North Carolina produces reds, yellow flesh and round white potato varieties that are known for their versatility, as they can be baked, broiled, fried or mashed.

“Our potatoes are known as ‘new’ potatoes and have bright skins that consumers love,” said Matt Luks, marketing specialist with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, who serves as advisor to the North Carolina Potato Association. “Approximately 70 percent are grown for potato chip markets for the Eastern U.S. and Eastern Canada and approximately 30 percent for table/fresh market for grocery chains.”

Southeastern Grocers Inc. launched its seventh annual community donation program in support of Folds of Honor, a dedicated nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to the families of fallen and disabled military members.

From now until June 18, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie customers can pay tribute to U.S. military heroes while shopping at their local stores by donating or rounding up their grocery bill to the nearest dollar at checkout.

Damian Russo, the longtime president of Russo Farms, who helped modernize the company, died on May 12 after a long battle with cancer. He was 64.

Mr. Russo was born Sept. 18, 1959, to the late Pasquale (Charlie) and Mary (DeMaria) Russo. After graduating from Villanova University, he later went to work at Russo Farms, which was founded about 104 years ago.

Building on the momentum of its new initiative, “The Apeel Leverage,” Apeel Sciences launched its second pillar, “Helping You Sell More.” Apeel’s technologies are designed to significantly enhance retail profitability and consumer satisfaction through its plant-based coating that extends the shelf life of produce while reducing the frequency of restocks and spoilage, creating more sellable fruit.

Prima Frutta Packing is a family-owned business based in Linden, CA, that packs high-quality cherries using the latest packaging technologies to ship across the U.S. and internationally. It was founded in 1991 by Tim Sambado to pack the produce from orchards on and around the family’s ranch, which is marketed by Primavera Marketing, also run by the family.

As the new Secretary of Agriculture for New Jersey, I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself and share a bit of my background and some of the vision I have for advancing New Jersey’s agriculture industry — particularly the produce industry.