With September just a few days away, The Foundation For Fresh Produce is gearing up to celebrate the fifth annual National Fruits & Veggies Month. Launched alongside the Have A Plant Movement in 2019 as an opportunity to elevate fruit and vegetable consumption to a national priority, the annual month-long observance has reached more than 260 million impressions collectively since its inception.

While wrapping up its 130th season, Sunkist is looking ahead, focusing on the highly-anticipated return of California citrus season.

Growing apples in southeast Michigan is a year-long venture for the Swindeman family — owners and operators of Applewood Orchards and Applewood Fresh Growers. “We start working on next year’s crop almost immediately after the current crop is harvested,” said Michael Swindeman, a grower at Applewood Orchards. “The orchards are mowed, irrigation systems are winterized, equipment maintenance is performed and construction of new trellis systems begin for spring’s new plantings.”

A year after being acquired by Cencosud, there are plans to expand The Fresh Market's store count with 22 new locations in the next two years.

Parent company Cencosud celebrated a successful first anniversary, noting important financial and commercial synergies, achieving a total impact in financial statements of $75.8 million.

ZAG Technical Services released an informational whitepaper titled “How Technology Will Change the Food Industry in 2024 and Beyond,” which outlines many ways technology plays a vital role in shaping food industry workflows, today and beyond. A copy of the whitepaper can be downloaded here.

New Jersey potatoes have been exemplified so far by high quality and prices good by historical standards, helped along by pretty decent weather in the state, according to Ron Budd, vice president of Gloucester County Packing Corp. in Woodbury, NJ.

“We’re in the thick of it right now,” he told The Produce News Thursday, Aug. 10. “We’re running New Jersey red, white, yellow and russet varieties. So far the quality and yields have been good for the growers. The market is above average but not as good as last year, which was a once-in-a-lifetime market.”