The following was copied verbatim from a press release:

CORAL GABLES, Florida (September 2014)– As a part of its mission to grow smiles and share goodness, Turbana is once again participating in the Marine Corps Marathon as the official banana sponsor and composting partner. This is the fourth year the premier banana producer has partnered with the marathon. Working with the Marines year after year and experiencing the passion the runners carry inspired Turbana to bring the “Powered by the Peel” initiative and Turbana’s on ground participation to the marathon on October 26. Always compelled to do more than just donate bananas, Turbana yet again, will show its full admiration for the Marines, runners and volunteers at the marathon by cheering them on starting far before the race and beyond the finish line.

“Powered by the Peel” will fuel runners weeks before the race when Turbana and the Marine Corps Marathon, together, invite runners to voice their motivations to run on social media in order to share and inspire others. Together with the Marine Corps Marathon, Turbana will select 15 of the empowering social media messages, contributed by the runners, to be displayed along the 26.2-mile course. Also, Turbana has partnered with 15 local hotels where out of town participants will be welcomed with a “Turbana Power Pack” upon check-in. This will be packaged in a drawstring backpack and filled with motivational sentiments and a special stress reliever shaped as a Turbana banana to inspire the runners. Turbana’s street team will be in the city the morning of the race looking out for runners who seem a bit chilly to provide them with hand warmers to let them know Turbana is there with them.

As runners cross the finish line Marines will be congratulating them and helping them re-fuel with 30,000 Turbana bananas. At the Finish Festival, Turbana’s “Powered by the Peel” street team will be congratulating runners and satisfying their craving for salt with 7,500 bags of Turbana plantain chips. The bananas and chips will replace electrolytes, sodium and other nutrients that the runners lost while running the marathon. Turbana’s street team won’t stop there; they are known to give out hugs, high-fives, and always smiles.

“The Turbana team has been moved time and time again by the emotions that the Marines and runners infuse into this community event. This is why we are so excited to go above and beyond traditional sponsorship at the Marine Corps Marathon,” says Marion Tabard, director of marketing at Turbana. “We want the runners to feel supported throughout the entire weekend and we will be encouraging them to unpeel their power while we are with them every step of their 26.2 mile journey.”

As a pioneer in sustainability and social consciousness, Turbana is excited to present the 200,000 people that attend the Marine Corps Marathon with the option of composting. In order to ensure that all of the banana peels would be discarded in a responsible way, Turbana felt compelled to work with the Marine Corps Marathon and the city of Washington D.C. to bring a composting program to the marathon and to donate the compost that is made at the Finish Festival. Runners, spectators and volunteers will be encouraged to compost their banana peels at the Finish Festival for the second year in a row. At the Finish Festival, Turbana will be educating people on the importance of composting as they pass out bananas. Aligning with Turbana’s philanthropic roots, all of the fresh bananas that are leftover after the event will be donated to local food banks. Turbana takes pride in using an active and highly involved approach in working with its communities to affect positive change.

“Turbana approached the MCM with innovative ideas to enhance the experience of the participants. The composting program that Turbana initiated last year really resonated with the participants as smart and responsible. Turbana’s involvement at the MCM is always growing in bigger and better ways and this year is a testament to that,” says Marc Goldman marketing manager of the Marine Corps Marathon.

Turbana’s “Powered by the Peel” campaign encourages what Turbana practices everyday, growing smiles and sharing goodness. Since the company’s inception in 1970, its philosophy has been that its success depends on the well being of its communities. Turbana sees it as an honor to support the military, their families and their communities.

Turbana