Many food vendors and restaurants are using fruit in attempt to be more health conscious about the items that they serve. Fast food chains as well as elaborate restaurants are adding more fruits and vegetables to their menus. Using fruit in your food recipes is simple, exciting, and healthy. Customers appreciate healthier options when eating out.

When most people think of fruit farming, they think of fruit trees. Gift companies provide fruit basket gift options, but one can do more than eat fruit straight from the orchard. Fruits add flavor to many tasty recipes. Tropical fruit always adds a tasteful twist to a dish. Chefs add fruit to main dishes, drinks, as well as desserts. The vast variety of fruit available leaves endless possibilities in cooking. Think about the following:

1. Which type of fruit is most readily available to you?

2. Which fruit do you use the most in your recipes?

3. How can you use fruit to make your dishes more exciting to customers?

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use fruit in main dishes that you serve

One typically thinks of fruit as a sweet additive for desserts. However, chicken, steak, and ham are delicious with a grilled slice of pineapple. Spritzes of lemon and other citrus add taste to chicken, fish, and seafood. Slice a fresh or canned pineapple and throw it on the grill minutes before your steak or chicken is ready. Lay the meat on a bed of rice and add the pineapple on top. Your plate will look delicious. During the grilling process squeeze a lemon or even an orange over your fish, shrimp, or chicken. A little flavor additive goes a long way.

I recommend: Learn the benefits of eating and serving fruits from Fruits and Veggies Matter. Discover how eating fruits creates a healthier and trimmer lifestyle at Weight Loss for All.

Create a fruit basket as a token of appreciation or concern

Fruit comes in a variety of colors and sizes. Therefore when mixed together, fruit is very eye appealing. If you own a gift shop, add fruit baskets to your gift options. If you own a hotel, leave a fruit basket in the room of your guest as a way to say thank-you for the stay. They also make wonderful company gifts for employees and customers. Simply select a basket and begin to fill it with fruit. Be certain to choose fruit of all colors and sizes. Fruits that work best are various colors of apples, oranges, bananas, pineapples, grapes, and pears. Cover your basket with cellophane and add a festive bow.

I recommend: Learn more about making fruit baskets from Party Food and Essortment.

Create fruit smoothies and specialty drinks

Customers always welcome fruity drinks in the summer. Add fresh strawberries, banana slices, pineapple chunks or juice, and shredded coconut or juice to give your drinks a freshening taste. While parents may enjoy a pineapple or strawberry in their mixed drink, the children will love a twist of cherry added to their coke. After adding cherry flavoring, allow a fresh cherry to bob around freely in the drink.

I recommend: OOHOI lists the benefits of eating fruits. My Pyramid also details health benefits from eating fruits. Both give great information about fruit.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When using fruit at your restaurant it is important to be aware of recalls and warnings. Many fresh fruits and vegetables have been subject to carrying health hazards. Any time that a warning comes out about a fruit you serve, take it out of your inventory immediately.
• •  If you operate a franchise for a fast food chain, offer customers apple slices as a replacement for fries.

Fruit farming may hold your dream of working the land and living off what you grow. It's a daunting prospect, but the need for safe growers of fresh organic products is only increasing as consumers focus more on nutrition and food producers and chefs turn to local growers to keep food costs down and get products close to the vine.

While it may seem the odds are stacked against you in a fruit orchard business that will be dependant on everything from the weather, to pests, to the whim of buyers, there are many groups that have a stake in helping you succeed. Take advantage of this help to:

1. Form a plan to get your fruit business growing.

2. Find the fruit trees you need to help you succeed.

3. Buy the products necessary to protect your investment.

4. Get seed money to get your fruit growing business started.

5. Target your markets to sell your fruit.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Put down solid roots for your fledgling fruit tree business

Becoming a successful fruit grower will mean more than planting some apple, pear or citrus saplings in a field. You'll have to grow a healthy business along with healthy plants and trees. Organizations specific to fruit tree growers will help you protect and nurture your investment.

