Today’s post is sponsored by PMA Fresh Summit,  HBF International, Sun-Maid and Valley Fig & Outrageously Fresh! 

Join me tonight (10/20) at 8 pm CDT for a Twitter party to introduce the 2015 Fresh Summit sponsors and the #TeamFreshSummit bloggers. Grab your laptop for a fast-paced hour with these delicious brands and learn how they are constantly innovating to bring great-tasting produce to your table throughout the year. There will a virtual scavenger hunt to win great prizes but you have to register in advance!

It is an especially hectic week for me because, on Friday, I am heading to Atlanta to attend the Produce Marketing Association’s annual Fresh Summit. The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) represents companies from every segment of the global fresh produce industry. That is, the people who grow, transport, distribute and sell the fruits and vegetables that we eat every day. The Fresh Summit is an enormous (20,000 people!) annual gathering of players from each of these segments with workshops, events and a huge expo showcasing the latest products and innovations.

At Fresh Summit, I will be part of a team of bloggers working with PMA to bridge the gap between the producers and the consumers. I will hear about new food trends, learn the challenges facing the produce industry, such as climate change and sustainability, and understand how growers and distributors ensure that the freshest produce reaches store shelves, and our kitchens, every day. The PMA also has initiatives on important food-related issues such as food insecurity and promoting healthy eating for kids that are of interest to consumers. Everything I learn, I will share with you.

At Fresh Summit, I am especially excited to connect with the brands that grow and sell some of my  favorite fruits and vegetables. One of the most iconic brands that I will find at Fresh Summit is Sun-Maid, the world’s largest producer of raisins and other dried fruits, including prunes, apricots, cranberries, cherries, figs, dates, and yogurt raisins. We consume a lot of Sun-Maid dried cherries, cranberries and apricots in my house as snacks and of course in cooking and baking.

My readers know that I love to cook and preserve with some unusual berries like red currants and gooseberries. The brand that brings these delicious but hard-to-find fruits to my door is Hurst’s Berry Farm. From blackberries, kiwi-berries, and currants to cranberries and blueberries, HBF is the year-round source for fresh berries. At Fresh Summit, I’m excited to try the newest addition to Hurst Berry Farms’ line, the kiwi berry. These miniature kiwi fruits are now being grown on their farm in Oregon – how cool is that?

A lot of companies use Fresh Summit to introduce new products. Outrageously Fresh!, a fair trade certified company with greenhouses in Canada, California and Mexico, will unveil new vegetable snacking packs at the Expo. You may already know their organic and conventional sweet bell and mini peppers, English and mini cucumbers, tomatoes-on-the-vine, cocktail and small snacking tomatoes. I love the idea of vegetables as snacks, don’t you? My kids — okay, one of my kids — loves to snack on sweet peppers and tomatoes, especially with a tasty dip. So I know she will be interested in the latest Outrageously Fresh! snack ideas.

So stay tuned for lots more information about Fresh Summit. I promise to give you the behind-the-scenes tour of this amazing event and share everything I learn. Meanwhile, do not forget to join me for the #TeamFreshSummit Twitter party tonight to hear the latest from these great brands and win prizes!

Full disclosure time: As part of #TeamFreshSummit with KitchenPLAY, I received a media pass to attend Fresh Summit, as well as compensation for social media activity to promote the event and our sponsors. As always, all opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.