The Fresh Produce & Floral Council, which was launched more than 65 years ago as a Southern California organization, has completed a major rebranding effort and is also expanding its events calendar into the Arizona market.

“We are holding an Arizona Golf tournament over the Veteran’s Day Weekend at the Phoenician Golf Club in Scottsdale,” said FPFC President Don Gann. “The goal is to expand our outreach to Arizona to increase our value to our membership.”

Gann said early signups for the event are very encouraging, including some Arizona-based retailers. “We are going to hold this event and

ALDI has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket as part of a larger divestiture of Southeastern Grocers to various entities. The acquisition continues the growth of ALDI, expanding its ability to serve the region with great products at the lowest possible prices. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024.

“Like ALDI, Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket have long histories and many loyal customers in the Southeast and we look forward to serving them in the years to come,” said Jason Hart, CEO of ALDI. “The time was right to build

The Kroger Co. and 80 Acres Farms, a leading global vertical farming company, are working together to bring fresh, clean produce to more households.

80 Acres Farms has been a supplier to Kroger since 2019, starting with a single store in downtown Cincinnati and growing to more than 300 stores across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky in 2021. The company plans to serve about 1,000 Kroger stores across the Midwest and Southeast.

"At Kroger, we believe everyone deserves access to fresh, delicious food," said Dan De La Rosa, Kroger's group vice president of fresh merchandising. "80 Acres' unique

The U.S. Department of Agriculture filed an administrative complaint against Heyvel Produce LLC for alleged violations of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. The company, operating from Texas, allegedly failed to make payment promptly to one produce seller in the amount of $405,163 from June 2022 through July 2022.

Heyvel will have an opportunity to request a hearing. Should USDA find that the company committed repeated and flagrant violations, it would be barred from the produce industry as a licensee for three years, or two years with the posting of a USDA-approved surety bond

The Kroger Co. announced a commitment to offer more resources to more associates following the completion of its proposed merger with Albertsons Cos.

As part of this commitment, Kroger will provide more than 700,000 part-time and full-time associates access to its continuing education benefit, which offers up to $21,000 of reimbursement toward higher learning or continued development. The combined company will also expand access to its Goldman Sachs Ayco financial coaching tool. These programs build on the previously stated commitment that the combined company will invest $1 billion to

This is summer salad time and lettuce is the main ingredient.

Lettuce originated in ancient Egypt where it was first cultivated. Then the Romans and Greeks learned how to grow it from the Egyptians. Eventually, lettuce made its way around the world to where it became popular in the modern produce department of every grocery store and restaurant.

The U. S. consumer is the biggest purchaser of lettuce, and the American farmers grow some of the best product in the world.

Some of the best conventional and organic lettuce is grown on Salinas, CA, farms. There is a current moderate supply on a