The Quebec Produce Marketing Association held its 67th annual convention in scenic Charlevoix, QC, at the Fairmont Manoir Richelieu Aug. 21-24. Under the umbrella theme “People at the Heart of the Industry,” more than 500 guests attended the banquet, and attendees enjoyed unique networking events, business sessions, meetings and motivational speeches. The 2013-14 QPMA president, Marie Gosselin of Les Serres du St-Laurent (Savoura), and her husband, Marc Boutet, along with Convention Chair Enrico Charest of Sobeys Quebec Inc.

GloriAnn Farms announce the return of its “Corn for the Cause” campaign for the third consecutive year. In each of the past two years, the campaign has raised almost $20,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc. Taking place the entire month of October, for every case of corn sold to participating retailers, GloriAnn Farms will make a donation to NBCF.

Allegiance Retail Services LLC announced the expansion of its supermarket base with the Sept. 5 grand opening of two new supermarkets.

Allegiance's newest members are Miguel Garcia, who celebrated the grand opening of Big Deal Food Markets in the Bronx, NY, and David Rosa, who along with Garcia celebrated the grand opening of Orchard Fine Foods in Forest Hills, NY. Both will cater to the specific customer base situated within their current markets.

CENTER, CO — Despite not shipping into the interior of Mexico, Skyline Potato Co. continues to see brisk movement with its customers within the 26 kilometers that remain open for potatoes from the United States.

Skyline General Manager Les Alderete told The Produce News in mid-August, “Mexico is still a good market, and we’re shipping mostly conventional russets to buyers there.”

As Skyline prepared for the 2014 crop to come in the first week of September, the industry veteran said all signs point to good quality and increased volume.

At the Organic Trade Association’s 2014 Organic Leadership Awards celebration Sept. 17 in Baltimore, three organic visionaries will receive awards.

“These outstanding visionaries have made invaluable contributions to demonstrating how organic practices can change our world for the better,” Laura Batcha, OTA’s executive director and chief executive officer, said in an Aug. 7 press release. “We are excited to honor these three individuals who were nominated by their peers and chosen unanimously by OTA’s board of directors.”

The Idaho Potato Commission's annual Potato Lovers' Month display contest has become so successful, with so many stores participating, that it has become necessary to expand the promotion to eight weeks, rather than just four weeks in February.

Last year, demand for Idaho potatoes during the February promotion was so great it essentially reached the limit of the capacity of Idaho potato packing facilities to meet the demand. Therefore, for the 2015 Potato Lovers' Month, the contest period will be extended to eight weeks. It will start mid-January and continue into mid-March.