US: IFPA donates flowers after trade show

International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) has donated 226,735 lbs of produce and 8,575 lbs of floral after this year's Global Produce & Floral Show hosted in Atlanta, Georgia. The rescue and distribution of this donation is in partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank, a member of the Feeding America network, which serves 29 counties in the Atlanta and northern Georgia region.

"We want to ensure our show is as sustainable as possible and being good stewards of our fresh product – both produce and floral – is a critical part of those efforts," said IFPA CEO, Cathy Burns. "We have been working with the Feeding America network of food banks since 1983 to help rescue and distribute products from the Expo. We celebrate the industry's generosity in donating their product and we cannot thank the Atlanta Community Food Bank and their volunteers enough for helping us to ensure that all rescuable produce and flowers are able to reach the families in the Atlanta community."

In the past twenty years, the industry has donated more than 5 million pounds of produce to food banks in the cities that have hosted the Global Produce & Floral Show, states the IFPA. Each year, as the show closes, volunteers organized by the partner food banks enter the show floor to rescue and pack the produce and floral donations for transportation.

This year, rescued produce was distributed across the 29 counties served by the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and fruit and other shelf-stable items were also distributed to the Augusta Food Bank which suffered damage during the recent hurricanes.

"We are deeply grateful to IFPA for their generous donation to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Our region is experiencing heightened demand for food assistance, and we are relying on our partners to help us distribute more food than ever to those in need," said Kyle Waide, President and CEO of the Atlanta Community Food Bank. "IFPA's contributions to local food banks across the nation play a crucial role in ensuring that individuals and families have access to nutritious produce options."

In addition to produce, floral, furnishings, and green waste are all donated to community partners. This year's floral donations were received by The Little Flower Group, Meals on Wheels Atlanta, more than 25 local nursing homes, religious institutions, Georgia Tech, non-profits supporting single mothers, Girl Scouts troops, Nourish Botanica, and more.

Bouquets, plants, loose-cut flowers, and more went out to organizations supporting members across the entire community as a way to share joy and appreciation to their communities. Floral exhibitors also donated 4 tons of green waste which went to composting for neighborhood gardens.

"There are not a lot of organizations ready to receive over 8000 lbs of floral donations," said IFPA Director of Trade Shows, Kyle McMillan. "This year, we were absolutely blown away by the generosity of our floral exhibitors, but also the enthusiasm from our local partners who helped us be more sustainable than ever before by extending the life and use of our show's floral and produce. The work our partners do for their communities is so important, we're thrilled to help them celebrate and appreciate their neighbors and members."

IFPA will return to Anaheim for the Global Produce & Floral Show in 2025 and will return to Atlanta in 2027.