According to the Ziploc® Fresh Eating Survey, while 81 percent of Americans are looking for more ways to incorporate fresh ingredients into mealtime, less than 50 percent actually eat fruits and vegetables on a daily basis—a clear disparity between Americans’ outlook on eating fresh foods vs. the reality of mealtime. The Ziploc Fresh Eating Survey has uncovered a city-by-city snapshot of food-related choices across America with insight into a metro area’s “freshness” ranking.
Most recently, the Ziploc Brand has partnered with best-selling author and TV personality Rachael Ray.
“The Ziploc Fresh Eating Survey results shed light on the fact that Americans want to eat fresh food and are hungry for the resources to do so,” says Ray. “Ziploc Brand and I are doing just that with The Great American FreshOver(TM) Project, which challenges families and provides them with the tools to ‘freshover’ their meals and inspire lasting change.”
Ziploc Brand and Ray’s mission—a two-year healthy eating initiative encouraging families to “freshover” their outlook on eating—offers families recipes, tips, ways to use Ziploc Brand Containers and Bags, a chance to win a trip for two to meet Ray and more on the Ziploc Brand Facebook Fan Page.
Ziploc reveals cities that eat fresh
The Ziploc Fresh Eating Survey uncovered an interesting look into the most fresh and least fresh cities across America. The top 10 “freshest cities” are where residents are seeking and eating the freshest food options available, through farmer’s markets and gardening habits. The least fresh cities underscore metro areas where residents face obstacles to eating fresh, such as a high prevalence of fast food options and a lack of fresh food resources. The 10 freshest cities in the U.S. include:
1. Hartford, Conn.
2. San Francisco, Calif.
3. Sacramento, Calif.
4. Portland, Ore.
5. San Jose, Calif.
6. Richmond, Va.
7. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
8. Boston, Mass.
9. Washington, D.C.
10. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
Location plays role in eating fresh
• Texas is a Mixed “Fresh” State: Not only is Texas home to one of the freshest metro areas in the country (Austin, Texas), but it’s also home to three of the list’s least fresh (San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston).
• People Eat Fresher Near Coastlines: While half the top 10 freshest areas are on the West Coast, overall the top 10 and bottom 10 are equally divided among the West Coast, East Coast, South and Midwest.
• Three cities in the Bay Area scored in the top five and Richmond, Va., was the only southern city in the top 10.
• Fast Food vs. Fresh Food Resources: There are 1.45 farmers markets per every 100,000 Americans countrywide, however there are 60.1 fast food establishments tipping the scales toward consumption of fast food. East Coast residents have a better chance of finding farmers markets, including Albany, N.Y., and Hartford, Conn., with 3.84 and 3.26 farmers markets per every 100,000 Americans respectively.
• Fresh Food Feels Good: Universally across the country, 89 percent of Americans feel like a good parent when their family’s diet contains fresh foods.
