Fresh Forces: Behind the Scenes of Military Nutrition with Mike Downey

In this episode of The Fresh CrEd podcast, recorded live from the bustling floor of SEPC's Southern Exposure, we sit down with Mike Downey, the strategic mind behind Military Produce Group's mission to nourish our nation's service members. Dive into a discussion that traverses from the origins of SEPC's premier event to the vital role fresh produce plays in supporting military families across the globe.

What You'll Discover:

A Veteran's Vision: Join us as Mike Downey shares his incredible journey from the early days of SEPC to spearheading efforts that ensure our military personnel have access to the freshest, most nutritious produce. Discover the evolution of an event that's grown from a humble gathering to a cornerstone of the produce industry.

The Mission Behind Military Produce Group: Unpack the story of a privately held powerhouse that's more than just a supplier — it's a lifeline to the men and women who serve. Learn about the logistical marvels and heartfelt dedication required to feed the forces, from stateside bases to Guantanamo Bay.

From Field to Commissary: Mike delves into the unique challenges and triumphs of delivering fresh food to military families, offering insights into how these efforts foster wellness, morale, and a taste of home, no matter where duty calls.

A Personal Touch: Beyond the business, Mike gets personal, sharing his own pursuits of health and happiness through hobbies like golf, music, and culinary adventures. It’s a testament to the balance and passion that drive his professional endeavors.

Exclusive Insights:
Stick around for an exclusive look into Military Produce Group's operations and the impact of their work on the military community. This episode is more than just a conversation; it's an homage to those who serve and the dedicated individuals ensuring their well-being through quality nutrition.

Join the Mission:
Tune in for an enlightening journey into the heart of military nutrition with Mike Downey. Whether you're in the produce industry, part of a military family, or simply a patriot at heart, this episode promises to enrich your understanding and appreciation for the essential connection between agriculture and the armed forces.

#SEPCSouthernExposure #MilitaryProduceGroup #FeedingTheFrontlines #ProduceIndustry #HealthyEating #SupportOurTroops

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

All right, so welcome back folks. We're here live at SCPC Southern Exposure. I've been joined by Mike Downey from Military Produce Group. Mike, thanks for being here.

Speaker 2: 0:12

Yeah, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1: 0:12

Appreciate it. What do you think so far of the show? I mean, I know we're just getting kicked off, but it's.

Speaker 2: 0:17

Yeah, it's interesting. I was talking to somebody just a couple minutes ago about how much things have changed with this show. You know, my first show was the first show here and it was here in this building and it was 2004. It's probably 30 or 40 times as many people as we had then. It was maybe a couple hundred people then.

Speaker 1: 0:38

Yeah, southern Exposure is definitely the king of the regional shows. I mean, I think back to the first one. I didn't come to the first one, but I was here for many years in a row, made some great relationships that I still have today, great friends, business and personal. So, yeah, I definitely think it's super important to be here and people seem to enjoy it and it's you know, the weather is not bad, especially for Northerners, and folks from Canada and stuff like that.

Speaker 2: 1:07

Certainly that's the draw. I mean a lot of these. You see a lot of the Northeastern folks and the folks from Canada here, and they're here to be warm as well as to work a little bit.

Speaker 1: 1:18

Well, honestly, I live in South Texas near the border, and it gets pretty humid. I mean, it's subtropical, classified as subtropical. I always joke that when birds fly south for the winter they come to the Rio Grande Valley. But yeah, I didn't expect it to be more humid when I walked out of my room today than at home, so that was kind of a shock. But tell us about what you do, what your role is at MPG, Military Produce Group, and how long you've been there.

Speaker 2: 1:45

Yeah, well, right at eight and a half years now, I am their director of procurement and business development and essentially run the inbound supply chain and go out into the industry to try to help us find some more business we are A lot of people think we're a government-owned organization or something of that nature. We're a privately held company. We're out there fighting the battle with everybody else, looking for more and more business and trying to do the best we can with what we do.

Speaker 1: 2:16

So for those that don't know why, they would assume you're a government-owned agency.

