NBA hall-of-famer Alex English and Food Systems for the Future executive Maurice Cousin join Palmetto Gourmet Foods at National School Nutrition Conference in Denver
Toronto | July 14, 2023
Palmetto Gourmet Foods was recently joined by NBA legend Alex English and Food Systems for the Future executive Maurice Cousin at the School Nutrition Association’s Annual National Conference in Denver, Colorado. They joined forces at this year’s conference to voice a shared passion for providing students with proper nutrition and the power of diet to support student achievement.
“Palmetto’s mission is to address food security challenges by developing highly nutritious and functional food products that are both affordable and sustainable. We are honored that Alex and Maurice were able to join us in our mission,” said Reza Soltanzadeh, CEO and founder of Borealis Foods and subsidiary Palmetto Gourmet Foods. “As the innovator and producer behind the world’s first high protein, organic ramen noodle, we are well positioned to launch a similarly nutritious and sustainable product for school systems – a whole wheat ramen noodle that can provide delicious nutrition to students on a mass scale.”
Denver Nuggets legend and Hall-of-Famer Alex English joined Palmetto at the conference to voice his long standing support of hunger-related causes. The former NBA player and coach, and now businessman and philanthropist, has dedicated many years to strengthening the fabric of communities and ensuring children and students have access to highly nutritious food.
On why this is so important to him, English shared, “When I was an active NBA player years ago, I remember having a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with my family and watching on the evening news a report on Ethiopians in the northern part of the country going through a famine. It broke my heart to see these little babies and their families suffer through this. I wanted to help; I wanted to have an effect.”
He continued, “That year, as an All-Star player, I was able to get all of the other All-Star players to donate their game earnings to feed some of the people in northern Ethiopia. Every one of those players participated in the project. It was an enlightening, soul-touching experience. I feel that with this initiative we will again attempt to have an effect on starving people everywhere. I am humbled.”
Said Maurice Cousin, Vice President of Global Special Projects, Food Systems for the Future (FSF), “The alliance between FSF Institute and Palmetto Gourmet Foods conveys the importance of school nutrition in child development – a partnership we're thrilled to bring to the leading annual school nutrition event, the School Nutrition Association’s Annual National Conference. FSF Institute and Palmetto Gourmet Foods have a shared commitment to ensuring that our children receive the sustenance they need to thrive academically, physically, and emotionally and together, we are spearheading a transformative movement that not only nourishes our children's bodies but also nourishes their dreams, aspirations, and limitless potential.”
Cousin added, “The power in the School Nutrition Association Annual National Conference is the opportunity to inform, forge new connections, and leverage innovative solutions designed to address childhood hunger."