Commissioner Nikki Fried Joins “Taste of the NFL” Super Bowl Pre-Game Event

Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried virtually joined Taste of the NFL, the annual purpose-driven Super Bowl culinary experience that raises funds and awareness to fight hunger and food insecurity.

Fried joined Alexis Glick, CEO of GENYOUth, for a discussion on food insecurity that affects 1 in 4 children across the U.S. and more than 850,000 children in Florida, the importance of school nutrition, and making Fresh From Florida fruit and vegetables, especially Florida-grown citrus, an important part of a healthy diet. GENYOUth is a nationally recognized youth wellness organization working to create healthy school communities by empowering students.

The Taste of the NFL event and Fried interview may be viewed here.

Taste of the NFL is sponsored in part by Fresh From Florida. The event also featured the song “Florida Fresh” by BACHI, a Miami-born and Tallahassee-based hip hop artist, created exclusively for Fresh From Florida. This year’s virtual event featured appearances by celebrity chefs Carla Hall, Andrew Zimmern, Lasheeda Perry, and Tim Love, as well as tips for staying healthy and active from the Florida Dairy Farmers and Fuel Up to Play 60, the NFL’s in-school health and wellness program.

“We know that our children can’t succeed, can’t be productive in the school system, can’t be productive members of our society without access to fresh, healthy, nutritious food,” said Commissioner Fried in the discussion. “So many parents have lost their jobs, and need a little bit of extra help – and that trickles down to their kids. While we know that typically we have 3 million people in Florida who are food insecure, and 850,000 of our kids, we know that has unfortunately skyrocketed during this pandemic. But we also saw everyone in the state step up to the plate, including school districts who we worked with immediately when we heard schools were going to be closed, so that not a single child during COVID-19 was going to go hungry.”

Fighting chronic hunger and food insecurity has been one of Commissioner Fried’s top priorities. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services oversees the state’s $1.3 billion school meals program, serving 319 million meals to nearly 3 million Florida children, as well as the Summer BreakSpot summer feeding program and emergency food programs for seniors and low-income families. When schools closed due to COVID-19, Fried activated the BreakSpot program early, helping serve 74 million meals to Florida kids from March through August 2020. Fried has advocated for using CARES Act funds to support school nutrition, and last week requested the Biden Administration consider establishing universal school meals for children.

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