Speaker 2: 2:21

Yeah well, our name is Military Produce Group so that's the first thing that I think leads people down that path. And then our bulk of our business is supplying produce to the military commissaries. So obviously we work with the DOD and the Defense Commissary Agency, deca. They are our priority customer and certainly our largest. We've been servicing them for 25 years now as military produce 26 years and we essentially Our their retail arm. We manage all of their procurement, their marketing, the distribution, we set their pricing, we create their, we work with them but we create their promotions on a weekly basis with them. So we have a pretty good partnership with them and and certainly Collaborate a lot with with the defense commissary agency.

Speaker 1: 3:19

That sounds like exciting work, and so you're based out of Norfolk yourself north.

Speaker 2: 3:23

Virginia correct? Yeah, I hope I said that right, because I get a lot of heat about my, my Boston accent and I I tend to add an extra R at the end.

Speaker 1: 3:31

But it's Norfolk Virginia, not nor fork as I guess you grew up in Boston.

Speaker 2: 3:36

Yeah, I did okay.

Speaker 1: 3:38

What'd you do before?

Speaker 2: 3:39

before MPG. So before MPG I was, I spent some time in California. I was with a company called mark on cooperative also, okay, obviously, in the produce industry. I was a mark on guy, sure, sure, they're a Pretty large food service purchasing cooperative director of purchasing there, and after that for a short while I was Doing a consulting business and running a distribution business as well.

Speaker 1: 4:05

So any hobbies in particular, other than solving the lot of the military's Produce woes.

Speaker 2: 4:13

Yeah, I mean I, I like to. I like to play golf fairly badly. Everybody says yeah, it's yeah. In my case it's pretty true. I play a little guitar and sing a little bit. If you don't have a good ear for music, you might, you might, enjoy that. I. Well, still, I do. I, you know I I run a lot. Try to stay healthy. You know I love to cook Outdoor things, hike.

Speaker 1: 4:42

Vegetables in your diet. Are you practicing what you preach?

Speaker 2: 4:45

I try. You know I eat fairly well. You know I just got. I was talking to a friend last night and Saying that the thing that always gets me is the sugar, the sweets. I got to stay away from those and and work at that a little hard.

Speaker 1: 4:57

But yeah, I, I pray, calls that Satan.

Speaker 2: 4:59

Yes, yeah, I should listen to Craig because he's a better shape than me.

Speaker 1: 5:05

That's funny. Tell me a little bit about. So. For example, obviously you're supplying produce to the military. Is that simply domestically, for commissaries here, or is any of that fresh produce go overseas, for example, for deployed troops?

Speaker 2: 5:18

most of ours is they call it bonus conan and the United States. Okay, we, we do supply Cuba and Puerto Rico. You're familiar with the United States military. There's the base in Cuba called Guantanamo Bay oh yeah, heard of that. We, that we send produce to twice a week so that those military patrons can have their fresh fruits and vegetables as well. We sent some produce to Guatemala and Honduras as well, but the rest of it is all in the United States. We also supply the military ships that are ported in the port of Norfolk.

Speaker 1: 5:54

Oh well, For folks that never been in a commissarium, I've been in Pendleton, right or no. What's the where's MCRD in San Diego and wherever the Marine graduation is? I think Pendleton is actually a base that's further away, but I've been to the MCRD graduation and been in there. I mean it's basically like going into a Dillard's or a department store. I mean it's pretty wild. Yeah, which rightfully so. I mean our military should have access to all that stuff and they make it a heck of a lot easier and, I think, even more affordable.

Speaker 2: 6:26

Yeah, right, yes, I mean that's one of our goals is to make sure that they have a. It's a benefit, it's a government's benefit for them and they are subsidized by the government so that those stores don't make money. So there's a discount there and then we try to obviously get them the best pricing that we can. The interest of another interesting thing you mentioned about walking in the stores. They're all different, so every single one of their stores is a different format, which makes life somewhat challenging for them to operate and for us to sort of figure out what they need for each individual facility. There's 93 that we service in the United States and they are. Every single one of them has a different layout.

Speaker 1: 7:10

So interesting, I guess, with that mix of folks from the military, I mean, you don't really have the geographic cultural dynamic right, but you kind of have to solve for all of it, right. If somebody wants a cultural food of some sort, I mean, you're not bound by the geographic location, it's really you kind of have. I mean, if you're trying to solve for it I guess I'm assuming they do you have to solve for a little bit of everything, I guess.

