DNO Produce president champions United Fresh membership
This article originally appeared in The Produce News. Click here to read the original article.
DNO Produce, based in Columbus, OH, is a leading produce distributor and processor for the Midwest, providing fresh, healthy and easy solutions for its partners in foodservice, food manufacturing, school service, government and retail.
Alex DiNovo, president and COO of DNO Produce, has always been very active with United Fresh leadership, holding several board positions over the years.
“Initially, we joined up with United Fresh a long time ago, and what drew the company — and me — was that they had a really solid focus on schools, and this is even before the United Fresh Start Foundation was a thing,” he said. “They always had a desire to start early, and give children fresh fruits and vegetables, knowing that if you did that, they will grow up eating fresh fruits and vegetables.”
That’s an approach that impacts the entire industry, as those young students will eventually grow up to become older consumers who buy produce and teach their kids about the importance of produce.
“I really thought it was a fantastic approach,” DiNovo said. “We did a lot of business with schools, so not only was it something that we believed was a good thing to do for the industry, it specifically benefited our business and we wanted to be at the table when those types of things were being discussed with school districts, with government and things of that nature.”
Additionally, DiNovo was impressed with United Fresh’s legislative side, and noted it has always done an extremely good job with the government.
“With legislating and working through those types of programs, it’s impossible for nearly any organization to make any inroads into any sort of government change without an industry association,” he said. “So that’s why we got involved with them.”
Being involved with United Fresh has helped DiNovo and DNO Produce grow professionally, and personally, and the business has increased at the same time.
“So, there’s three big wins that you get from being a part of an association like United and you get way more out than what you put in,” he said. “The ROI with any of these trade association affiliations, especially when you get involved with the committees and the boards, is priceless.”
DiNovo is currently on the United Fresh Start Foundation Board, whose mission is to increase children’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables — period.
“That’s it. That’s what they try to do, and it’s a really noble mission,” he said. “What I always tell people at our company and anybody I’m talking to basically, is isn’t it great that the way we make our living is genuinely a good thing to do. We’re trying to get people to eat healthy.”
For those who say they don’t have the time for an industry association, DiNovo argues that being a thought leader in the industry and working for the betterment of all is worth the time away from the office it may take.
“What’s it worth to walk into a room of prospective customers with a positive opinion already formed? I think that’s pretty valuable,” he said. “It gives you some clout already. And when I say you get more out than you put in, I truly believe that, and we try to spread that throughout our organization.”
In 2021, three of DiNovo’s direct reports are on industry boards, and he sees that as a big positive.
“I always encourage anybody to get involved with an industry association, find an issue you like or that benefits you personally or benefits your business, and then just let an association know that you’re interested in it,” he said.
Coming off a strong year despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, DNO Produce has seen similar results in 2021.
“We’ve been continuing to increase revenue, and continuing to get into new markets, new commodities, as well as just expanding our footprint here at our plant,” DiNovo said. “In particular, we’ve had a great deal of success with our Freshealth Kids brand of items, which are specifically utilized in schools and are two-ounce to four-ounce bags of ready-to-eat fresh-cut produce.”
Considering school wasn’t even in-person for a lot of students over the last 12 months, DiNovo expects to see demand continue into the next school year.
One of the reasons 2020 was so strong was DNO Produce’s involvement with the USDA Farmers to Family Food Box program, participating from May through September and seeing great success.
“We did it pretty aggressively, and I wanted to be sure I kept my people busy so when we started back up for school, we had the workforce needed,” DiNovo said.
He was involved on a committee with United Fresh to discuss the program with USDA, communicating the desire in changing the model from a low cost to a best value.
“However, USDA did not take them up on that, which is unfortunate, but I’m hopeful in the future that they do take that up,” he said. “It’s a vital program. Programs like these allow more fruits and vegetables to the nutritional insecure of our nation.”