Volunteers from the office of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas made sure that hundreds of flowers and intricate bouquets from the American Institute of Floral Designers Symposium in Chicago wouldn't go to waste. The award-winning bouquets were delivered to several of the city's 25 police stations and given to police officers and their spouses.

Albertsons Cos. Inc. launched its O Organics “Fight Hunger, Serve Hope” initiative to combat hunger during the summer months when households with school-aged children face higher rates of food insecurity. Now through Aug. 1, the company’s private label brand will donate one meal for every O Organics product purchased, up to $7 million and the equivalent of 28 million meals. Donations will be made to Nourishing Neighbors, a program of Albertsons Cos. Foundation, to fund grants dedicated to providing healthy meals for at-risk youth throughout the summer.

Nogales-based vegetable shipper iDeal HarBest is no longer the new kid on the block, now in its seventh year in business and showing impressive year-over-year growth.

In fact the company had a record year in 2022, and 2023 started off strong, with sales in January alone eclipsing total sales of its inaugural year.

But maintaining that growth trajectory is no easy feat, according to Manny Fajardo, a principle at iDeal along with business partner Hermy Torres.

The Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee is now taking applications for this year’s Onion Country VIP Tour, which has been scheduled for Oct. 5-7 in the Treasure Valley.

Airfare, lodging, meals and group ground transportation are being provided to selected buyers, who will be met at the Boise, ID, airport on Thursday, Oct. 5, and taken to Ontario, OR, and their lodging. An industry dinner will be hosted by the committee that night.

Following the recent frosts and rains in Chile, the Citrus Committee of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association has revised its export projections for the 2023-24 season. The committee estimates that Chile will export 348,000 tons of citrus, 30 percent more than last year, but 3 percent lower than the previous estimate made in May of 2023.

“The frost damage to citrus was quite limited, but there are some sectors of orchards that suffered damage, mainly in the O'Higgins region,” said Juan Enrique Ortúzar, president of the Chilean Citrus Committee.