“We are promoting a new Idaho marketing partnership between High Country and L&M,” said Carrie Smith, marketing manager for L&M Cos., headquartered in Raleigh, NC. “We will have a new ‘Nature’s Delight’ Idaho label for cartons, as well as High Country’s ‘Oven King’ label. We are reintroducing High Country and L&M as an Idaho quality pack.”

Onions in bags after being harvested. L&M’s onion business is now 65 percent foodservice.Ms. Smith said that John Oxford, president and chief executive officer, Matt Murphy and Andy Difani, sales specialists, Tracy Fowler, general manager of potatoes and onions, and Les Alderete, production and grower development director for L&M Cos., would be on hand at the firm’s exhibition booth, number 35, at the Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference & Exposition in Monterey, CA, July 20-22.

L&M is a fully integrated, year-round supplier of a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables. It has been in business for over 46 years. The company is well known for its high-quality products that it markets under the “Nature’s Delight” label.

Ms. Smith said that approximately 40 percent of L&M Cos.’ business is done in the foodservice sector.

“Our foodservice potato packs are available in 10-, 25- and 50-pound boxes, as well as the paper bags for chopping and dicing product,” she said. “L&M’s foodservice customers span the entire range of types and categories of operations. We do the traditional mix of all types.”

She also noted that the company has seen some locally grown purchases starting to happen in the foodservice category, but added, “not nearly as much as the retail industry. National buying and contracts prevent the growth into the local sector, but there is a small trend toward it.”

L&M Cos. has renovated and expanded its facility in Palatka, FL, where it packs potatoes and vegetables.

“We added a cooled dock with six sealed loading doors, completed the addition of a new 4,800-square-foot cooler that also has a 2,500-square-foot receiving dock to receive our broccoli,” Ms. Smith went on to say. “It also has a new 4,500-square-foot enclosed loading dock and a new 1,500-square-foot refrigerated repack room.”

The total refrigerated space that L&M Cos. now has in Palatka is 16,800-square-feet, versus the 6,000-square-feet it had prior to the expansion and renovations. Its ice plant produces 80 tons per day.

“We also purchased four Griffin Holder onion facilities,” said Ms. Smith. “They are in Colorado, California and New Mexico. In total, we ship approximately three million units of onions through these facilities. L&M’s onion business is now 65 percent foodservice. This was the largest acquisition in L&M history.”

L&M focusess on four core categories: vegetables; potatoes and onions; apples, pears and cherries; and limes, mangos and Texas-grown.

“For nearly 50 years in the industry, L&M has been grounded in helping its customers succeed by giving them control throughout the supply chain: farming, packing, logistics and sales,” said Ms. Smith. “Getting the right product to the right person at the right time is what drives every member of the L&M team every day.”