Former FreshDirect CEO joins Baldor as president
Baldor Specialty Foods hired industry veteran David McInerney as its new president. McInerney, former CEO and co-founder of FreshDirect, brings over 30 years of experience in food retailing, operations and supply chain innovation to Baldor. McInerney’s joining comes at a pivotal moment in Baldor’s growth, as it continues expanding its product offerings and geographies served.
Brighter Bites distributed $21.7M of produce last year
Brighter Bites has released its 2024 Annual Impact Report, which highlights its achievements, milestones and the transformative work it has done over the past year in changing health outcomes of communities across the country.
Stemilt bringing Happi Pear to consumers through partnership
Stemilt is partnering with Day’s Century Growers, a family-owned pear grower and packer in British Columbia, to sublicense the new Hw624 pear, branded as Happi Pear, to offer locally grown Happi Pears to Canadian consumers.
SEPC holds STEP-UPP Retail Class spring tour
The Southeast Produce Council’s STEP-UPP Retail Class embarked on their spring tour last week, taking participants into the field and on plant tours to gain hands-on experience in how to partner with growers more effectively. STEP-UPP, which is an acronym for Southeast Training Education Program for Upcoming Produce Professionals, is SEPC’s flagship program giving retail and foodservice produce professionals a greater understanding of the industry through an emphasis on strategic orientation, personal leadership, and hands-on field experience.
Food-safety program continues for nearly all leafy greens
In the wake of cuts to federal food-safety programs, California leafy greens farmers are looking to assure consumers that mandatory, government-enforced food-safety practices are taking place on their farms every day.
The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement was featured in a segment of CBS Sunday Morning to demonstrate how California leafy greens farmers are proactively working to ensure the safety of their products.
Increase projected for Mexican table grape exports
SAN DIEGO — Shipments of Mexican table grapes from Sonora will be up in 2025 over 2024, with volumes starting slowly during the early part of the season before picking up around June.
Give them their flowers: The 1-800-Flowers.com Mother’s Day look book
The much anticipated 1-800-Flowers.com Mother's Day 2025 Gift Ideas Look Book has arrived, unveiling a thoughtful array of Mother's Day gifts across the company’s family of brands – 1-800-Flowers.com, Harry & David, PersonalizationMall.com, Cheryl’s C
Memorial tribute established honoring Herman Meinders
The American Floral Endowment has announced a memorial tribute to honor the life and contributions of Herman Meinders, a visionary entrepreneur, devoted philanthropist and esteemed leader in the floral industry. Herman died March 30, 2025, at the age of 87.
Sun World executive speaks to importance of Mexican grapes, partnership with Divine Flavor/Grupo Alta
Bernardo Calvo
Precision breeding for indoor strawberries and the AI revolution
Heritable Agriculture, Paul J. Mastronardi and Consorzio Italiano Vivaisti (CIV), have partnered to develop an advanced strawberry improvement program for greenhouse and tabletop varieties.