This week, NWA was proud to lead a delegation from the watermelon industry joining IFPA’s Washington Conference, meeting directly with congressional leaders, and raising the issues that are critical to our industry.  More updates will follow next week, but check out your National and Regional Watermelon Queen social pages, as they are quickly filling them with highlights from the event.

One of our highlights was the ‘Joy of Fresh on Capitol Hill’ event, where our Executive Director, George Szczepanski, the watermelon queens, and various industry representatives were able to serve fresh slices of watermelon to members of Congress and their staff, reminding them of the people and joy behind the product- and why we need to keep fighting. It underscored our collective responsibility to advocate for our interests before Congress.

This event provided a crucial opportunity to unite and amplify our voices. By coming together, we presented a united front. Through IFPA’s meetings with lawmakers, we were able to discuss vital issues, including fresh produce labor, food safety, nutrition, trade, and the Farm Bill. One of the sessions, ‘Unlocking Agriculture’s Potential,’ we advocated for crucial labor reforms for the fresh produce industry.  Policy leaders also engaged in a discussion about the potential impact of President Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” Commission on our members, an the relevance of the topic to our industry. Involvement is crucial to driving change within the fresh produce industry. Supporting FreshPAC helps prioritize our shared interests. We’ll have more coverage over the next couple of weeks, but here are some good links to find some coverage: