Last updated on March 25th, 2021 at 07:18 pm
Each year Natural Product Expo West brings together more than 3,600 companies to its annual Anaheim, California-based trade show. At the 2019 event, KeHE Distributors chose to make a greater impact outside the show floor and is scheduled to do the same this year.
“When we learned that almost 1.7 million people in Los Angeles County are living below the poverty line, we knew we wanted to do something to help,” said Laura McCord, KeHE’s executive director of sustainability and corporate responsibility, “As KeHE continues to evaluate our impact, we wanted to help those that are hungry as well as encouraging our fellow Expo West attendees to do the same.”
With the help of KeHE Cares Foundation, the philanthropic arm of KeHE Distributors, the company created the largest meal packing event at the largest natural product trade show in the U.S. In 2019, the event pulled together food and beverage industry professionals to pack 2,000 boxes or 100,000 meals. This year, the Expo West serving event is set to hit a new goal of 3,000 boxes equaling 150,000 meals in two-and-a-half hours.
“Food industry trade shows like Expo West are known for their never-ending aisles of trending health food products. We are privileged to be in a community of abundance,” said Ari Goldsmith, KeHE’s VP of marketing. “We are pleased to come back this year with another opportunity that allows others to share in the abundance with those in need.”
The event will kick off at 7:30 a.m. PST on March 5 in the white tent outside of the Anaheim Marriott in conjunction with the Expo West Community Breakfast, adjacent to the Anaheim Convention Center, the location of the trade show.
Volunteers will pack boxes that include staples such as pasta, grains, cereal and canned goods donated by KeHE supplier partners, including Walnut Acres, Arrowhead Mills, Cadia, Cascadian Farms, Annie’s Homegrown, Food For Life, Dave’s Gourmet, Milton’s Craft Bakers, Masked Teff, Capitol Food, Jovial Foods, Noosh, Sahale, Miracle Noodle, Edward & Sons and Nutiva.
Following the packing event, the boxes will be distributed by the Children’s Hunger Fund to families in need.
With its nationwide distribution network, KeHE provides natural and organic, specialty and fresh products to chain and independent grocery and natural food stores and other specialty product retailers throughout North America. KeHE is an employee-owned, B Corporation certified company with more than 5,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada.
