The New England Produce Council’s 23rd Annual Produce, Floral & Foodservice Expo will be held Aug. 21-22 at Encore Boston Harbor, and as always, will include an incomparable line up of speakers and more than 100 produce and floral exhibitors showcasing their products.

This is the first time the event will be at this venue, which is part of the Wynn Casino Group, so there’s some added entertainment for those who come out.

With summer in full swing, Calavo Growers Inc. is offering its customers fresh avocados from California, Mexico, Peru and Colombia, and will continue with that four-source opportunity into September.

Peter Shore, vice president of product management for the Santa Paula, CA-based company, said while shipments from Mexico and Colombia — to a far lesser extent —  will continue to increase through the summer and into the fall, California and Peru are churning toward the end of their respective 2023 seasons.

This is summer salad time and lettuce is the main ingredient.

Lettuce originated in ancient Egypt where it was first cultivated. Then the Romans and Greeks learned how to grow it from the Egyptians. Eventually, lettuce made its way around the world to where it became popular in the modern produce department of every grocery store and restaurant.

Honeybear Brands is pleased to put First Kiss apples into retailers’ hands and shoppers’ carts. First Kiss is produced in Minnesota and has quickly become a fan favorite since it was introduced in 2021.

The Fresh Produce & Floral Council held its annual membership luncheon to benefit the City of Hope, a Southern California cancer and research hospital. The luncheon, held Aug. 9 in Cerritos, CA, drew more than 200 people from various FPFC member companies. Master of Ceremonies Rebecca Calvin of Stater Bros. Markets was joined by Marvin Quebec of Quebec Distributing Co., patient speaker John Cloer, and Dr. Charles Brenner from the City of Hope.

By all accounts, 2023 has been a unique year in the fresh avocado marketing business as there may never have been such a disparity in FOB price between large and small fruit.

“We are seeing a $50 gap between 40s, 48s, 70s and 84s,” Rob Ybarra, executive vice president at Villita Avocados, based Pharr, TX, said earlier this month. “We are seeing Cadillac prices for the large fruit and very low prices for the smaller fruit.”