
Looking west, Southeast Produce Council to honor Kent Kuwata
Kent Kuwata has spent all his professional career in the retail produce industry, primarily on the West Coast, a long, long way from the Millen, GA, headquarters of the Southeast Produce Council.

John Shuman at Southern Exposure 2023.
But Kuwata, category manager at Smart & Final in Commerce, CA, attended the council’s first trade show in 2005 in Lakeland, FL, has not missed a show ever since and has contributed to the council in a myriad of ways, both big and small.
For those past contributions, for his ongoing support of the council, and to recognize his generous and giving character, the council will honor him with its highest honor, the Terry Vorhees Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented Saturday, March 8, at the Keynote Brunch, during Southern Exposure 2025, set to take place March 6-9 at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, FL.
“I’ve known Kent for about 20 years,” said David Sherrod, president and CEO of the Southeast Produce Council. “We met each other at the first show, and he hasn’t missed one since then. Kent came to that first SEPC show and saw how we do things, and he’s been a champion for us to get other retailers involved as well as other grower-shipper-packers from California.”
He continued, “Kent’s been instrumental in helping us bolster our membership over the years. He would tell his vendors on the West Coast about the show, letting people know the kind of organization we are. One of the biggest things Kent’s done from a work perspective is bringing more members that are outside of our 10-state marketing area. He really brought a lot of the California shippers just because of the people he knew. And he does this each and every day.”

at Walt Disney World in 2015.
Noting how Kuwata always brings his wife to the SEPC events, Sherrod quipped, “I never say ‘Kent’ only by his name itself. I always say ‘Kent and Vicki.’ She’s by his side on everything. She goes to pretty much all the functions with him. She’s just as important as he is.”
Sherrod then mentioned one way that Kuwata reminds him of Tom Page, one the founders of the Southeast Produce Council, who was also a retailer.
“You know, Tom Page was the same way. When Tom came, he really grew membership, and he grew it with our grower-shippers.” Retailers such as Kuwata and Page “really find value in us, and they tell other people; they drive our membership. It’s not really [the council] doing it, it’s people being told that they should look at the Southeast Produce Council. That’s something that Kent’s done ever since he’s been here.”
Sherrod added, “Another thing about Kent is that he’s never backed down to say that SEPC is one of the best organizations out there. For him to be in California and say that as a retailer means a lot, and it carries a lot of weight with other grower-shippers.”
The SEPC president then shared a personal item to illustrate Kuwata’s commitment to attending SEPC events.

“Kent’s had two knee replacements,” said Sherrod. “Kent told me ‘I’m going to have them done one at a time. I’m going to do one before Southern Exposure so I can go to SE, and then I’m going to do the other right after SE so I can go to Southern Innovations.’ And that’s exactly what he did. Kent loves the shows so much, and we love him for that.”
Sherrod said that when he informed Kuwata that he would be receiving the award, Kuwata told him that he wasn’t “in the class with the other recipients. And for him to say that clearly illustrates his character. His humility is off the chart. He’s just a good man. He and Vicki are like family to us, and he’s been that way to me and my family. He goes out of his way to be nice to people.”
About the honoree
Kent Kiyoshi Kuwata was born June 27, 1957, in Los Angeles, to Frank and Grace Kuwatu. He also has a younger brother, Miles, and a stepfather, Stephen. He graduated from San Fernando High School in San Fernando, CA, in 1975. He attended Cal Poly Pomona for about three-and-a-half years but did not graduate, starting his produce career instead. “That is one of my disappointments in life,” he shared.
Kuwata has been around produce all his life, beginning at the tender age of 5, helping his grandparents with their produce business. He also remembers that “going to the L.A. market before sunrise with all the hustle and bustle was always exciting.” He learned to drive a tractor on an uncle’s farm in Hawaii.

sister-in-law, Rouxann; his brother, Miles; and his wife, Vicki.
Kuwata’s produce career began in earnest after high school when he began working for Vons, starting as a produce clerk, then becoming a produce manager. He was also a setup manager and became a buyer and a merchandiser. He then changed direction and went back to the stores as a manager. He stayed with Vons for 24 years.
He then worked at Gigante Supermarkets, a chain out of Mexico, for about five years, as director of produce and hot bakery. After this he worked at a Los Angeles-based wholesaler which supplied produce to high-end restaurants locally as well as to some Las Vegas casinos.
In 2006 he joined Smart & Final, which is headquartered in Commerce, CA, as a category manager, his current title. Smart & Final has 254 stores in California, Nevada and Arizona, he noted.
Kuwata was awarded the Norman H. Bolstead Achievement Award in 2014 from the Fresh Produce & Floral Council.
Kuwata and Vicki were married on March 6, 1982, in Granada Hills, CA. They have two daughters, Christine and Ashley, and four grandsons whom he called “the joys in his life”: Kiyoshi, 7; Daikichi, 6; Takeshi, 18 months; and Eiji, 6 months.

