This is why people dressed as bananas will be giving out the fruit during your Tuesday commute
These Banana Ambassadors from The FruitGuys will be giving away free bananas in Boston on Tuesday.
People in banana suits will take to Boston’s streets on Tuesday, giving away 500 free bananas to passersby.
San Francisco-based fruit delivery company The FruitGuys is hosting the fruity free-for-all in celebration of a holiday the company created, “National Fruit at Work Day.”
The company will have fruit-suited people at five areas of the city between 6 and 11 a.m.: Copley Square, Boston Common, the Faneuil Hall Hubway station, Downtown Crossing, and South Station.
They’ll give out five cases of 100 bananas in Boston, said Julie Collins, director of marketing for The FruitGuys, and two bananas to each person — one to keep and one to share.
“The hope is that we’re able to have conversations with people on their way to work,” Collins said. “Knowing that people spend a lot of time there, we want to make sure people have healthier options.”
The FruitGuys is also holding the event in Austin, Texas; Dallas; Chicago; Los Angeles; New York; Oakland, California; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; and Seattle.
Last year, the company gave away bananas in San Francisco only. Collins said the event was so well received, the company decided that this year it would give away fruit in 11 cities nationwide. Boston was chosen because the area is home to one of the company’s newest facilities, which opened in Chelsea in June 2016. The company has been serving the Boston area for years, Collins said, but used to send fruit to workplaces in Boston via its Philadelphia facility.
Collins said the company wants Bostonians to know “we’re here, we’re with you, and let’s get people healthy.”
It’s asking banana recipients to take selfies with the banana ambassadors and post them to social media using @fruitguys with the hashtag #FGBanana. For every selfie posted during this event, the company says it will donate an extra serving of fruit to its donation partners across the country. In 2016, the company donated 2 million servings of excess fresh fruit to local food banks and charities in the communities the company serves. One selfie taker will also be chosen at random to win a fruit bowl made out of a wine barrel, Collins said.
