Team Tour de Fruit is at it Again!  

February 2011 Featured Member: 
DOLE FRESH FRUIT

WILMINGTON, DE, February 1, 2011 - World Trade Center Delaware is pleased to announce that Dole Fresh Fruit has been chosen as the featured member for the month of February, 2011.

Who:
Dole Fresh Fruit

Where:
Wilmington, DE

Services:
Dole is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. As well as marketing a growing line of packaged and frozen foods, it is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research.

Distinctiveness:
The DOLE brand is synonymous with high quality standards and satisfaction. Dole has earned this reputation over the last 154 years thanks to its unwavering commitment to fulfill its customers' needs and consumers' expectations in the critical areas of quality assurance, food safety, traceability, environmental responsibility and social accountability. 

Community Involvement:
Dole Fresh Fruit of Wilmington has been recognized numerous times for their community involvement.  In November 2010 Dole was presented the Corporation of the year award by the National M.S. Society for their generous support of the Delaware Chapter and its events, most notably, through their generous donation of fresh fruit to the chapter’s Walk MS and Bike MS events.  Each year, the Bike to the Bay event’s cyclists enjoy more than 5,500 hundred bananas while pedaling to Rehoboth and back thanks to Dole.  As a generous supporter of the Thanksgiving Day Run/Walk event Dole donates not only bananas, but also golden pineapples.  

In 2010, Dole Fresh Fruit formed their first team for the Bike to the Bay event.  Appropriately named “Tour de Fruit,” the Dole team had 24 members and raised more than $9,000 – almost double their goal!  

And now the Tour de Fruit is at it again!  Not only is the team accepting new members for the 2011 Bike to the Bay, but many members of the Tour de Fruit team will also participate in this year's Philly Mud Run in support of The M.S. Society. 

• September 24 and 25, 2011 - Team Tour de Fruit, sponsored by Dole’s Wilmington Container Terminal, will join more than 1,600 bicyclists to pedal from Dover to Rehobeth Beach during the 28th annual Bike MS: Bike to the Bay.  

• June 11, 2011 – Tour de Fruit will participate in the Mud Run, a 10k walk/run through a hilly and muddy obstacle course that not only promises to be challenging, but also lots of fun. Participants can run, walk or jog through the course that features hills, mud pits, climbing walls and rope bridges. 

Join the Team!!  Those interested in riding with Tour de Fruit in the 2011 Bike to the Bay or participating in the 2011 Philly Mud Run, may contact Team Captain Sean Clancy at sean.clancy@dole.com.  Marian Hay, will again lead a team of volunteers at the finish line to welcome our riders.  Last year's Tour de Fruit welcoming committee won first place as the Best Tent at the event. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Marian at marian.hay@dole.com with any questions.  

If you are unable to ride with Tour de Fruit, you can still support the team by making a donation!  Donations can be made online through the team site, or by contacting Sean Clancy.

And we couldn’t forget the rest of the team!  Tour de Fruit team members Sean Clancy, Erik Clancy and Markus Strecker recently participated in this years Polar Bear Plunge on February 6 in support of the Delaware Special Olympics.  A record crowd of 3,100 participants plunged into the 34 degree Atlantic Ocean off Rehobeth Beach Delaware and raised over $550,000 for the charity. Wilmington's M&R Manager Pooch Igo was also spotted at the event, but he was there to support his daughter Christine and managed to remain dry. 

On January 22, Tour de Fruit team members Anna and Darlene Silva participated in the New Jersey leg of the Tubbs Romp to Stomp Snowshoe Series.  Anna and Darlene actually snowshoed along a 5k course at Mountain Creek Ski Resort in Vernon, NJ to help raise money for the fight against breast cancer. The event raised almost $35,000 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation and attracted 488 participants.

Trivia
Which of the following nutrients can be found in bananas?

a)   potassium
b)   fiber
c)   vitamin B6
d)   vitamin C

Answer:  All of the Above!

At about 110 calories per medium banana (126g), bananas are aSuperfood for your heart, providing an excellent source of vitamin B6 and a good source of potassium, fiber and vitamin C - nutrients that help promote heart health. Banana consumption has also been linked to lower risk of leukemia, colorectal and kidney cancer. In fact, a study published in Nutrition and Cancer found that those who consumed bananas three or more times per week had a 72% lower risk of colorectal cancer compared to those who consumed them less than one time per week. Bananas also contain resistant starch and prebiotic fiber, two compounds that can aid in weight loss and may contribute to the success of the Morning Banana Diet. “Resistant starch” increases fat metabolism. Regular consumption of prebiotic fiber, found in bananas, helps avoid unhealthy weight gain. Children who eat just one banana a day have a 34% less chance of developing asthmatic symptoms, according to new British research. In fact, bananas have health benefits for every stage in your life, such as reducing abdominal pain in children and lowering blood pressure in adults.