Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is working to provide healthy meals for kids and their families.  Recently Village Farms Fresh has become part of this effort through a team volunteer endeavor in conjunction with its Mercy Kitchen location, which provides meals to a variety of children’s after school programs in the greater Orlando, FL, area.

Southern Specialties has a produce portfolio that includes baby squash, baby carrots and other baby vegetables, as well as broccolettes and clipped greens, all available under the company’s Southern Selects label.  

Its main Southern Selects product is asparagus, which it grows, imports and markets in bulk presentations for retail and foodservice and is available in conventional, organic and in value-adding offerings in a variety of pack sizes.

A trio of operators participating in the controlled environment agriculture space reported a bright future with potential for significant growth, especially in the organic category, at a seminar held during the recent Organic Growers Summit.

Florida produce is so good that it isn’t just popular in the Sunshine State, it’s renowned the world over. One key organization that is committed to supporting Florida’s growers is the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, which is the state’s leading full-service specialty crop organization.

Since 1943, the FFVA has promoted an array of crops, including vegetables, citrus, tropical fruit, berries, and more, with the mission to enhance Florida’s produce business and foster a competitive environment for producing and marketing these crops.

Dave Puglia, president and CEO of Western Growers, moderated a grower keynote roundtable that discussed the state of organic growing with panelists Brie Reiter Smith, vice president of product leadership for Driscoll’s, Michael DuPuis, quality assurance and public relations coordinator for Divine Flavor, and Tom Nunes V, president of The Nunes Co.

The thought-provoking keynote roundtable explored the perspectives of these purveyors of organic production on topics such as supply chain issues, inflation, labor, new innovations and technologies.

Mother Nature has not exactly been cooperating with the new crops in the desert farming area. Colder-than-normal temperatures are slowing down the growth of many vegetables, especially lettuce. This has caused some traces of ice to settle on the lettuce. The markets continue to remain at elevated levels on a demand-exceeds-supply status.