Did you know that your canned fruit or vegetable is processed at peak ripeness, with peak nutritional value, and within hours of harvesting?

It’s true! Most processing facilities are located within 90 miles of the fields where the fruits and vegetables are cultivated. Once the produce arrives, it is cleaned and sorted, then placed in cans filled with water for blanching. After sealing, the cans are cooked at high temperatures to process the fruits or vegetables. Following this, the cans are labeled and shipped to grocery stores across America and worldwide. Essentially, this process replicates what your grandparents and parents might have done with fruits and vegetables in their kitchens, but on a much larger scale!

Canned, frozen, and dried fruits and vegetables have equal or greater nutritional value compared to fresh produce. This has been demonstrated repeatedly by the scientific community. Notably, research by National Institutes of Health confirms these findings. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics writes, “Fruits and vegetables used for canning are picked at peak freshness, ensuring the best flavor and nutrient quality. Canned foods can be just as nutritious as fresh and frozen foods because canning preserves many nutrients.” As a result, the U.S. Government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends consuming all forms of fruits and vegetables, recognizing their nutritional equivalence.

The seasonality and transportation sustainability of fresh products leading to a majority of foreign fruits/vegetables being served in American schools, the often higher nutritional value of canned and frozen products, the cooking skills and available time in the kitchen gap, and more mean that fresh-only programs are not as effective in getting fruits & vegetables into the mouths of American consumers that need them the most.

In spite of overwhelming scientific evidence, the U.S. Government continues to subsidize non-domestic, fresh-only fruit and vegetable programs that don’t meet consumers where they are; and 2) hurt the American farmer.

Our coalition is focused on ensuring parity - not preference - in U.S. government fruit and vegetable programs.