I recommend: The New Fruit Grower has a downloadable plan for beginners. The site belongs to Moser Fruit Trees, a fruit tree supplier. Buying fruit trees will also mean planning ahead because these items are sold seasonally. The Fruit Growers News Buyer's Guide is an invaluable resource for everything from deer control to orchard supplies to pollination. Get in touch with a Master Gardener or another expert from a local agricultural extension office to give you orchard startup advice.

Find fertile ground for your fruit tree investment

Get support for fruit farming from your own community with some innovative programs that have a payoff for customers and producers. Look for US government funding for sustainable agricultural research and projects, or explore the growing community agriculture movement.

I recommend: Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides Producer Grants of $1,000 to $15,000 dollars to "conduct research, marketing and demonstration projects." Turn to SARE for grant opportunities and a vast library of information are available in many different forms. Through programs like Local Harvest Community Supported Agriculture, people can buy "shares" in your farm. In return you provide them with something like a box of fresh produce a week.

Think outside the crate when it comes to selling the fruit of your labor

Many local government entities and university extensions are making a concerted effort to get local growers together with local chefs and markets; take advantage of these programs. You can also take advantage of the growing business of AgriTourism by letting fruit picking enthusiasts get their hands dirty. Learn to use all parts of your fruit-growing enterprise to help pay the bills.

I recommend: Check out Food Circles from the University of Missouri extension to see local orchards and fruit growers connected directly to chefs and buyers. Find your local extension office to get in on the act. Pick Your Own is an organization dedicated to helping farmers who want to get in on the AgriTourism business.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Let local farmer's markets connect you with people looking for your produce, from families buying for home use to chefs and bakers looking for fresh, locally grown fruit ingredients.
• •  Become a part of local or Internet gift basket provider's network. Your fresh fruit baskets could become a welcome substitute for wilting flowers.

Growing fruit for wholesale grocery and farmers markets or for sale to canning or other production industries is an important part of today’s society. Learning to properly grow, handle, package and ship fruit can be quite a challenge. Keeping up with today’s changing regulations along with the consumer’s changing likes and dislikes can seem daunting without the proper training.

Because there are so many types of fruits, finding fruit education and training to fit your farm or orchard's needs can seem challenging without a few good resources. Help keep your staff and yourself properly trained by finding educational materials that are kept up to date. Find helpful training aids by:

1. Joining a professional fruit association that provides educational materials for your specific fruit trees or produce.

2. Finding helpful information through online databases of information.

3. Keeping up-to-date on all aspects of fruit production from growing to marketing your product.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Join a professional produce association to gain access to fruit farming educational materials

Whether you are growing an apple tree or planting watermelons, proper training is needed to keep your business running smoothly. You can gain additional information and training ideas for fruit growing and process by networking with a group of people in the same field as you. Find fruit growers, fruit picking organizations or handling information from an industry leading association that can provide you and your staff with the latest educational materials.

I recommend: Joining the American Society of Horticultural Sciences can provide you with a start place when looking for contacts, training and other groups with whom to network. Find educational material at the United Fresh Produce Association, a group that can help with everything from government regulations information to produce marketing ideas.

Educate yourself and your employees using online databases with information about fruit

It's never too late to take a refresher course in proper fruit handling or educate your staff on specific growing, cultivating and packing techniques. Find information on citrus fruits, tropical fruit, apples, melons, berries and much more at online databases of knowledge.

I recommend: Use the Cornell University Fruit Resource database to link to hundreds of educational and informational websites with information on all types of fruits. Give your employees a basics course in food safety using the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition website database.

Stay informed about everything from growing fruit to marketing your product

Fruit growers, buyers, retailers and more need access to the latest training when it comes to fruit. Whether you're making fruit baskets or packaging and selling fruit at the local farmer's market, online training can help keep you well educated.

I recommend: Use the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service to check out the latest in growing organic fruits. Access the websites database of resources for all types of growing and selling. Look to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center for fruit marketing, retail statistics and more

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Many states have their own fruit growers associations. These more localized organizations can provide you with informatio you need to make connections with growers, sellers and buyers looking for the same information you are.