Barfresh Locks In Contract To Provide Military Exchanges Cool Treats For Child Nutrition Program

Barfresh Food Group Inc. BRFH, a provider of frozen, ready-to-blend and ready-to-drink beverages, has been awarded a five-year contract from the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). The agreement will focus on Barfresh’s Twist & Go product and will be a part of the AAFES School Meal Program.

Barfresh reports that its Twist & Go meets U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines under its Child Nutrition Program, allowing schools, like those which are part of AAFES, to seek reimbursement for meals served. Barfresh Twist & Go smoothies can be shipped frozen overseas to AAFES locations and still maintain shelf-life freshness. Barfresh has already begun shipping Twist & Go for use by students in 76 schools across nine countries overseas.

Barfresh is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of ready-to-blend and ready-to-drink beverages, including smoothies, shakes and frappes, sold primarily for restaurant chains and the food-service industry. The company states that its proprietary, patented system uses portion-controlled prepackaged beverage ingredients that deliver freshly made frozen beverages that are quick, cost-efficient and healthy.

As many product suppliers have found, getting into the AAFES system is not an easy undertaking. Barfresh began its pursuit in 2017 when company partner SYSCO Corp. SYY connected the company with the Camp Murray National Guard base in Tacoma, Washington, offering the  single-serve pack of Twist & Go.

The product was introduced at the Fort Murray Army base in Washington state and expanded to Fort Wayne in Fairbanks, Alaska. That entree caught the attention of the Army chief of food service, and the product ended up on multiple missile bases.  

The military was interested in Barfresh’s bulk serve healthy product offerings and received an agreement to roll out the product to 12 military bases, which led to the more significant contract. 

“The exchange follows the same USDA guidelines as schools throughout the United States, thereby making our Twist & Go product the perfect addition to their school meal program as our product meets those stringent guidelines and is loved by students and administrators,” Barfresh CEO Riccardo Delle Coste said. “Twist & Go has proven to have many expansion opportunities as it helped grow our presence in the domestic school channel, doubling the number of school locations serving our product. Now it is expanding our reach internationally within the education channel.”

The AAFES Exchange School Meal Program provides wholesome, nutritious meals to eligible students participating in Outside Continental United States Department of Defense schools. During the 2020-2021 school year, the exchange served an average of 17,700 meals per day for more than 3 million meals, including grab-and-go meals, during the height of the pandemic.

For more information about Barfresh, visit www.barfresh.com. 

Photo by Jeswin Thomas on Unsplash

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