More Than 45,000 Foodservice Buyers Expected at NASDA’s American Food Fair Pavilion This Weekend

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), together with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS), will open the American Food Fair at the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show at McCormick Place in Chicago this Saturday. The American Food Fair, featuring more than 110 small to large American food and beverage companies, will be open May 19 through 22 from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM. NASDA has been organizing the pavilion in cooperation with USDA FAS for 17 years.

“Diversified market opportunities are critical to the sustainability of U.S. food and beverage companies and the local economies they serve,” said NASDA CEO Dr. Barbara P. Glenn. “As American agriculture continues to face great uncertainty in the international marketplace, the trading partnerships established on this show floor are increasingly more important for economic sustainability.”

Part of the larger NRA Show, the floor is expected to be visited by more than 45,000 foodservice leaders from 50 states and more than 120 countries. A record number of state departments of agriculture, including Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, will be promoting their state’s unique value-added food products to restaurants, institutions, hotels, and retail locations. The show is produced using funds from the USDA Market Access Program (MAP).

“For every dollar Congress invests in MAP activities such as our American Food Fair, $28 is returned in export revenue to our farmers, ranchers, and value-added food producers. As Congress debates the next Farm Bill, ensuring continued support for MAP is a top NASDA priority.”

In 2017, American Food Fair exhibitors reported over $40 million in sales, with $8 million to international markets, over the course of four days. Ten companies reported first export sales to a new market. Companies looking to exhibit in NASDA’s 2019 American Food Fair Pavilion at the National Restaurant Show, May 18-21, should contact Janet Williams, NASDA Trade Show Management, at (703) 259-6120 or aff@naylor.com.

NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association which represents the elected and appointed commissioners, secretaries, and directors of the departments of agriculture in all fifty states and four U.S. territories. To learn more about NASDA, please visit www.nasda.org.