Speaker 2: 7:35

Yeah, yeah, that's an interesting point. Yeah, and that's so true there's. Just because you're in Louisiana, it doesn't mean that people are eating Gage and food every day. It's a different. You know, you've got folks from all over the country, really in every location. So there is a flavor, but the local flavor does stay true to a degree. You know, we sell a lot of collards out of our Birmingham Distributions Center. That are the whole collards and we don't sell those in our other two because there's no need for them and the others. But for the most part you're correct, there's a. You know we can, you can have any type of demographic in any of the areas. I think it lends itself as much to the branch of the military. The Air Force tends to be a more affluent community than they are me, for instance so they'll buy a little bit different, buy and have it a little bit different, a little bit.

Speaker 1: 8:29

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 8:30

But each store gets primarily the same mix. It's a, you know, the military patron doesn't have a ton of disposable income, most of them. So we, you know, we kind of think of ourselves as more of that meat and potatoes supplier and we dabble with the specialty.

Speaker 1: 8:48

Is there promotion actually for, like in-store promotions, or did they go that far yeah?

Speaker 2: 8:53

Yeah, we, we sit down and write promotions every week for them. Yeah, and it's the same. As you know, when I was working with a retailer we'd we sit down and we look at what's seasonally appropriate. We, you know, put it on an ad planner, we present it to them and and the stores we don't have the flyer that most stores have. We, we do a printed one that we supply them each week, that they print up and put in the stores, but we're not four weeks out with our, with our promos, like most retailers, because of that. There's no, you know, we're not locked into a flyer. So we have a little bit more flexibility. That's pretty cool.

Speaker 1: 9:25

Yeah. So, mike, I guess to give you an option, right, I had a question either initiative with MPG or a particular point of focus, anything exciting that you're working on right now that there would be safe to be out in the public, out in the public form. I think most of our stuff is pretty safe, it's, it's it's really nuts and bolts produce.

Speaker 2: 9:49

You know, I would say our, our focus as an organization obviously is is on the commissaries and maintaining that business, growing that business. There's a you know, our, our strategic initiatives this year are all around generating sales and the people, the people in our organization. So what you know, I think, every, every organization, it's important that you, you know, you look at what, what the culture is, and and growing that culture. We're a small business, we're, we're a small business. We're, as I mentioned earlier, 26 years in business now and I think over the last few years we've had sort of an evolution of leadership and the thought process of working with our employees and balancing life.

Speaker 2: 10:36

I think COVID triggered a little bit of that in terms of giving us the opportunity to really look at how we managed our people and take advantage of some of the opportunities that are out there now to allow people to work remote and things of that nature. So we are, I guess, on a continuous improvement journey now this year and a lot of that is around. How do we build sales, how do we gain momentum in the commissaries? The military is not necessarily growing today, but it hasn't been for a while, so we've seen our sales kind of level and decline, as that has occurred, and so for us it's how do we get more of our product into that military patron's month?

Speaker 1: 11:24

So education might be a little bit right.

Speaker 2: 11:26

That's part of it.

Speaker 1: 11:27

As far as from the promo or promotion side. Actually, that you just reminded me of something I wanted to ask you. You're competing with food service, right? You're talking about kind of right. I mean, you're competing for that dollar. We're competing with.

Speaker 2: 11:41

I think we're yes, I mean any retailer is competing with food service. In terms of that, I think for us our challenge is really the same as any retailer we're competing with. We're competing with the restaurants, but we're also competing with the Walmart's and the Aldi's and the Liedl's and you know, I think the that our shopper is the same one who's shopping at those facilities. So part of our challenge is that East Coast there's a lot of those folks out there. There's a lot of new stores that have come in the last 10 years and you know, we see a. We see the military moving off base and driving past four or five retailers before they get to a condo. So I think we have a similar challenge.

Speaker 2: 12:32

The stores themselves are a little unique. They're operated by government employees. So you know, when we talk about fresh produce, you and I have been in this industry for a long time. We I've worked in retail for years. Most of the folks, I think, in this industry at some point I've worked in food service or retail so kind of have an understanding of those operations. Those government employees don't necessarily have that. So we have a. You know, we have a team out in the stores that is working to train them and help them understand how to really operate a retail operation and this and a produce department. So that creates a little bit of an interest in.

