Ahold Delhaize announced that David McInerney, co-founder and CEO of FreshDirect, the Northeast’s leading pure-play online fresh food grocer, stepped down effective May 5. He will continue in an advisory role through the end of October 2021. Farhan Siddiqi, chief digital officer of Ahold Delhaize, will serve as interim CEO and assumed overall leadership responsibility on May 5.

In an effort to address both the extraordinary opportunities and the extraordinary challenges the industry faces, the Hass Avocado Board, with industry participation, has developed BOLD: The Hass Avocado Industry Board Leadership Development Program. Helping the industry face an increasingly complex marketplace with sophisticated problem-solvers, BOLD is designed to develop emerging leaders who are both motivated and equipped to meet those opportunities and challenges.

Ocean Mist Farms, a leading grower and marketer of fresh artichokes in the U.S., hired John Georgalos as sales commodity manager. In this role, he will be responsible for managing iceberg lettuce, Ocean Mist Farms’ leaf program (red, green and Romaine), and will handle select key accounts for the company.

United Natural Foods Inc. is adding 53 all-electric transport refrigerated trailer units to its fleet located at the company’s Riverside, CA, distribution center. This effort is in keeping with UNFI’s Better for All 2030 Environmental, Social & Governance agenda, and the company’s commitments to take innovative action on global social and environmental issues that help transform the future of food.

Potato sales for Q3 (January through March 2021) of marketing year 2021 have caught up to the changed buying habits that the pandemic brought about. March 2020 was an unprecedented time for potato sales in grocery stores as panic buying began a yearlong streak of record-high sales in dollars and volume. It is no surprise that sales in March of 2021 could not keep up with the buying patterns that occurred in that crazy month a year ago.

Red Sun Farms has been named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies. This makes it the eighth consecutive year that Red Sun Farms has received this recognition, giving the organization the prestigious Platinum Club Status.