Although on May 1 the Produce Marketing Association postponed this year’s Foodservice Conference, which had been set for July 23-24 in Monterey, CA, the association simultaneously announced a digital event that has been developed and will take place on July 20-24.
Jamie Romano Hillegas, PMA Director of Trade Shows, said, “The desire for our members to connect across the supply chain to deliver on the rapidly changing consumer needs has never been stronger. So it is in that spirit that I am proud to introduce our latest initiative.”
The virtual event is PMA Foodservice: Delivered, and Jamie said it will be “an innovative and immersive digital experience, providing the connections to people and ideas to help the entire foodservice industry around the world continue on the road to revitalization.”
PMA CEO Cathy Burns said, “We’ve been in constant contact with the industry around the world and it is clear that now, more than ever, our members seek opportunities to make meaningful connections, spur innovative solutions, and share key insights that will help our entire industry move forward. Just as we have for the past four decades, PMA is committed to bringing the foodservice community together. While we won’t be physically gathering, the spirit of PMA in Monterey will carry on in new ways. We owe it to our members and the industry to do all we can as they revitalize the foodservice industry.”
And Center for Growing Talent Executive Director Doug Bohr noted, “We continue to meet our members and engage talent wherever they are. In the past two months, we launched a new series of events that have reached three times the number of students than in all of last year and provided unique networking and development opportunities for young professionals and women in our industry. We also announced a new virtual Wellness Walk and Run Challenge inviting members to join us in an event to support their health and raise funds to support our talent attraction efforts on behalf of the industry. We look forward to sharing plans for how talent will be a part of the new Foodservice: Delivered event.”
Updates from PMA will let us know more details, and in the meantime, PMA has provided options for 2020’s registered exhibitors.
The exhibitors can choose to use their registration fee toward a 2021 booth to receive early booth selection with the option to keep your same location, or they can request a full refund.
