TEMPLE, Texas — McLane Company Inc. announced the rollout of McLane Kitchen’s nationwide Fresh Produce + supply chain solution. Fresh Produce + is a turnkey solution that provides top quality products, operational best practices, merchandising units, information on suggested retail pricing and best-in-class customer service to help operators establish their locations as destinations for fresh produce.

“We recognized our customers wanted a consistent way to fill their consumers’ need for safe, fresh, better-for-you produce,” said Holly Veale, product director for foodservice at McLane, in a press release. “McLane Kitchen’s Fresh Produce + solution makes fresh produce and cut fruit available to all our customers, regardless of size or location.”

What makes Fresh Produce + truly unique is McLane’s unmatched ability to deliver fresh produce nationwide, allowing operators in multiple regions to offer a consistent product mix of healthier options. For single c-stores, McLane’s nationwide distribution means leveraging the company’s buying power to better compete pricewise, while ensuring the high-quality fresh produce.

According to an independent study, close to half of the nation’s population visits a convenience store each month. What’s more, 48% of Americans say c-stores are a place to buy fresh items. According to a 2015 NACS retailer sentiment survey, 50% of c-stores have expanded fresh fruit sales, while 30% have increased cut fruit and vegetable offerings.

In conjunction with the nationwide rollout of McLane Kitchen’s Fresh Produce + solution, McLane recently announced its affiliation with The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization devoted to working with the private sector to ensure the health of the nation’s youth by solving the childhood obesity crisis within a generation. McLane is the first grocery and chain restaurant distributor to make a commitment to PHA.