With the beginning-of-the-season Chilean cherries prices going through the roof, industry veteran Andreas Economou, chief operating officer of Tastyfrutti International Inc., is anticipating an excellent fruit deal from that South American country with good volumes of stone fruit and grapes over the next several months.

Courtney Lane of Zirkle Fruit Co. is the Washington Apple Education Foundation Individual Volunteer of the Year.  Her recognition was announced last week at a company production meeting held in Selah, WA.  While the meeting was pre-planned, the interruption from WAEF with the special announcement occurred as a surprise to her.

The Giumarra Cos. announced a partnership with the Genel family of Rancho Agua Blanca to offer Fair Trade Certified avocados grown in the state of Michoacán, Mexico.

Rancho Agua Blanca is family owned and operated, and recently received its certification from Fair Trade USA in early 2020. The Genel family – comprising Isabel Valencia Zepeda, Rafael Genel Valencia, María Isabel Genel Valencia, Marcela Genel Valencia, Gustavo Adolfo Genel Valencia, and Carlos Genel Valencia – farms 250 hectares of Fair Trade Certified avocados and governs the company via a family board.

In the fall of 2019, Green Thumb Farms launched the Farmer’s First program to develop new potato varieties for retailers – and to help consumers discover new products that work well in their kitchens. Last year, Green Thumb partnered with Hannaford to develop the Queen Anne potato. This year they’re partnering with Hannaford again to introduce Fenway Reds, a variety that’s new to Maine.

Little Leaf Farms is now offering home delivery in the greater Boston and New York City area through Amazon Fresh. COVID-19 has increased demand for grocery deliveries, and customers can now enjoy locally harvested and sustainable lettuce without ever leaving the comfort of their homes.

The partnership with Amazon Fresh is another step in Little Leaf Farms’ continued growth to meet rising demand. The company now has 10 acres of state-of-art greenhouse growing space, recently doubling growing capacity to produce more than 2 million boxes of fresh baby greens a month.

Schnuck Markets Inc. announced the launch of a supplier diversity initiative to promote supplier participation reflective of the diverse communities throughout the Midwest in which Schnucks operates.

In the coming weeks and months, Schnucks merchandising leaders will be working to identify local suppliers that are at least 51 percent owned, operated and managed by individuals that are disabled, LGBT, military veterans, minorities and/or women. To accomplish this, Schnucks is partnering with ECRM and RangeMe, firms whose goal is to bring small suppliers together with retailers.