Sitting down to write this post is daunting. Mainly because there is so much to cover and much to still think about. So my solution is to break it up into little pieces and go from there.
A couple of months ago I got an email from a PR firm representing Dole asking me to join other bloggers in California for a summit. They covered the airfare, hotel costs at the Four Seasons in Westlake Village, transportation and the food during my stay. It was hard to say no.
To start, I’m still not 100% sure why I was invited. I’m not a full-time blogger, nor am I a “popular blogger”, not sure what that means, but I’m no KERF, right? To be frank, I struggle with blogging. There were ladies at the summit who were blogging the entire time. Tweeting, facebooking, networking, linking, and did I mention blogging? They were on top of their blogging game. I just kept looking around thinking “I’m at Dole! I’m in California! oooh this food is good! wow, I’m learning so much! palm trees!”
Not to mention the elephant in the room. Pun intended, I can’t help myself. The thing is, if you look at the roster of bloggers, and the group photo. You’ll notice the obvious… I was the only fat person there. I couldn’t help but sing “one of these things is not like the other”. For the most part, I was okay with this. But, I’d be lying if I said I was super confident about it either. Before I even stepped foot on the first plane to California I did a lot of self talk. Some of it was purely indulgent to make myself feel better. Here’s what it sounded like in my head: They want you to go for exactly who you are now, you are providing a different perspective, you’re representing other Americans who struggle with binge eating, you are on a journey, you can do this!
At one point I almost asked for a refund and high tailed it home when I found out our first flight was cancelled. I was uncomfortable. A lot was out of my control and I was vulnerable. If Josh hadn’t been there to convince me to keep going, I probably would have chickened out.
When we arrived in California 16 hours later, I didn’t care that I was sleep deprived and looking like a hot mess, I was in California. Once I stepped foot into the king suite at the Four Seasons, nothing else mattered. Awkward encounters and ugly duckling feelings be damned, there was a TV in the bathroom and a soaking tub, not to mention l’occitane soaps and shampoo. I was in heaven.
Because I arrived a few hours later than expected, I missed the cocktail hour and the Thanksgiving food challenge. But, I was just in time for the first Dole meal and it was incredible. We started with a creamy asparagus soup before we were lead to the buffet filled with fig salad, fish, turkey, cauliflower gratin, and the star of the show: roasted yams with bananas. Everything was savory and flavorful, yet healthy and light. They even gave us recipes for the dishes served to recreate a home.
Enjoying a cup of banana soft serve- my favorite!
I ended up sitting with those working for and with Dole. Their PR team and marketers. I’m not sure how this happened, but it strangely put me at ease. I felt 12 again, hanging out with the parents on a 6th grade field trip. I chatted with Marty Ordman, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Donna Skidmore, Director, Consumer Services and Michael, who works for Dole, but I cannot remember his last name or title. Amanda Notarangelo who does PR for Dole with Gibraltar Associates in DC was also at our table . We were ooh and aahing over the food when I had to go and ruin it with a question about local food and farming, GMOs (which I was told they don’t use) and pesticides sprayed on fruits and vegetables. I kicked myself immediately for asking during dinner, but it just came out. I thought for sure I was going to have to sleep outside of the Four Seasons that night. But, they took it in stride, apparently these were frequent, yet valid questions. They explained that they support and encourage local farming, they support people eating more fruits and vegetables regardless of where it comes from. And that they are always working on new ways to work with local farmers with their projects such as the salad bars they sponsor in public schools. But I learned something else.
Not everyone is as lucky as I am. I live in a town where local food is prevalent, abundant and affordable. This is not normal for small-town America. For example, on my way home this evening I stopped at a locally owned grocer and bought a big bag of local and organic mixed salad greens for $3, organic/fair trade bananas for about $4, and a few other produce items that were either local or organic, if not both. I even got a zucchini for free because it was a little soft. My total was $37 and the food will last till the end of the week. Not to mention that I was about 2 miles from my house.
But there are people in our country, children, who have never had fresh fruit or vegetables. There are a lot of mouths to feed in the world and I’m not sure that small farmers could keep up with the demand. I don’t have a major point or opinion other than, it’s easy to throw our hands up and talk about how screwed up the system is. It is. But, it’s complex. Dole is trying to make bananas affordable and look as cool as soda or twinkies. I can get behind that. I’m trying to get to a point where I’m not becoming narrow from my assumed opinions of the food industry. I think sometimes we want an easy answer, and there isn’t always one. There are better answers and solutions, but I appreciate that they are taking public opinion seriously. I appreciate that they took the time to answer the harder questions, because I wasn’t the only one asking.
I took some time to research Dole before I went on this trip and found the documentary “Bananas!” enlightening and heartbreaking. I also found out that Dole launched www.doleorganics.com in 2007 in response to demand from consumers who increasingly want specific information relative to the farms where the Dole organic bananas are grown or purchased from growers (referenced from www.non-gmoreport.com) You can also read about Dole, Monsanto and GMOs here.
Next up: Part Two, Dole food testing, the other bloggers and much more!
Here are a few recaps from some of the bloggers who attended.
Meals and Miles: Dole’s Test Kitchen, A Cooking Challenge
Run Eat Repeat: Double Dole Day, Dole Healthy Lifestyle Blogger Summit
Cranky Fitness: An Unusually Frank Blog Update
Iowa Girl Eats: Healthified Meat and Potatoes Meal
CarrotsNCake: Dinner At Onyx, Sunrise Run + New Dole Products, Dole’s Healthy Lifestyle Blogger Summit, It’s Over Already
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