OH YEAH IT WAS CHOCOLATE MILK AND COOKIES AND NOW IT'S FRESH VEGETABLES, AND ITS GREAT
TO BE ABLE TO MAKE HABITS IN THESE KIDS BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING TO TAKE THIS HABIT TODAY AND
THEY ARE GOING TO PASS IT ALONG TO THEIR KIDS AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT WE'RE GOING TO BE A
HEALTHIER NATION.
I GOT TO TELL YOU THIS HAS BEEN VERY VERY MOVING FOR ME THIS MORNING, AND SCOTT THANK
YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO.
NICK YOU TOO, I MEAN HONESTLY, IT'S ABOUT THE CHILDREN, AND EATING HEALTHY, AND WE NEED
TO GET THEM HEALTHIER AND EATING THEIR VEGETABLES MORE AND MORE.
THAT'S RIGHT.
THAT'S RIGHT, AND IT'S AN HONOR TO GROW THE VEGETABLES FOR THE CHILDREN FOR ALL OF OUR
COUNTRY.
IT REALLY IS.
AND YOU KNOW I HAVE A FEELING IF I ASK YOU FOR ONE BAG, YOU'LL LET ME TAKE ONE MY KIDS.
PLEASE, HELP YOURSELF.
WE GROW THEM TO EAT, SO PLEASE ENJOY THEM.
ALRIGHT, AND OF COURSE IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FARM AND WHAT'S GROWN HERE
EVERY SINGLE DAY--GOTO THE WEBSITE.
I'M TELLING YOU IT'S AMAZING.
PEROFAMILYFARMS.COM, AND TO LEARN MORE ABOUT "FRESH FROM FLORIDA," AND WHAT FLORIDA IS
DOING TO HELP THE CHILDREN EAT HEALTHY IN SCHOOL.
GO TO FRESHFROMFLORIDA.COM, AND YOU KNOW WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOUR CHILDREN ARE
DOING.
HOW HAVE THEY CHANGED THEIR EATING HABITS.
ARE THEY EATING THEIR VEGGIES?
LET US KNOW.
GO TO OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, CHIME IN, AND JOIN THE DISCUSSION.