Apr 1, 2019

BrightFarms’ founder joins United Fresh Produce Association board

Paul Lightfoot, BrightFarms founder and CEO, has joined the United Fresh Produce Association’s Board of Directors.

Lightfoot’s two-year term began this week in Nashville, Tennessee at the board’s spring meeting. The body serves as the senior volunteer leadership group for the association.

BrightFarms is a supplier of locally grown packaged salads for supermarkets.

“I’m honored to be nominated to the United Fresh Board with some of the most distinguished leaders in our industry,” said Lightfoot. “I look forward to working with and learning from my fellow board members as we continue to grow the produce industry.”

A healthy and sustainable food zealot, Lightfoot leads BrightFarms on its mission to provide supermarkets with the freshest, tastiest and most responsibly grown local produce. Through his vision, BrightFarms is creating the first national brand of locally grown produce.

The United Fresh Produce Association includes members in all areas of the produce supply chain, including growers, shippers, fresh cut processors, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, foodservice operators, industry suppliers and allied associations.

“Paul’s addition to the board will be a major asset to United Fresh and our members.” said Tom Stenzel, president of United Fresh. “He brings a wealth of knowledge from a rapidly growing segment in produce, and I’m confident that his expertise will make us a better organization.”

In February, Lightfoot joined the recently formed Romaine/Food Safety Taskforce on which the United Fresh Produce Association and the Produce Marketing Association have been working diligently since late 2018.

The Task Force is comprised of a cross-functional group of executive industry leaders, experts from academia and other disciplines, and government officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and state departments of health and agriculture.

The Task Force is charged with creating learnings for the industry to prevent future outbreaks and to increase consumer confidence through improved food safety response and effectiveness.

“Food safety is always a top priority for BrightFarms, so I look forward to supporting the industry’s efforts to improve the safety of the salad supply chain,” said Paul Lightfoot. “There are specific steps that companies in the salad supply chain can and should take to reduce the risks of pathogen exposure, to reduce the spread of outbreaks, and to improve transparency and traceability. BrightFarms is proud to be a founding member of a coalition of controlled environment salad producers that are bringing structural safety advances to the salad industry.”

For more information about BrightFarms, visit here.

Photo: Paul Lightfoot, BrightFarms founder and CEO, has joined the United Fresh Produce Association’s Board of Directors.