HOUSTON—The annual Gift of Produce by the Houston Fresh Fruit and Vegetable association has grown rapidly over the past decade, thanks in part to a dogged champion.
Bryan Herr, former President of Houston-based Country Fresh Produce, used to say he was just “the man who cuts the fruit,” but his dedication to the annual donation brought it to more than two million pounds during the month of December.
The HFFVA took time at its most recent meeting to honor Herr’s dedication to the program.
While many recipients may not ever know his name, Brian Greene, President and CEO of the Houston Food Bank, said Herr’s reach is more than he could have imagined.
“We serve about 800,000 people a year and the Gift of Produce, as you know, has grown so large that it’s hitting a very high proportion of these people,” Greene said. “It’s literally hundreds of thousands of people each year. How many people in their lives have an opportunity to impact so many people?”
Herr, who sold the business and retired in 2017, said he didn’t do it alone.
“It takes a group to do this, so hat’s off to everyone who over the years have participated with this,” he said. “Without everybody doing it, it wouldn’t happen.”
