The Giant Co. announced Pennsylvania customers who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will now be able to shop online for both grocery pickup and delivery via Giant Direct and Martin’s Direct using their Pennsylvania EBT ACCESS card. The Giant Company plans to begin accepting SNAP benefits in the other three states where it operates stores — Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia — later this month.

“Making sure the communities we serve have access to nutritious food is at the core of who The Giant Company is and central to our purpose of connecting families for a

Side Delights is offering summer solutions for shoppers to help keep kitchens cool and recipes fresh.

Since the summer season began, recent headlines have focused on the record-breaking heat. On Aug. 1, the Weather Service predicted that most of the U.S. would likely continue to see above-average temperatures for the rest of the summer. 

“While warm weather brings barbecues and beach trips, consumers are looking for ways to avoid cooking in a hot kitchen,” said Kathleen Triou, president and CEO of Fresh Solutions Network. “Side Delights offers solutions with ‘cool-kitchen’ preparable

The Southeast Produce Council announced Aug. 2 that Brayden Browder is this year's SEPC Nolan Family Foundation Scholarship recipient. He is the son of Jon Browder of Pioneer Growers Cooperative.

Established to memorialize Jim Nolan, SEPC's Nolan Family Foundation Scholarship recipients receive a one-time scholarship of $5,000. All SEPC scholarships are awarded to applicants who meet the application criteria of having a parent or grandparent who is a corporate member in good standing with the SEPC. Applicants must be either graduating high school seniors or enrolled as college freshmen

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on four 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:

• DR Produce LLC

Bland Farms LLC, Battleboro Produce, Boyette Brothers Produce LLC and Sandyland Produce have announced a new partnership and sales company, Sand Candy Produce LLC. The four major sweet potato growers have partnered in Sand Candy Produce to focus on selling sweet potatoes grown in North Carolina and Georgia. With their respective packing facilities, each partner has the ability to pack bins, boxes, and bags with sizes ranging from two to 10 pounds, including shrink wrap and microwave.

The company will have its main office in Battleboro, NC, and will handle sales for more than 10,000 acres of

Fortune Growers, a leading broccoli producer in Mexico, and ec2ce, an agriculture technology company based in Spain, will collaborate to deploy advanced predictive analytics in the broccoli sector in Mexico to improve operations by maximizing high-quality products for the export market.

The prediction of broccoli productivity and cycle-optimum harvest timing will improve commercialization of vegetable production from different farms and varieties planted, as well as harvesting and logistics operations to match supply and demand with superior food-safety compliance.

Another project being