Sparked by an overwhelming response to its annual recipe contest, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture set out to publish a cookbook to promote locally grown produce and Farmers Markets throughout the state. Communication Arts Company coined the title 500 Fresh Not Frozen, organized the collection of over 500 recipes, coordinated print pricing, and supervised production for this 340-page, coil-bound cookbook with 10 dividers.

Each divider page consists of an image of a growing environment overlaid by a vivid detail of a representative food from that section.

A simple display ad in the Market Bulletin (the periodical in which the recipes were solicited) helped promote sales which totaled 1,100 in the first six months. In addition to winning a 2010 Gold ADDY, the book garnered an Award of Excellence for Service Printers in the 2010 PIAS Graphic Awards.