Speaker 1: 13:08

So the turnover is a little bit different for different reasons.

Speaker 2: 13:11

It is.

Speaker 1: 13:12

It is For their, you know, based on assignments, I'm assuming. But so value added prepared meals, that's all super popular right now. Is that space growing in, commissary? It is.

Speaker 2: 13:26

Yeah, it is. You know, we're. I think we kind of come behind the rest of the industry as far as those types of trends go, but certainly we're you know the value added thing has been growing for a lot of years and we're you know, we're growing that along with everybody else. It's one of the one of the commodity groupings that we tend to focus on and we look at, you know, we come out to these shows, we see, you know everything that's going on. We're going to other stores, we see what's going on and we have to we have to be a little bit more, I think, strategic about what we carry, just because some of the real high end stuff is not going to be what is going to move in a commissary.

Speaker 1: 14:05

At the end of the day you're adding labor to it right.

Speaker 2: 14:07

That's part of it.

Speaker 1: 14:08

Yeah. So you know, I know that at home at least, my wife talks about, you know I'll see her. You know, cutting up fruit and putting in cups and all this stuff for for the kids, and I think you know they should cut it up themselves or whatever. But at the end of the day, you know she has better judgment than I do. But she says, you know this is how they'll consume it, like if it's cut and ready to go, boom, they'll, you know, throw it back and it's over. Right At the end of the day you're trying to get them to consume more or to eat their fruits of vegetables.

Speaker 1: 14:33

So, yeah, I mean, I think for travelers, when I'm traveling I buy a lot of pre-cut. You know, convenience at home as well. During the week, if I'm working from home and not traveling, I find myself, you know, throw a steamer bag in the microwave, mix it with some olive oil, a couple of seeds and an apple and avocado, throw it together. I can eat that every day. Yeah, you know, if it's fresh and well, it's just, it's better than going to drive 10 minutes to go get something to drive through.

Speaker 2: 15:04

Yeah, absolutely, I'm with you. I've actually jumped on that juicing trend here in the last year and boy, that's a great way to just get you know five or six pieces of produce and down. Now that can work. I mean that now you're talking about work. Yeah, I've got a routine set up in the morning I get up and just Does that routine include somebody else cleaning up for you? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I do the whole thing Because it's messy.

Speaker 1: 15:27

Yeah, I bought one of those masticating juicers and it's a that's a little bit more.

Speaker 2: 15:33

Yeah, I have a ninja that I just put a little protein in there.

Speaker 1: 15:38

Oh no, I tried to Apples and I tried to juice some kale and I juiced like a mountain of kale to get that much juice. And then I tried some turmeric and then I tried to use some beans without cooking them. That was a mess. It's like trying to juice a rock.

Speaker 1: 15:52

You got like one of those high powered commercial grade I mean, I mean, no, I got like a bed bath and beyond. Maybe that's what Out of business, oh man. So, mike, I think what you do is awesome. I mean, obviously it's exciting for me to hear more about anything that's due with our military. It's, I think, for most folks that are listening. They obviously have a soft spot in their heart for our servicemen and women. Thank you for being with us. Did we miss anything? Is there anything else that we want to cover today?

Speaker 2: 16:28

Yeah, no, no. I just think you just hit on a great point. I mean, we're certainly proud to be able to do what we do and, you know, we're certainly proud to be able to serve the customers that we serve.

Speaker 1: 16:37

So, yeah, that's going to be awesome. Yeah, I watched Top Gun 2 on the way here. Yeah, we hope that. I'm pretty pumped up.

Speaker 2: 16:42

I think that you know, we hope that the suppliers who who work with us feel the same way. I think they do, I think we appreciate it.

Speaker 1: 16:49

So yeah, is there any kind of gathering that you'll do like a conference or anything like four suppliers?

Speaker 2: 16:55

You know, we haven't. We've actually talked about doing something like that. Norfolk, virginia is not a produce Mecca, mecca it's, yeah, it's. It's not a place where a lot of folks come. So we've talked about We'll host with my cabinet? Yeah, We've talked about. Do we want to do like a supplier summit at one of these events? And yeah, I could see us doing something like that.

Speaker 1: 17:18

That'd be really cool. Yeah, sign us up. Okay, we will All right. Thanks, mike, got it.