Shoppers at Foodtown of Bay Ridge enjoy locally grown produce
BROOKLYN, NY — Shoppers at the Foodtown of Bay Ridge come here for all the things that the best supermarkets anywhere around the United States provide today: a wide variety of items in all the various departments, especially the produce department; competitive pricing; clean, well-lit aisles; convenient hours; and friendly and knowledgeable personnel.
State looking at outstanding back-to-back apple seasons
As old and new apple crop seasons dovetail each other, insights from the orchard show a bright future for New York’s industry. “Last year, we had an excellent crop, a full crop, one of the largest crops in history,” said Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association in Fishers, NY. “Pricing was OK. Quality and packouts were good. We’re still selling last year’s crop.”
Business always strong for H.R. Bushman & Son
ST. LOUIS — For H.R. Bushman & Son Corp., based here, “business in St. Louis has always been good. It picks up some every year. There are no downs,” Sal Pupillo, the company’s owner, said.
Pupillo added that there are not as many small produce distributors in St. Louis as there were in the past. The number of mom-and-pop stores in St. Louis has dramatically declined.
Sunfarm moves off St. Louis market
ST. LOUIS — Because the St. Louis Produce Market doesn’t have available space to expand, Sunfarm Food Service Inc., is tripling its warehouse space with a move off the market this June.
Sunfarm is tripling its operating space, from 7,000 square feet on the market to occupy the warehouse near that market that was being vacated on March 8 by Front Row Produce LLC. Coincidentally, Front Row is tripling its space by moving to a 60,000-square-foot facility.
Independent Fruit cites competition
ST. LOUIS — In the competitive sense, serving the St. Louis area foodservice business is “brutal,” in the view of Steve Wielansky, co-owner of Independent Fruit & Produce Co.
Customized service at Heimos
ST. LOUIS — Customized service is the key strength of Heimos Produce Co. Inc., located on the St. Louis Produce Market.
SNAP incentives driving produce sales
When Congress passed the farm bill earlier this year, they enhanced an incentive program for buying healthier foods by those using food stamps, also known as the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program.
Duda kicks off citrus import season with Southern Hemisphere fruit
Duda Farm Fresh Foods, based in Oviedo, FL, has a large variety of citrus items available now in promotable volumes for summer citrus categories nationwide.
From premium grapefruit varieties to a wide selection of oranges and specialty fruits from Florida, California, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa and Uruguay, including Meyer lemons, Duda is working with retail partners on customized programs to fit specific chain needs.
DNE summer citrus program runs strong to provide gap-free availability
“The summer citrus programs will see a slight increase over last season, mainly in Clementines and Navels,” said Kathy Hearl, marketing promotions manager for DNE World Fruit LLC in Fort Pierce, FL. “They are the most popular varieties in the summer citrus lineup and account for the majority of sales. Our summer citrus is available from Australia, South Africa, Chile and Peru between June and October, with a wide variety of citrus such as Navels, Clementines, Minneola’s, Mandarins and Cara Cara oranges.”
AMC Group covering the world with high-quality fruit
Miles Fraser-Jones, senior vice president of AMC Direct Inc. in Glassboro, NJ, the North American arm of the AMC Group, explained to The Produce News that the company is separated into three divisions that each has its own expertise and focus.
“AMC Direct is a vertically integrated company, in that we grow, pack and ship into the U.S. from various countries,” said Fraser-Jones. “We have production areas in Peru and Chile in South America, South Africa and in Spain, and product under this division is distributed across the U.S.