*I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for McDonald’s. I attended an event to facilitate my review and received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.
Now I don’t know about y’all, but every once in awhile, I’m just too tired to cook. On days like that, we might eat leftovers or sandwiches, but occasionally we’ll head to a fast food restaurant to pick something up. I’ll admit it. I can’t do it all, and on days when that feels particularly true, I might head to McDonald’s to pick up a Happy Meal for Ayva and a burger or chicken wrap for Terrence and me. Because I do care about what we eat, even when I’m not cooking it, I couldn’t wait to RSVP to an invitation for #McDTour, a blogger field trip to visit Taylor Farms in Salinas, California. Taylor Farms is the produce supplier for 60% of McDonald’s restaurants across the country. Since 35 menu items at McDonald’s feature lettuce, that’s a whole lot of green!
I always love visiting farms, and learning more about how food gets from the earth to my plate. It’s interesting how different farms have different processes, too. Our group met at a McDonald’s restaurant in San Jose, and hopped on a bus to Taylor Farms in Salinas. At Taylor Farms, they made it clear that they were not compromising even a little bit when it came to protecting the sanitary integrity of their produce. We were asked to remove all jewelry, put hairnets on, and wash and sanitize our hands before stepping on the lettuce fields. Once on the fields, the smell of the fresh lettuce was absolutely amazing! I’m the weirdo who loves greens without any dressing, so smelling the delicious romaine and iceberg was like a dream! The Taylor Farm reps shared some of the ways that they are practicing sustainability, and are extremely proactive when it comes to energy and water conservation. We also learned that Taylor Farms has invested in new machinery to support their employees and make their job less physically stressful.
After wiping the mud off of our shoes, we hopped back on the bus and headed to Taylor Farms’ Packaging and Distribution Center where the lettuce is taken straight from the farm to be packaged. There we learned that the produce that we ate in our McDonald’s meals is likely to be fresher than the bagged produce that we purchase in the grocery store. We saw how the lettuce was cleaned, and I learned a really important lesson. Did you know that bagged produced is thoroughly washed, and you could eat it straight from the bag without rinsing? I did, but I never trusted it until the Taylor Farm rep pointed out that it had a better chance of being contaminated by other foods (raw chicken, for example) in our homes. Makes sense, and, hey…that’s one less thing that I have to do!
Our trip ended at the Steinbeck Center in Salinas where we had a delicious lunch, and a Q&A session with McDonald’s suppliers. In attendance was John Slater (ARYZTA Fresh Start Bakeries), Jon Nash (Cargill), Bill Brown (Chiquita-Fresh Express), Crystal Dohner (Crystal Creamery), and Stephanie Jackson (Taylor Farms). Each rep shared more about their company’s affiliation with McDonald’s, and the overall consensus was that McDonald’s held them to high quality standards that they were happy to meet. Every single one of the suppliers were focused on sustainability, and it was really interesting to hear how their companies were committed to making sure they were making great use of the earth’s resources.
The highlight of the day definitely had to be the lunch. The meal was inspired by McDonald’s meals, and even featured some of the same ingredients. The chefs who conceived the meal, Sam Bozzo and Gene Sakahara (together, called “SakaBozzo”) led a team of chefs who created several lovely dishes including French Onion Soup, a Mini Mac, super yummy green salad, Stuffed Chicken Breast, and the most amazing Chocolate Espresso Cake ever! It was a wonderful end to an informative and eye-opening day.
This was such a fun trip! It was so great seeing you again girl and learning all about the Field to Restaurant process for McDonalds.
It was great to see you, too!
Oh fun! I love the pic of the lettuce washing machines – wow! I imagine those things are running non-stop. I like your tip about bagged lettuce being okay to eat straight away.
Yes! They run all the time. Interesting fact, the factory hires contractors during their busy season, and last year, they had 99% return from the previous year!
I never even though about washing my lettuce from the bag….guess it hasn’t mattered. I do LOVE what McD’s is doing to ensure healthy, clean eating for all of us. I hope it continues!
Me, too! Based on what they shared, though, they are going to be going even further in their health initiatives.
Wow! This looks fantastic! I like the idea of knowing where my food comes from and although I have been cutting back on my Mickey D’s, (those fries are addictive, man), I now know that when I get a salad or a wrap that the produce comes from a real place like Taylor Farm. I can rest a bit easy now. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll get a salad today! All that gorgeous lettuce has my mouth watering!!
I couldn’t wait to eat after going on the farm tour! If there is one thing that gets my stomach growling, it’s fresh greens. Yes. Really. I’m that weird!
I love bagged lettuce. We go through about 1 bag a week in our home.
I worked at McD’s for 3 years when I was in HS. It was a rewarding experience about responsibility.
Thanks for sharing this experience so I can see where my fresh McD’s salads come from!
We do, too, Joyce. It’s so easy to just reach in the fridge and pull a handful of greens out of a bag. Working at McDonald’s is such a rite of passage for many young folks. How cool that you had that experience!
Wow! I love being able to see how the places I eat at get & prepare their food. I know it was an eye opening & informative visit. Thanks for sharing…oh & the lettuce look so good to eat alone….
Oh my goodness, that lettuce SMELLED so good, too! It was just a really pleasant experience!
I love reading that McDonald’s holds their suppliers to very high standards. You would think that a big conglomerate wouldn’t have a strict “farm to table” program, so it’s great to see that they do. Now I don’t feel badly about ordering a McWrap for the kids and I when I’m too tired to cook.
Right! Sometimes we can’t do it all (cook, work, wife, mom), so it helps to know that there are quick, better for you options when you’re in a crunch!
How awesome! Who knew that such care McDonald’s uses for their foods! Definitely makes me feel a lot better about their menu offerings! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, @MELISASource:disqus! It makes me feel better as well!
Wow that chicken looks so yummy right now! McDonald’s has had a bad rap for being unhealthy in its food choices. Its great to see such a program in place, Farm to McDonald’s and to let outsiders in to see it and let the rest of us know. I might reconsider stopping at McDonald’s the next time I’m too tired to cook! I could go for a salad now mmmmm
They do have a bad reputation, and I appreciate that they are working to really educate consumers. Now that I know where the lettuce for the salads come from, I’ll be there more often!