Hy-Vee Inc. will host its Best of Local Brands Summit in August to expand and enhance the product offerings at its more than 285 retail stores in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Since the Best of Local Brands summits began in early 2021, more than 125 new brands have been selected and are available to Hy-Vee customers.

The summit will consist of 15- to 30-minute virtual presentations from selected suppliers and will take place Wednesday, Aug. 2.

Blueberries are a key item at Frank Donio Inc., backed by nine decades of family-owned experience.

“Being headquartered in Hammonton, NJ, blueberries have been a focal point of our company for 90 years,” said Alec Arena, sales specialist for Frank Donio Inc. “We handle conventional, organic and frozen blueberries.”

Bako Sweet launched a new website — bakosweet.com — that provides an enhanced user experience for shoppers. Serving as a valuable resource, the website is designed to inspire curiosity about sweet potatoes from California’s Sweet Spot.

Alpine Fresh recently broke ground on its new state-of-the-art facility. The Miami-headquartered company acquired eight acres of land in Sweetwater, FL. The land will house the new five-star cold storage facility with a category five structure and sustainable features that will support their expanding operations and programs.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Calexico East Cargo Facility recently seized $4 million worth of narcotics in a tractor-trailer containing Brussels sprouts.

CBP officers discovered and extracted a total of 148 packages concealed within the floor and roof of the trailer. The narcotics were tested and identified as methamphetamine with a total weight of 2,052.20 pounds, with an estimated street value of $4.3 million.

For more than two decades, Shuman Farms has been a pioneer of cause marketing initiatives within the fresh produce industry. Shuman Farms’ Healthy Family Project, founded in 2002 by President and CEO John Shuman, has donated more than 18 million meals to Feeding America and raised more than $7.5 million for charities that support children and families. The grower has also donated meals and raised awareness of food insecurity in the United States.