CHICAGO – The United Fresh Produce Association will take its annual show to Southern California and Boston over the next four years. Chicago has been the show’s home since 2014. In 2013, the event was in San Diego.
United Fresh concluded a successful run at Chicago’s McCormick Place June 10-12, but show organizers said it was a good time to expand to the two coasts. “Chicago has been good to us, but the time has come for us to broaden opportunities across the industry by taking the show on the road,” said United Fresh President & CEO Tom Stenzel. “After next year, we will also be moving back into our traditional late spring timetable to enhance our attendee experience.”
The new schedule includes two visits to San Diego:
• June 16-18, 2020, San Diego
• April 21-23, 2021, Los Angeles
• May 9-11, 2022, Boston
• April 18-20, 2023, San Diego
California is a major agricultural area that produces about two-thirds of the fruits and one-third of the vegetables sold in the United States, according to the state’s Department of Food and Agriculture.
This year’s United Fresh hosted around 5,000 attendees at McCormick Place with 280 exhibitors, including 82 first-time participants. The show featured a new matchmaking service and an outreach to school foodservice buyers looking for more fresh greens and other fruits and vegetables for their lunchrooms.
Reach Tom Stenzel at (202) 303-3406 or tstenzel@unitedfresh.org; John Toner, Vice President of Convention & Industry Collaboration, at (202) 303-3424 or jtoner@unitedfresh.org.
