During a White House event with First Lady Michelle Obama, Sesame Workshop and Produce Marketing Association announced that they are forming a collaboration committed to increasing children's consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The collaboration is part of a commitment to the Partnership for a Healthier America, which works with the private sector and PHA Honorary Chair Michelle Obama to broker commitments to help end the childhood obesity epidemic.

WASHINGTON -- Western Growers Association's top executive joined a handful of leaders Oct. 29, here, in a panel discussion on immigration reform as part of an all-out push to gather enforcement, faith-based and business leaders to call on the U.S. House to pass reform this year.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce organized more than 600 conservative leaders from nearly 40 states to visit more than 100 Capitol Hill offices, all part of "Americans for Reform: Immigration Reform for our Economy, Faith and Security."

Treating consumers to tasty new avocado-enriched snack, the maker of "Wholly Guacamole" brand is adding bean dips to its line of pre-packaged dips, which also includes "Wholly Salsa" products.

While much better than normal pricing remains for many vegetable items from the West, only cauliflower seems to be commanding the stratospheric prices of mid-October.

"There just still isn't much flower around," said Mark Sergent, chief executive officer of S&S Marketing & Sales Inc., a buying broker and distributor based in Salinas, CA.

He said the leaf lettuce items came off their $20-plus markets, though most items were still returning better than a $10 bill on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

Johnston Farms in Edison, CA, which grows several varieties of Mandarins in addition to Navel oranges, packed mainly under the company’s “Blue Jay” brand, is finding that its Satsuma Mandarins are continuing to grow in popularity.

Dennis Johnston, a partner in the company, attributes that growing popularity to the high flavor of the variety.

This summer, Paramount Citrus Cooperative in Delano, CA, announced two major expansions in its citrus program.

As reported previously in The Produce News, three weeks after disclosing that it had ended its joint venture with Sun Pacific Marketing Cooperative in Pasadena, CA, to market Mandarins under the “Cuties” brand, Paramount announced in a press release June 10 “the launch of a new premium California Mandarin brand, ‘Wonderful Halos,’ and revealed plans to spend a record $100 million over the next five years” to promote and market the new brand.