Okanagan Specialty Fruits, the pioneering agricultural company behind the nonbrowning Arctic apple, honored Barbara Ortega, a security guard in California who has been working on the frontlines to protect produce and people during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the winner of the Arctic apples Mother’s Day giveaway, Ortega received a 12-month subscription to a monthly beauty box tailored to her preferences.

The closing general session of United Fresh LIVE! featured a bevy of association executives discussing the worldwide produce industry’s herculean effort during the pandemic and predicting that that the future is very bright for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, though they also saw plenty of challenges on the road ahead.

L&M Cos. executes a 52-week green Bell pepper program.

“We are proud of our offerings in that we farm in a lot of the windows our competition does not,” said Jon Shriver, sales and operations manager for the Raleigh, NC-based company. “This makes fresh and new crops more available to our retail, wholesale and foodservice partners. We also overlap in multiple regions so that when Mother Nature comes into play, we don’t have all of our eggs in one basket.”

Marking its 16th year recognizing exceptional retail produce managers, United Fresh Produce Association honored its 2020 Retail Produce Manager Awards Program winners during the Retail-Foodservice LIVE! General Session. The group of 25 produce managers represents supermarket banners, commissaries and independent retail stores from 16 different states and Canada.

Though it was acknowledged that the USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program had some initial challenges, the program is apparently delivering hundreds of thousands of produce boxes to needy recipients every week and is working much better than many expected.

That was the overarching view of many participants who tuned in to a live, informal discussion on the topic on Wednesday morning, June 17, during United Fresh 2020 LIVE. 

A year-round distributor since 1990, and a grower-packer since 1925, Henry Avocado has established many important partnerships, yet none more important nor timely than those involved in strengthening its product purity from sourcing to distribution from a number of sources.

Luke Varvel, food safety manager, and Jorge Tostado, sanitation manager, have linked their responsibilities to give Henry an around-the-clock regimen that is among the finest in the fresh produce industry.