Latest news with #PlanetHarvest
Hindustan Times
09-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Ivanka Trump unveils fresh produce access initiative in first public appearance since Trump's second term
Ivanka Trump made her return to the national stage on Thursday in Bentonville, Arkansas, where she announced her latest initiative focused on expanding access to fresh produce, an issue she had long advocated for. Having largely stayed out of the public eye during her father's second term, this marked her first significant reappearance in the spotlight. Also Read: Pope Leo XIV: Explore the books and writings of the first American pontiff For the first time in public, Ivanka opened up about her role as a co-founder of Planet Harvest, a Chicago-based 'profit-for-purpose company' established in 2023. The company claims to offer 'innovative, whole harvest solutions that resolve inefficiencies in the supply chain,' focusing on improving the way fresh produce is sourced and distributed. The summit, which spotlighted America's heartland as a centre of growth and innovation, was co-founded by Walmart heirs Olivia, Tom, and Steuart Walton. It was hosted by their Bentonville-based think tank, Heartland Forward. The interview was conducted by Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global who told Axios in a statement that the 'decision to focus on democratizing access to healthy food comes at an unprecedented moment in our country's health care journey, where we're finally recognising the scale of the crisis in chronic diseases.' The remarks seemed to be directed towards Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He recently shared the urgency to crack down on processed food for the agency, pledging to remove the 'epidemic of chronic illness' from the country and 'Make America Healthy Again,' as reported by MSNBC. On stage, Ivanka said, 'Food can be used medicinally and food can be used to heal our bodies. Food can be part of the solution.' Also Read: Power mom! Press Secy Karoline Leavitt seen working while feeding baby, netizens inspired He added that she developed 'a real passion for supporting American farmers and getting more food into communities in need' while she contributed to U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farmers to Families Food Box program amid pandemic.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ivanka Trump to push healthy foods as her company echoes MAHA mindset sweeping DC
Ivanka Trump is set to make a rare public appearance to promote access to healthy food in support of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement spreading through Washington, D.C. Trump, 43, will speak at the Heartland Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas, on Thursday, according to Axios. She will use the occasion to spotlight her latest initiative to expand access to fresh produce, which comes as her return to the national stage after maintaining a relatively low profile during her father's second term. During the event, Ivanka will be interviewed by Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global. Their discussion will focus on how private-sector innovations and whole-harvest sourcing are being leveraged to improve access to fresh food, support farmers, reduce waste, and create lasting, positive impacts in communities, the outlet reports. This appearance will also mark the first time Trump publicly discusses her role as co-founder of Chicago-based Planet Harvest, which she launched in 2023 with Melissa Melshenker Ackerman, a seasoned produce supply chain expert and the company's CEO. "Beginning with the [USDA's] Farmers to Families Food Box program during the COVID pandemic, I've developed a real passion for supporting American farmers and getting more food into communities in need,' Trump told Axios in a statement. The Independent has contacted representatives for Trump, Thrive Global, and Planet Harvest for comment. Led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the MAHA movement has become a key initiative of the Trump administration and a central cause for the MAGA base. Trump served as an advisor during her father's first presidential term from 2017 to 2021. Her role focused on advancing women's education and economic empowerment, supporting families, and promoting job creation and economic growth through workforce development, skills training, and entrepreneurship. But when Donald Trump announced his third run for presidency in 2022, Ivanka Trump revealed she would not be joining him. 'I love my father very much. This time around I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics,' Ivanka Trump said in a social media statement. Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, who served as a senior advisor in President Donald Trump's first administration from 2017 to 2021, share three children: Arabella, 13, Joseph, 11, and Theodore, 8.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Ivanka Trump's fresh produce venture at odds with cuts to local food programs
Ivanka Trump on Thursday made her first major public appearance since her father's return to the White House, taking the stage at the Heartland Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas, to discuss her efforts to expand access to fresh produce. For the first time in public, President Donald Trump's oldest daughter discussed her role as a co-founder of Planet Harvest, a Chicago-based 'profit-for-purpose company' created in 2023 that claims to provide 'innovative, whole harvest solutions that resolve inefficiencies in the supply chain.' Prior to her appearance, Trump, 43, told Axios in a statement that she launched Planet Harvest 'to reimagine how American produce moves — not just through the supply chain, but across communities. … By connecting fresh and surplus harvests with those who can benefit from them, we're supporting farmers, reducing food waste, expanding access and using good nutrition to improve health.' Trump told Axios she developed 'a real passion for supporting American farmers and getting more food into communities in need' while working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farmers to Families Food Box program during the pandemic. The summit, highlighting America's heartland as a hub of growth and innovation, was co-founded by Walmart heirs Olivia, Tom and Steuart Walton and hosted by their Bentonville-based think tank Heartland Forward. Trump was interviewed by Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global, who told Axios that the 'decision to focus on democratizing access to healthy food comes at an unprecedented moment in our country's health care journey, where we're finally recognizing the scale of the crisis in chronic diseases.' Huffington's comments appear to refer to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has said that cracking down on processed foods is a major focus for the agency. Kennedy has pledged to end the country's 'epidemic of chronic illness' and 'Make America Healthy Again.' 'Food can be used medicinally and food can be used to heal our bodies,' the president's daughter said on stage. 'Food can be part of the solution.' Republicans' current support for greater scrutiny of the American diet stands in stark contrast to the reaction former first lady Michelle Obama received from the right in 2010 when she launched her 'Let's Move!' campaign focused on childhood obesity. At the time, Fox News host Sean Hannity called the initiative a 'Obama government obesity task force' and asked, 'Does every American family need a dietician appointed by the government to tell them that this food is going to make you fat and this food is not?' While Ivanka Trump says she wants to expand access to fresh produce, the administration's budget cuts are accomplishing exactly the opposite. In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture slashed two federal programs that provided more than $1 billion for schools and food banks to purchase food from local farms and ranchers. The program specifically aided some of the nation's most disadvantaged farmers. One school district said the USDA's decision will wipe out $100,000 in funding that it had planned to spend on local beef and produce for students' school meals. The cuts come as a record number of Americans continue to deal with food insecurity. According to the most recent USDA data, from 2023, 13.5% of Americans struggled at some point to secure enough food, the highest rate in nearly a decade. This article was originally published on
