Calling all Non-Commercial Foodservice Operators!

Enter the 2025 CAN DO Challenge!

Top Cash Prize is $1,500



The deadline to submit your entry is April 30, 2025, and it’s easy to do. Just send us a description of your crowed-pleasing smoothie, baked good, entrée, salad, snack, or dessert recipe that features canned Bartlett pears.

Take a look at past winners for inspearation!

Meet Kevin Jenkins

Culinary & Executive Chef

Garland Independent School District, Garland, TX

Honorable Mention Winner of the 2024 CAN DO Challenge

Pear Glazed Beef Yakisoba Noodles with Caramelized Soy Garlic Pears

How do you use canned Bartlett pears on your menus throughout the year? 

We typically serve diced pears as a fruit option on our serving lines, and we also serve a pear oatmeal bake.

Your recipe for Pear Glazed Beef Yakisoba Noodles with Caramelized Soy Garlic Pears was a collaboration with PNCPS that was made possible by the Culinary Institute of America’s Healthy Kids Collaborative, where school chefs collaborate to create culinary-driven, healthier foods for kids. How did you land on this recipe with canned Bartlett pears? What inspired you?

I take a lot of inspiration from my past culinary journeys or places I’ve been. This recipe inspired me because of my time spent in Sasebo, Japan, and their use of pears, when I was a Culinary Specialist in the Navy. I was very curious if I could recreate the yakisoba sauce using the juice in a can of pears. Once I substituted the water, which is traditionally used, for the pear juice, the rest of the recipe came together.

Canned Pear Materials for Schools



Order our FREE bookmarks, posters, and window clings for your lunchroom. And while you’re on our Resources page, grab our free downloads for inspiration and education: Tips & Tricks, Ripe ‘n Ready Ideas, Canned Pear Fun Facts, and more.

Gear Up for Food Holidays in April

National Empanada Day (April 8) and Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day (April 12) are just around the corner, and we’ve got you covered with ripe and ready canned Bartlett pears and recipes, thanks to U.S. pear growers and canners.

Download the Recipes

Who We Are

In 1996 the Pacific Northwest Canned Pear Service (PNCPS) was formed to promote Bartlett pears grown and processed in Oregon and Washington. After generations of nurturing their orchards, today more than 400 family farms across Washington and Oregon provide pears to local processors and fund the PNCPS marketing programs. PNCPS is one of many USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) research and promotion programs funded through assessments on fruit delivered to local processors. AMS programs allow farmers to pool resources to develop new markets, and conduct research and promotion activities.