Produce industry veteran Monty Robison, whose fresh fruit career spanned more than four decades in Arizona and California, died unexpectedly on Oct. 2 at the age of 58. Mr. Robison spent the past 10 years of his career with Dayka & Hackett LLC in Reedley, CA, serving in various senior marketing and category management roles.

“Monty touched and influenced many different people and we will miss him in many ways,” said Dayka & Hackett CEO Tim Dayka. “He was a dear friend with one of the kindest souls I have had the privilege to know.”

Mann Packing Co. Inc. — a subsidiary of Fresh Del Monte N.A. Inc. and one of the larger suppliers of packaged vegetables in North America — is relaunching its award-winning stringless sugar snap peas in brand-new, redesigned packaging to modernize the look and feel of the brand.

Arcadio’s Produce recently signed a 10-year lease to expand its business space footprint at The SF Market. What began in 2010 as a small business operating out of a single truck, Arcadio’s Produce has now outgrown its current merchant space within The SF Market campus and has moved its operations to a location with triple the space within The SF Market.

Despite the supply chain woes and inflation, demand for melons remains good, especially for watermelons.  The key is to increase productivity without sacrificing quality. Customers are looking for solid partners that focus in delivering outstanding service and good quality products. 

Vick Family Farms expects some of the best quality sweet potatoes this year. “We see our quality is beautiful and the potatoes sized up very nicely despite the hot dry weather,” stated Charlotte Vick, partner and produce manager at Vick Family Farms in Wilson, NC. “Rain in late July was just in time to help push the crop along. What we have seen thus far it is probably some of the best quality we have seen in years with more consistent shape and size.”

The Avocados from Peru and Meijer 2022 AVO Tesla Summer Sweepstakes ended and an official winner has been announced. Meijer customers had the opportunity to learn about and enter the sweepstakes through the retailer’s in-store and out-of-store promotions.