In the last year, food and beverage providers have experienced so much change to the market it borders on chaos. Sporadic demand surges have meant far too many empty shelves and out of stock events. For the most part, consumers have remained understanding during these situations.

“Right now, the only thing for sure is there is a lot of uncertainty,” Miguel (Miky) Suarez said at the end of March, about two months before the managing partner and sales manager of Nogales’ MAS Melons & Grapes LLC expected Sonora table grape growers to begin shipping promotable volumes of grapes.

His input from Sonoran growers brought mixed signals, but one consistent message is that it won’t be a full crop of Sonoran grapes this spring.

It was clearly a challenging 2020 for the foodservice-centric fresh lemon and lime crops. While each commodity received a retail boost — as did all citrus — the loss in business from restaurants and bars because of the pandemic was impossible to replace.

It was business as usual at the Southeast Produce Council’s Southern Exposure 2021 trade show — which was a wonderful thing and exactly what the industry needed.  Show-goers and exhibitors alike deemed Southern Exposure at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort in Orlando, FL, an unmitigated success — both professionally and socially.

TerraFresh Organics, an organic fruit company known for supplying organic citrus, mangos, stone fruit and grapes to North America, announced the addition of organic Amber Crest peaches to its Earth Greens label through May 2021.

Trader Joe's, a national chain of neighborhood grocery stores, announced a collaboration with MagnusCards by Magnusmode, a free app dedicated to making the world a more accessible place for people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities. Trader Joe's is the first grocery store to partner with the app, and the launch comes just in time for the commencement of Autism Acceptance Month.