Fruit and Vegetable Foundation Gifts $10M to UC Davis

Originally Posted by Balance of Nature

ST. GEORGE, Utah — The Fruit and Vegetable Foundation announced a $10 million gift to the University of California, Davis School of Medicine and UC Davis Health. This gift establishes the Dr. Douglas S. L. Howard Endowed Chair in Nutrition for Transformative Healthcare and supports the development of the corresponding program. The UC Davis Nutrition for Transformative Healthcare Program will promote infrastructure, research, and outreach into Whole Food Nutritional Health with the goal of expanding the knowledge and understanding of how fruits and vegetables play an important role in supporting good health.

The check presentation took place on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at the UC Davis Health campus in Sacramento, California. Bestowing the gift was Dr. Douglas Howard, founder of the companies Balance of Nature and Dr. Phytos, and the Fruit and Vegetable Foundation. “We are deeply grateful to carry forward Dr. Howard’s vision and inspire generations of future doctors and scientists through this gift,” said Dr. Sean Adams, Vice Chair for Basic Research in the Department of Surgery at UC Davis Health and Scientific Director for the Center for Alimentary and Metabolic Science.

The Fruit and Vegetable Foundation is a non-profit organization with the mission to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables through education using real food, real nutrition, and rigorous science. Donations to this organization support research to advance knowledge and deepen understanding of how food can be used as medicine. “Through research and testing, we are demonstrating the powerful connection between a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and the mitigation of disease,” said Dr. Howard.

This vision aligns with the mission of UC Davis School of Medicine, which is to provide excellent learner-centered education to a diverse body of medical and graduate students. UC Davis strives to cultivate passionate students who will improve lives and transform the health of communities as physicians, scientists, and healthcare leaders. Sharing similar philosophies is what led Dr. Sean Adams to connect so naturally with Dr. Howard and the Fruit and Vegetable Foundation. It is a tremendous honor for the Foundation to pursue this philanthropic partnership with UC Davis School of Medicine and UC Davis Health.

Co-founder of the Fruit and Vegetable Foundation Dr. Timothy Hollingshead said, “It was an incredible experience to watch Dr. Howard share the knowledge he’s spent years developing for freeze-dried fruits and vegetables with some of the nation’s leading researchers in nutrition science.” The presentation event fostered meaningful collaboration among dignitaries, including professors, education directors, scientists, and researchers. The $10 million gift is the largest ever for nutrition science at UC Davis School of Medicine and UC Davis Health, and is one of many necessary steps for the Fruit and Vegetable Foundation to lay the groundwork for the organization’s future impact on health.