A substantial number of Salinas Valley lettuce shippers were expected to attend an informational meeting Thursday, Jan. 5 concerning the possibility of joining the Central California Lettuce Producers Cooperative.

Albertsons put itself on the block. Marsh Supermarkets has announced it is looking for a buyer after posting large third-quarter losses. The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. has once again shrunk, going from over 1,000 stores to 350. Many Food Lion and Winn Dixie stores have been offered for sale and have not reopened as supermarkets. Ahold has announced losses.

Bon Campo announced the launch of Trattoria, a new line of specialties, featuring renowned chef Mathieu Frey who has created easy-to-follow recipes for normally hard-to-sell items like baby chokes, fennel, baby bok choy, baby eggplant and leeks.

In the Bon Campo tradition, the new Trattoria line will create sales by educating the American consumer with "real recipes for real people."

Bon Campo's philosophy has always been to create a line that is narrow and deep with generally fewer products than its competitors.

Following several years of potato and onion inspection and buying duties for a major retail operation in Los Angeles, Steve Long has joined Progressive Marketing Group as its sales manager at Jones Produce in Quincy, WA.

Progressive President Jim Leimkuhler told The Produce News Jan. 4 that Mr. Long's first day in the Quincy office was Jan. 3, and the company head said, "We think by adding Steve and bringing his retail experience, it's a good move for us and the industry."

WASHINGTON -- As the federal government considers taking the program nationwide, congressional staffers packed into a U.S. Capitol room Dec. 6 to hear the experiences of the only two pilot programs that have allowed low-income women and children to use vouchers to purchase fresh produce in neighborhood stores.

Ugli, the exotic tangelo from Jamaica, is predicted to attain "celebrity status" in the nation's produce departments as it reaches new heights through the aid of a new marketing alliance.