TAMPA, FL -- Founded 10 years ago with just six members, the Southeast Produce Council is on a roll. From humble beginnings, it has grown to 600 members, many of whom will be in attendance when the council hosts the 2010 Retail & Foodservice Conference & Exposition, known as Southern Exposure, here March 4-6.

E. Alan Mills, who retired as manager of the California Grape & Tree Fruit League in 1979 after 28 years with the organization, died Feb. 15, two weeks before what would have been his 89th birthday.

According to information furnished to The Produce News by Bruce Obbink, past president of the California Table Grape Commission, Mr. Mills was born in Granada, MN, on March 2, 1921, the next to youngest of nine children of Joel Webster Mills and Ida Jane Stewart Mills.

WASHINGTON -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack reaffirmed his commitment Feb. 23 to revamping the school lunch program to make it easier for schools to buy healthy fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products, one component of the Obama administration's proposal to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act this year.

Harvest is now underway for the 2010 California avocado crop, which is estimated at 470 million pounds -- up dramatically from just 170 million pounds in 2009 -- which promises to provide some excellent promotional opportunities for retailers, according to Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the California Avocado Commission.

Shuman Produce comes to the Southeast Produce Council's 2010 Retail & Foodservice Conference & Expo March 4-6 in Tampa, FL, with a focus on food safety and new packaging.

Rogers Graphics, an advertising and website design firm specializing in the produce and floral industries, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in business.

"Through the years, we have been very fortunate to have maintained loyal business relationships with many fine companies," said Richard Rogers, co-owner of the company with his wife, Susan. "The world of advertising can be fickle, so I am pleased we have done consistently well."