CNN
08-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Ivanka Trump discusses produce business in her first major public event of father's second term
Once a senior adviser with a West Wing office and a broad portfolio, Ivanka Trump emerged for her first major public event of her father's second term Thursday – this time, as a private citizen representing a private sector company. The president's eldest daughter traveled to Bentonville, Arkansas, where she was interviewed by Arianna Huffington for the Heartland Summit, an annual gathering of business, philanthropy and thought leaders spearheaded by the heirs to the Walmart fortune. During her father's first term, Trump championed women's economic empowerment initiatives; now, she's turned to a new business venture aimed at expanding access to fresh produce. Trump touted Planet Harvest, a Chicago-based fresh produce company she co-founded two years ago – something, a source familiar with her thinking said, is 'a passion of hers.' Thursday's appearance marked the first time she has spoken publicly during her father's second term after making clear she has no plans to wade back into the political fray. 'Her participation in this is about regional private sector innovation,' the source said, as well as 'supporting small farmers' and 'strengthening access to fresh food and uplifting communities.' Trump, who spent her entire adult life working for her father – from real estate to reality television to the West Wing – left Washington in January 2021 and said she did not plan to be involved in politics going forward. As her father telegraphed and ultimately mounted a bid for another term, Trump sought a relatively private life with her young family in Miami – outside of the public spotlight. During her father's first term, she faced constant scrutiny and criticism for decisions that she was unable to wholly influence or moderate. She was alienated by some liberal friends in her New York social circle, and she shut down a relatively successful eponymous clothing and accessories brand amid persistent ethics questions. Since departing from politics, she's forged a new path with a definitively different lifestyle, one made possible as her family's businesses have profited from proximity to the presidency and resulting relationships. CNN reported in December that Trump remains very close with her father, with whom she talks regularly, a source close to her said. Since her father returned to office, she has brought her family to the White House for inaugural festivities, attended Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress and brought her children back in April to celebrate the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl win. But multiple friends told CNN late last year that she's at peace with her decision to exit politics, and that she is prioritizing her family, attempting to find some privacy and pursuing new interests. Since leaving politics, she has worked with victims of the Hawaii wildfires and North Carolina hurricanes, volunteered with Ukrainian refugees in Poland, and packed food boxes at a local kosher food bank. But her new venture veers into the for-profit. 'We're tapping into the 'food is medicine' space and creating value-added products,' the first source said.
CNN
08-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Ivanka Trump discusses produce business in her first major public event of father's second term
Once a senior adviser with a West Wing office and a broad portfolio, Ivanka Trump emerged for her first major public event of her father's second term Thursday – this time, as a private citizen representing a private sector company. The president's eldest daughter traveled to Bentonville, Arkansas, where she was interviewed by Arianna Huffington for the Heartland Summit, an annual gathering of business, philanthropy and thought leaders spearheaded by the heirs to the Walmart fortune. During her father's first term, Trump championed women's economic empowerment initiatives; now, she's turned to a new business venture aimed at expanding access to fresh produce. Trump touted Planet Harvest, a Chicago-based fresh produce company she co-founded two years ago – something, a source familiar with her thinking said, is 'a passion of hers.' Thursday's appearance marked the first time she has spoken publicly during her father's second term after making clear she has no plans to wade back into the political fray. 'Her participation in this is about regional private sector innovation,' the source said, as well as 'supporting small farmers' and 'strengthening access to fresh food and uplifting communities.' Trump, who spent her entire adult life working for her father – from real estate to reality television to the West Wing – left Washington in January 2021 and said she did not plan to be involved in politics going forward. As her father telegraphed and ultimately mounted a bid for another term, Trump sought a relatively private life with her young family in Miami – outside of the public spotlight. During her father's first term, she faced constant scrutiny and criticism for decisions that she was unable to wholly influence or moderate. She was alienated by some liberal friends in her New York social circle, and she shut down a relatively successful eponymous clothing and accessories brand amid persistent ethics questions. Since departing from politics, she's forged a new path with a definitively different lifestyle, one made possible as her family's businesses have profited from proximity to the presidency and resulting relationships. CNN reported in December that Trump remains very close with her father, with whom she talks regularly, a source close to her said. Since her father returned to office, she has brought her family to the White House for inaugural festivities, attended Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress and brought her children back in April to celebrate the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl win. But multiple friends told CNN late last year that she's at peace with her decision to exit politics, and that she is prioritizing her family, attempting to find some privacy and pursuing new interests. Since leaving politics, she has worked with victims of the Hawaii wildfires and North Carolina hurricanes, volunteered with Ukrainian refugees in Poland, and packed food boxes at a local kosher food bank. But her new venture veers into the for-profit. 'We're tapping into the 'food is medicine' space and creating value-added products,' the first source said.
