Parker Farms has been giving back to the community for nearly half a century. The idea of Zero Waste has been part of the Parker business philosophy since its founding in 1974. Through food bank donations and gleaning events Parker goes to great lengths to assure that no food goes to waste.

Today, Parker is proud to work closely with Healthy Harvest, the Northern Neck of Virginia Food Bank and is happy to be its single largest supplier of fresh produce. The hundreds of thousands of pounds of vegetables donated by Parker Farms has helped Healthy Harvest meet its goal of providing local

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas held its annual membership meeting earlier this month at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort to talk about FPAA activities for the year, to talk about upcoming efforts and to hear about the efforts of the board and staff.

The meeting was held just prior to the start of the SouthWest International Produce Expo and the 54th Annual Golf Tournament. As part of the annual meeting, FPAA members elected new directors to the board.

FPAA Chairman Rod Sbragia of Crown Jewels Produce led the meeting and talked about the importance of member participation on the

Monterey Mushrooms announced that George Haggar has been appointed president of Monterey Fresh. He will work alongside Monterey Mushrooms’ founder and CEO Shah Kazemi. Haggar will relocate from Australia to the U.S. to lead the fresh mushroom production business, which operates eight growing sites throughout North America.

Over its 50-plus year history, Kazemi and the Monterey Mushrooms team have built the company to become a leading platform in the global mushroom industry — the highest volume producer of fresh mushrooms in North America, a global leader in the development and

SpartanNash announced the appointment of Fred Bentley to the board of directors. The company refreshed its board in 2022 with the addition of three independent directors who replaced three directors who did not seek reelection. This year, Bentley is the second independent director to join the board, following the August appointment of Kerrie MacPherson.

"Fred is a well-rounded leader and seasoned CEO with global supply chain, food and manufacturing experience that will be highly additive to our board," said SpartanNash Board Chairman Douglas Hacker.

Since 2016, Bentley has held the position

In celebration of National Philanthropy Day, California Giant Berry Farms announced the distribution of $53,500 to 10 nonprofit organizations via its own philanthropic initiative, The California Giant Foundation. The funds are a culmination of the fundraising efforts throughout the year—including California Giant’s Skirt Steak barbecue, a celebrated community tradition—and yearlong office-wide initiatives, spearheaded by an enthusiastic volunteer committee of California Giant employees.

“California Giant’s mission is to deliver high quality berries and nourish our communities, and as we

Save A Lot CEO Leon Bergmann has resigned from the company. Current Board Member Fred Boehler has stepped in to serve as interim CEO as the board of directors initiates a search for Bergmann's replacement.

Boehler brings over 30 years of experience in the industry, including serving as president and CEO of Americold Logistics from 2015 to 2021.

Bergmann joined the company as CEO in February of 2022. At the time he brought more than 20 years of experience in the grocery and wholesale industries. Prior to Save A Lot he served as CEO of Harvest Sherwood Food Distributors, where he executed a