Let's Go to the Food Show

Yeah, it was one of those days, hard to beat. I had the opportunity to participate with the State of Maryland yesterday as they held a food show. "What is a food show?" you ask. A food show is where the Food Service Directors for school systems get together to consider new and different food items that are available to be served in the school systems.

When I say consider, I mean eat. So yes, I had some cafeteria food yesterday but it was nothing like what I ate when I was in school. I had food that was spicy, ethnic, and had tons of flavor. What I didn't have was a bunch of fat, added sugar and sodium. I did however have a lot of vitamins and fiber. So the food on the menu at the school is very different from the food of 20+ years ago.

I found it interesting to witness the process of getting some of these foods onto the lunch table. Convincing the Food Service Directors is only the first step. These food processors must also demonstrate that their foods are marketable and will be eaten by kids. Then, the Food Service Directors must consider price and figure out which food items in different classes offer the best value to the school system. It isn't a confusing process but it is a deliberate one, which is good.

Anyway, this was a great experience that provided me some visibility into the Food Distribution business in my Agency.