Eiji and Daikichi.
Asked for his reaction when Sherrod told him he would be receiving the award, Kuwata provided some details. “David called me on Christmas Eve at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time. I thought this is nice, he is calling to wish me a Merry Christmas. David said, ‘Well, this is one part of the call.’ He then said I was chosen to receive the Terry Vorhees Lifetime Achievement Award. I was speechless for a moment, then told him I could not accept this since I was not from the Southeast. Still very shocked, I tried to give him another out by saying I am not able to help in fundraising or donating time to give back to all the different organizations, etc. David basically told me, ‘Hush, the board picked you!’”
Kuwata continued, “I sat at my desk for a few minutes in tears and in shock. I called Vicki and told her; she congratulated me and said this is the best Christmas present you could ever get and how proud she is for me.”
Asked what he most enjoyed about working in the produce industry, Kuwata replied, “I love the people in the business and building partnerships with a common goal to increase sales on both sides. Without each other, we have nothing. As a category manager, I may be a customer to a grower, supplier or broker, but my customers are 254 Smart & Final produce departments, and their customers are the people that shop at our stores. If one part of the equation fails, we have nothing.”
A perfect fit
Brandon Parker, director of sales at Shuman Produce in Reidsville, GA, was enthusiastic about the newest recipient.
“When you look at the Southeast Produce Council and all the previous recipients, you’re like wow, there’s no doubt that Kent is such a perfect fit,” said Parker, who has known Kuwata for about 16 years. “He has poured so much into this council, a lot that people don’t even know about.”

Ashley, Michael, Kent and Christine.
Added Parker, “He is at every event that this council has, and has been for so many years in a row –- and he’s on the West Coast. He’s so grateful for the opportunity to come out and be with his East Coast family, if you will. He is just crazy committed to this, that’s who he is, always looking for a way to make whatever he is involved in better than what he found it.”
Parker continued, “He’s a cheerleader and a huge fan of SEPC. He has done so much to engage other people and companies from the West Coast with the council. He often calls on his friends in the industry to get them engaged in supporting different charitable organizations the council is involved in.”
On a personal note, Parker declared, “Kent is just a picture of humility. I’m happy for him and his family, as he is very deserving of this award. He always brings Vicki with him to the shows. And Miss Vicki has become a fixture in the SEPC family as well. You don’t ever see one without the other.”
Parker concluded, “Kent understands the importance of family, and he loves to do for others. What a pleasure it’s been to get to know him.”

on the day he was born.
Extremely deserving
Brian Cook, managing director at Westlake Produce Co., which is headquartered in Downey, CA, was also thrilled that his friend and mentor was being honored.
“My first feeling was one of excitement,” said Cook, who is based in Irving, TX. “Kent is a guy who gives of himself selflessly to the industry in all aspects, not just the local industry he’s known forever but to the broader industry as a whole. He is extremely deserving of this honor.”
He continued, “Kent was one of the first people I met in the industry when I got into it. He helped direct me and became a good friend. He was a counselor in many ways. I rarely took a job without talking to him first.”
Cook added, “He’s always been there to help, not just to me but I’m sure to many other folks. He is highly approachable with a heart to serve. That was probably one of my biggest attractions to him and something that I wanted to model after as a 20-something kid coming up and trying to learn the industry. It wasn’t just about the business but about serving others and the industry. So I kind of grabbed that from him early on and it stuck with me throughout.”
Cook and Kuwata spent a lot of time together on the board of the Fresh Produce & Floral Council. “He was a big proponent of giving back,” said Cook. “I’ve taken his lead on what he’s done in his life and how much he’s given back, and kind of applied that to mine.”
Cook described his relationship with Kuwata nowadays as “more of a personal nature. He’s very much someone who I go to for big life decisions for me personally. He’s always there for me in the important moments of my life. Any key or important moments of my life, I always look to Kent to get his guidance.”
Cook concluded, “We could go on for days talking about how great a man he is. He’s a wonderful human being, and I’m glad to see the love being given to him with this award.”