Latest News From Foodservice

MONTEREY, Calif. — With a revamped schedule that moved the expo to Saturday from Sunday, the 2019 Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference and Expo found big crowds and success.

Driscoll’s won the Best of Show award at the Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference and Expo, and Coastline Family Farms took second place.

Monterey, Calif. – Ted Allen, host of Food Network series Chopped, discussed his view on the future of food and what makes produce exciting at the Produce Marketing Association’s foodservice conference July 26.

It’s a refrain we’ve all probably said too many times in our careers: “We just need to tell our story ... to get the facts out.”

Mission Produce Inc., Oxnard, Calif., is offering a Size Interchangeability chart, giving foodservice operators information on avocado yields by size and preparation.

Monterey Mushrooms will introduce a 40-ounce bag of pre-sliced white mushrooms to foodservice customers at the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference and Expo.

Avocado grower-shipper Greenfruit Avocado, Newport Beach, Calif., is introducing new cartons at the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference and Expo.

Tracy Smith, cofounder and CEO of St. Augustine, Fla.-based Centerline Brackets, a steel support brackets manufacturer, will speak at the American Culinary Federation’s inaugural women’s symposium.

Church Brothers Farms, Salinas, Calif., is introducing Sweet Baby Broccoli, Tuscan Baby Romaine and Sandwich Ready Leaves at the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference and Expo.

Ocean Mist is bringing chef Christopher Vacca to the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference & Expo to create Tuscan Style Braised Baby Artichokes to sample on the show floor.

Growers Express, Salinas, Calif., has expanded a recall of vegetables after product testing resulted in another positive sample of Listeria monocytogenes.

Lori Taylor, owner and founder of The Produce Moms, was the featured speaker at a recent Dallas Fresh Food Association meeting.

Rich Dachman, former vice president of produce for Sysco Corp., is now the CEO of the nonprofit Brighter Bites.

Don Odiorne was honored with the first Champion Award from the Annapolis, Md.-based Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education for his help connecting the foodservice industry to culinary educators. 

Santa Paula, Calif.-based Limoneira Co. will feature its new campaign — Taking a Healthy Stand — at the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference and Expo in Monterey, Calif.

Oxnard, Calif.-based Mission Produce Inc. has expanded its avocados best practices guide for foodservice.

Santa Maria, Calif.-based Gold Coast Packing Inc. plans to add whole and halved Brussels sprouts to its line of specialty cut shredded Brussels sprouts by July 1, said salesman Dave Johnson.

Organic shishito and jalapeño peppers have become popular items among foodservice customers of Los Angeles-based 4Earth Farms, said Mark Munger, vice president of sales and marketing.

The Chuck Olsen Co. Inc., Visalia, Calif., has been stepping up its load consolidation service to better serve its customers and should see a big jump in grape volume this season, said Jeff Olsen, president.

Foodservice business continues to be the anchor of the fresh-cut operation at Oxnard, Calif.-based Boskovich Farms Fresh Cut Division Inc.

The timing couldn’t be better for Estero, Fla.-based Naturipe Farms LLC to step up its emphasis on foodservice.

Several commodity boards, councils and commissions are planning promotional activities aimed at foodservice this summer. Here’s a look at some of them.

If the admonishment “no dessert until you eat your vegetables” still haunts you from your childhood, you’ll be happy to know that you can indulge guilt free when you dine at New York City’s Gramercy Tavern.

A different schedule, a mobile app to match buyers and sellers and a series of a la carte education sessions are just a few of the new features at the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference and Expo.

Summer may not be the busiest season for foodservice sales, but most suppliers report steady business even as schools close and families take off for vacation.

The latest monthly survey of U.S. restaurant operators showed a slight decline in their business outlook compared to the previous study, but there was some positive news.

Richmond, Va.-based Performance Food Group Co. will acquire Rosemont, Ill.-based Reinhart Foodservice LLC from Reyes Holdings LLC in a $2 billion transaction.

The National Watermelon Promotion Board has promoted Megan McKenna from director of foodservice to senior director of marketing and foodservice.

The Mart Group LLC, which consists of four Idaho potato grower-shippers, has entered into a joint venture with onion grower ProSource Inc.

I remember sitting around the sales desk in the afternoon as we were reflecting on the day, and hearing “old-timers” talking about “how it used to be.” Now, I think I am one of them.

In language that supporters hope is included in the next Child Nutrition Act reauthorization, new legislation aims to make it easier for school foodservice directors to buy local food for student meals.

With the perishable nature of fresh produce, strong buyer-supplier relationships are critical to successfully get our foods from field to table.

CHICAGO — The Packer's Northeast editor, Amy Sowder, grabs Bronx, N.Y.-based Baldor Specialty Foods president Michael Muzyk at United Fresh to see what's on his mind.

CHICAGO — Students may be a captive audience at lunch time, but school foodservice officials say they want options and ideas from produce marketers to present fruits and vegetables to kids in an attractive way.

Church Brothers Farms, Salinas, Calif., has entered into partnership with FiveStar Gourmet Foods, which has value-added salads and packaged snacks for retail and a range of fresh-cut items for foodservice operators.

Naturipe Farms, Salinas, Calif., has appointed Jill Overdorf as director of business development for foodservice.

For foodservice operators, a new research report shows that Chilean lemons are in the right place at the right time.

Gold Coast Packing, Santa Maria., Calif., is adding to its on-trend Brussels sprouts line with whole and halved Brussels sprouts for foodservice customers.

Citrus suppliers will have plenty of product for retail and foodservice customers over the summer months, and they plan to promote them in numerous ways, particularly in stores.

Wendy’s Berry Burst Chicken Salad is back on menus, with a half-cup of fresh strawberries and blueberries in the full-size option.

Boggiatto Produce, Salinas, Calif., has changed its name to Hitchcock Farms in a rebranding.

The United Fresh Produce Excellence in Foodservice Award Program will honor eight chefs and foodservice professionals.

The Dallas Fresh Food Association has donated a salad bar to Faith Family Academy-Oak Cliff in Dallas.

Definitions of sustainability are in no short order, and while there is not a universal definition, many in agriculture see sustainability as achieving triple bottom line benefits to people, planet and profit.

Crunch Pak, which pioneered sliced apple availability at retail and foodservice, is introducing sliced and diced fresh-cut pears.

It’s happened with kale, avocado and cauliflower: Fresh produce trends move through a menu cycle in an established pattern of inception, adoption, proliferation and ubiquity.

Watermelon is seeing growth on restaurant menus, and more chefs and foodservice operators are turning to the National Watermelon Promotion Board for ideas.

California Giant Berry Farms has chosen the chefs who will participate in its second-annual Chef Invitational competition.

Bayer has pledged to donate $30,000 to the United Fresh Start Foundation to provide salad bars to four elementary schools in the Rosedale, Calif., school district. 

Avocados from Mexico anticipates record-breaking import volumes for Cinco de Mayo celebrations.