Okanagan Specialty Fruits, the pioneering agricultural company behind the nonbrowning Arctic apple, honored Barbara Ortega, a security guard in California who has been working on the frontlines to protect produce and people during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the winner of the Arctic apples Mother’s Day giveaway, Ortega received a 12-month subscription to a monthly beauty box tailored to her preferences.

Entrants nominated moms to win by submitting photographs on Facebook using #arcticapplescontest and tagging the Arctic apples Facebook page. Barbara was nominated by Michelle, her daughter’s

The closing general session of United Fresh LIVE! featured a bevy of association executives discussing the worldwide produce industry’s herculean effort during the pandemic and predicting that that the future is very bright for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, though they also saw plenty of challenges on the road ahead.

The panel consisted of the top staff executive and volunteer leaders from five different organization:President & CEO Tom StenzelandChairman Michael Muzyk of Baldor Specialty Foods fromUnited Fresh Produce Association; CEO Cathy Burns andChairman Joe Don Zetzsche of

L&M Cos. executes a 52-week green Bell pepper program.

“We are proud of our offerings in that we farm in a lot of the windows our competition does not,” said Jon Shriver, sales and operations manager for the Raleigh, NC-based company. “This makes fresh and new crops more available to our retail, wholesale and foodservice partners. We also overlap in multiple regions so that when Mother Nature comes into play, we don’t have all of our eggs in one basket.”

As L&M Farms, the company has been farming in East Palatka, FL, for more than 30 years, with Bell pepper always one of its staples.

“We

Marking its 16th year recognizing exceptional retail produce managers, United Fresh Produce Association honored its 2020 Retail Produce Manager Awards Program winners during the Retail-Foodservice LIVE! General Session. The group of 25 produce managers represents supermarket banners, commissaries and independent retail stores from 16 different states and Canada.

Sponsored by Dole Food Co., the program pays special recognition to produce managers working every day on the front line to increase sales and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Since the program’s inception in 2005, over 325

Though it was acknowledged that the USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program had some initial challenges, the program is apparently delivering hundreds of thousands of produce boxes to needy recipients every week and is working much better than many expected.

That was the overarching view of many participants who tuned in to a live, informal discussion on the topic on Wednesday morning, June 17, during United Fresh 2020 LIVE. 

Mollie Van Lieu, senior director of nutrition policy for United Fresh, led the discussion and reported that 16 million boxes of agricultural products had been

A year-round distributor since 1990, and a grower-packer since 1925, Henry Avocado has established many important partnerships, yet none more important nor timely than those involved in strengthening its product purity from sourcing to distribution from a number of sources.

Luke Varvel, food safety manager, and Jorge Tostado, sanitation manager, have linked their responsibilities to give Henry an around-the-clock regimen that is among the finest in the fresh produce industry.

First, Henry upgraded its sanitation program in 2019, that was developed under the guidance of Justin Kerr at Factor