Fairway reports $13.9 million loss, stock drops 20 percent
Fairway Group Holdings Corp., parent company of Fairway Market, announced a $13.934 million net loss in its financial results for its fiscal 2016 first quarter on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and by Wednesday afternoon the company’s stock had lost more than 20 percent of its value.
Wonderful Citrus acquires Texas Citrus Exchange
Wonderful Citrus acquired the operations of Texas Citrus Exchange, one of the largest citrus juice processors in Texas. The operations of TCX have been renamed Rio Grande Juice Co., a division of Wonderful Citrus. John Glenn, who was previously chief operating officer of Sun Orchard Inc., has been named vice president of Rio Grande.
Farm Star Living, NatureSweet presents back-to-school sweepstakes
Farm Star Living, a national lifestyle brand highlighting farms, farm-fresh foods, and the farm-to-everything movement, has teamed up with NatureSweet SunBursts tomatoes to create an exciting Back to School Spree sweepstakes to help parents get their kids ready for the school year.
Historic rain dance continues for California growers
An estimated 800,000-plus acres of California farmland will sit idle this year. Despite crop declines, the state’s gross farm revenue and employment actually increased slightly last year, and food prices remain steady, according to Dale Kasler and Phillip Reese, who wrote “California farm economy surprisingly resilient amid drought” for The Sacramento Bee.
FPAA hires communications coordinator
The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas announced that Paula Beemer is joining the FPAA team as communications coordinator.
J&K software to accelerate growth
PHILADELPHIA — When Lawrence (Larry) Antonucci Jr. launched the J&K Fresh East perishables division of 721 Logistics in January 2012, “We knew that technology was not an area that was real prevalent from the customs brokerage perspective,” he said.
River Point Farms ready to open state-of-the-art packing facility
This August, River Point Farms will open its new onion packing facility. “We are very excited about this new facility which includes about 80,000 new square feet, and 100 percent new packaging automated equipment including hi-tech optics,” President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Hale told The Produce News. “This will be one of the most modern fully automated onion packaging plants in the country.”
Most of Michigan industry dodges a bullet
Despite a report of record-setting hail in Michigan, the produce trade itself is breathing a sigh of relief.
Mitch Brinks, a salesman for Riveridge Produce Marketing Inc. in Sparta, MI, said there was a brief hail storm Aug. 2 within a violent wind storm that struck Michigan’s fruit ridge. The small volume of hail was soft, Brinks said. If there were any damage to the apple crop, it would be so minor that the fruit would outgrow it.
Brinks hadn't heard of any areas in Michigan that were damaged by the storm except for areas farther north near Traverse City.
Meijer's $750 million Wisconsin expansion progresses
Continuing an estimated $750 million investment in Wisconsin, Meijer opened two more stores in Wauwatosa and Oak Creek. The new supercenters create nearly 600 jobs and provide fresh produce delivered daily.
New York Apple Growers unveils new organization name
After its recent launch of the SnapDragon and RubyFrost apple varieties, New York Apple Growers has changed its name to Crunch Time Apple Growers. The organization is made up of 145 grower members who are united with the mission of introducing exclusive, flavorful apple varieties to the marketplace.