C&C Produce services military families, employs successful chef demos
Five years ago, C&C Produce began supplying one of the government commissaries with a full line of produce. At present, the company services a total of six commissaries: Fort Leavenworth, Fort Leonardwood, Fort Riley, Offutt Air Force Base, Whiteman Air Force Base and McConnell Air Force Base.
FPFC tour gives retail and foodservice community an upclose look at the Salinas Valley
A busload of retailers, foodservice operators, suppliers and allied industry toured the Salinas Valley as part of a Fresh Produce & Floral Council tour held Wednesday, June 1.
The tour was designed to give retail and foodservice personnel a first-hand look at the production element of some of the products they sell and promote.
Three operations -- California Florida Plant Co., California Giant and Monterey Mushrooms -- were included in the full-day program.
Dan Sims to retire from Westlake Produce Co.
Westlake Produce Co. in Los Angeles announced the retirement of Dan Sims, one of four partners, effective June 30.
Mr. Sims' father, Joseph Sims, founded Brooks & Sims with William I. Brooks in 1962. Dan Sims and William I. Brooks son Bill ran the business from the early 1980s until its merger with Westlake-Miller in 2001, which led to the formation of Westlake-Miller/Brooks & Sims.
Webinar to explore opportunities presented by dietary guidelines
Government, public relations and industry experts will be on hand June 28 when the Produce Marketing Association offers a Fresh Produce Academy webinar entitled "Taste, Convenience, Profits: Marketing the New Dietary Guidelines to Increase Produce Consumption."
The webinar will explore the marketing potential of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans released earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The updated dietary guidelines strongly emphasize that consumers increase their daily intake of fruits and vegetables.
Watermelon supplies are expanding toward July 4
Watermelon volumes were building just before the Memorial Day holiday, with volumes expected to be adequate for demand in the early days of June.
Watermelon prices on the verge of the Memorial Day holiday were "substantially higher" than those of the Memorial Day of 2004, "although prices are higher because there is not enough volume, Lloyd Rosen of Wm. Manis Produce Marketing Co. in Plant City, FL, said May 24.
Scott Gorczyca puts his best foot forward at Baloian Packing
Scott Gorczyca gets a kick out of just about everything he does, including his new job in sales at Baloian Packing in Fresno, CA. The former fullback at Arizona State University in Tempe tackles every task with enthusiasm, whether it's promoting the full line of commodities for the grower-shipper-packer he joined this spring or when he would help his father shoe horses as a youngster back in Arizona, where he grew up.
Vidalia Onion Committee manager moving on
Jeffery Hall, who has helped guide the Vidalia Onion Committee in Vidalia, GA, during the past year as manager after the organization was left reeling from a corruption scandal perpetrated by its prior manager, Tina Wheeler, will resign to take a position with National Onion Lab Inc. in nearby Collins, GA.
Northwest cherries: First drop a big one but will likely result in bigger fruit
The "nuances" of what happened during pollination and cold weather earlier this season brought about a mid-May first drop of Northwest cherries that B.J. Thurlby of the Washington State Fruit Commission called "the most severe in 10 years.
But Mr. Thurlby was quick to add this year's crop, while not the 13 million-plus boxes originally estimated, will hit between 11 million and 11.5 million boxes, "right where it was last year, when it was one of the larger crops on record.
Fresh Kist employee honored by Birds Eye Fresh
Stephanie Zarati, a saleswoman with Santa Maria, CA-based Fresh Kist Produce LLC, received an award from Birds Eye Fresh for outstanding sales in the first quarter of 2005 in a June 6 ceremony at Fresh Kist.
Fresh Kist is a supplier to Birds Eye Fresh, the fresh division of Birds Eye Foods. A representative of Birds Eye Fresh was on hand to present to Ms. Zarati a glass plate denoting her accomplishment as the top salesperson of Birds Eye Fresh products for the quarter, said Josh Wong, marketing director for Fresh Kist.
INDUSTRY VIEWPOINT: Public policy impact on produce -- how promotion and regulation affect industry
In the daily grind of commerce, it's easy to lose sight of the larger picture of how public policy can affect the ebb and flow of the produce business. Long days of harvesting, packing and shipping, or working out the logistics of deliveries, don't often leave time for contemplating how larger issues affect the business. Those of us involved in public policy must be mindful that the way in which we approach nutrition policy has a direct effect on the health of not only our residents but on our produce business as well.