Longtime produce industry great Ron Carkoski died at the age of 69 surrounded by his family on Jan. 5.  Mr. Carkoski was known as a strong leader with a big heart, for his sense of humor and musical talent, and as someone who made an impact on lives and careers of so many.

SpartanNash has acquired Great Lakes Foods, an independent grocery wholesaler, including its 300,000-square-foot distribution center in Menominee, MI. The warehouse serves approximately 100 independent grocery customers across the Midwest and employs 125 associates. SpartanNash will continue to employ the Great Lakes Foods team while investing in capital and IT updates to the facility and expanding service offerings to customers.

Homegrown Organic Farms is set to launch a new YouTube series, GROWN by, on Friday, Jan. 6 at 9 p.m. EST. The GROWN by series follows four of the company’s farmers through their growing and harvest seasons, providing both education and entertainment along the way. The series features the Peterson family, Agustin Cardenas, France Ranch and Pipco Fruit Co.

Monterey Mushrooms has promoted long-time teammate Mike Stephan to vice president of sales and business development. Stephan has supported the national sales team for nearly two decades. He will continue to be intimately involved in day-to-day business, but now he will have a concentrated focus on overall business strategy and opportunities that will drive the company’s long-term success.

Tracing fresh produce from the field or the packing plant through the entire supply chain with the simple scanning of a barcode saves money and time, and just as importantly, greatly reduces the risk of mis-shipments.

Weather — who would have guessed — is impacting produce prices again.  

Winter storm Hudson continues to bring much-needed water to California, albeit while causing some temporary havoc for growers and shippers across Central and North America. The storm is expected to continue east this week, bringing more wintery weather to North America.