Prima Wawona, a leading grower and marketer of conventional and organic peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots, is expanding by 2,600 acres devoted to growing stone fruit.  The new acreage increases the company’s total to almost 15,000 acres, equating to 1 million additional stone fruit trees, and further establishes Prima Wawona as a leading stone fruit grower.

Reinforcing its focus on frozen cut vegetables and fruit, Monterey, CA-based Growers Express has opened a new 24,000-square-foot frozen storage facility in San Luis, AZ. The Growers Express Distribution Depot consolidates storage of “pick pack” and finished goods, creating a central location for shipping to industrial, foodservice and retail customers.

The Fresh Produce & Floral Council hosted a webinar on April 14 featuring four female members of the group discussing the future of women in the industry and exploring their own paths to success.

I honestly like to grocery shop, and I love a good-lookin’ produce department. I could literally browse for hours. The colors, the bountiful displays, the varietals — I continue to be amazed by the stunning beauty of produce departments and the effort retailers take to make them a shopper attraction. Who wouldn’t want to buy more? To put one more selection into the cart? To taste the newest apple, try cotton candy grapes and savor the glorious goodness of the first cherries of the season?

Price Chopper/Market 32 has significantly reduced the carbon footprint of its supply chain. The retailer is employing New York-based GrowersHub and Austin-based technology company Big Wheelbarrow for a Direct Store Delivery program, which fulfills demand for hyperlocal products.

The supermarket is expanding its traditional hub system to connect more local farms to its produce buyers, thereby reducing reliance on produce that’s trucked in from hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Farmstead, an online grocer offering fresh, high-quality groceries, delivered for free, announced that Linda K. Lee has joined the executive team as head of business development where she will focus on helping regional grocers improve margins for curbside pickup and grocery delivery in order to more effectively compete in an increasingly online world.

Lee was head of carrier partnerships at WhatsApp, which was acquired by Facebook where she subsequently led strategic partnerships for Messenger. Earlier, she was senior legal director at Yahoo!.