announced that Joseph Wodyka, veteran in the CPG and beverage industries, has joined the team as vice president of sales and marketing. Wodyka comes to Nichols Farms with more than two decades as a sales and marketing leader from Wonderful Pistachios and Almonds and GT’s Living Foods.

Just in time for National Guacamole Day on Sept. 16 and in celebration of the kickoff of the Division I college football season, the makers of the Wholly Guacamole brand — the ultimate game-day dip — are giving college football fans a reason to cheer louder than ever. The makers of Wholly Guacamole foods are giving one lucky fan a shot at guacamole glory with a national sweepstakes that’s worth a whole lot of green — a package valued at $10,000 and a year’s supply of Wholly Guacamole products.

Kroger is collaborating with Performance Kitchen to offer medically tailored meals. This will be the first time Kroger Health is offering evidence-based, registered dietitian approved meals that will offer nutrition intervention for people who are living with various health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

As another Idaho potato season dawns, premier grower-shipper Wada Farms touts more than the quality of its potatoes as it pitches its services to the buyer community.

Hapco Farms, a leading East Coast vegetable shipper, is expanding its operations to include a new West Coast office under the direction of industry veteran Scott Norman.

Norman joined the Westhampton, NY-based company on Sept. 5 as a procurement and sales associate, and will operate from an office in the Salinas, CA, area where he lives. In his new role, he will be responsible for procuring fruits and vegetables from the West Coast and Mexico, and he will also handle sales west of the Rocky Mountains.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on three produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA.

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry: