California cherries mark the onset of the cherry season, eagerly awaited worldwide. Beginning in mid-May and typically concluding in early June, the short California cherry season garners anticipation among cherry lovers, as retailers clamor to get what they need for their store shelves.

Among commercially cultivated fruits, cherries stand out as the last to bloom and the first to be harvested each year.

Mexican grapes are one of the strongest production areas for Grapeco Farms, a Delano, CA-based company that was founded by industry veterans Jared Lane and Robert Cadena.

“We have a large amount of grapes from start to finish, and it’s one of the better varietal makeups,” said Lane, who serves as CEO of the company. “We’ve been redeveloping and planting new vineyards in a huge abundance over the last 4-6 years.”

Grapeco is one of the first farms to get started with the early sheet, and also one of the last to finish.

This year, 25 million households plan to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, and most plan to do so by going out, according to Numerator’s 2024 U.S. Annual Holiday Preview. Between restaurant dining and ordering delivery, the foodservice industry is expecting to serve at least 49 percent of Cinco celebrators.

With Cinco de Mayo falling on a Sunday this year, restaurants can incorporate Cinco-themed dishes into their Sunday brunch.

The annual Mexico Table Grapes Spring Summit will take place April 20 at Hotel Pendry in San Diego, CA.

Matthews Ridgeview Farms, a fifth-generation, family-owned grower and distributor, is known for offering high-quality sweet potatoes.

The Wynee, AR-based company grows, packs and ships sweet potatoes in bulk and value-added packaging, and with a century of history behind it, the company is well-versed on the intricacies of the industry.

That will be on full display when Matthews Ridgeview Farms is represented at this year’s Viva Fresh Expo. Attending will be Sales Manager Autumn Campbell and Sarah Peevey.

Church Bros. Farms is a vertically integrated family-owned and operated company that produces a full line of fresh vegetables year-round with an in-house farming/harvest program and state-of-the-art processing plant, True Leaf Farms.