The Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Vidalia Onion Committee announced that the pack date for the 2021 season is April 19. The organizations are also celebrating the 35th anniversary of legislation that helped to make Vidalia onions beloved by millions of fans across the country. A rite of spring for its legends of devotees, the announcement of the pack date means shoppers will soon be able to purchase Vidalia onions, which are only available for a limited time each year.

Messe Berlin is cancelling its Fruit Logistica Special Edition 2021, which was to be held May 18-20 because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"I’m quite sure today’s cancellation is no surprise to anyone,” said Madlen Miserius, senior product manager. “The coronavirus pandemic is lasting longer than expected. We wanted to make an onsite event happen in May. But the prospects both for international business travel to Berlin and for large face-to-face gatherings are too low.  And under these circumstances it’s simply impossible for us to meet face-to-face.”

Schnuck Markets Inc. announced the launch of an initiative to find local suppliers and expand the presence of their products in Schnucks stores throughout the Midwest. Schnucks merchandising leaders will be working to identify those suppliers that are located within 125 miles of a Schnucks store or in one of the four states served by Schnucks. To accomplish this, Schnucks is partnering with RangeMe, a leading online platform that streamlines new product discovery between suppliers and retailers.

One year ago in the midst of Sumo Citrus season, the COVID-19 shutdown began across the United States. Today, as the nationwide distribution of vaccines continues to ramp up, AC Brands wanted to make sure that its employees and the surrounding community — many of whom support the Central Valley citrus and table grape industry — had access to the vaccine. “Here we are, halfway through another busy season, yet the team worked tirelessly to execute a 10-day, 2,144-dose vaccine rollout at our facilities beginning on March 5,” said Vincent Sorena, vice president of farming.

United Fresh’s sixth annual BrandStorm event took place virtually this year March 9-11. The annual gathering of the industry’s top and aspiring marketing experts explored new strategies and tactics, provided solutions to shared marketing challenges and created camaraderie as the industry worked together to grow fresh produce consumption.

Weis Markets has promoted Greg Zeh to senior vice president, chief information officer.