Latest News From Local

Kroger reveals winners of second annual Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator
Kroger reveals winners of second annual Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator

As part of its ongoing efforts to expand the local, fresh offerings in its stores, the Cincinnati-based company has named the winners of its second annual Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator program.

New Got to Be NC logo revealed 
New Got to Be NC logo revealed 

Consumers can look for a new Got to Be NC logo with the official roll-out of the latest branding campaign by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Marketing Division.

Joe Watson
Try these strategies to promote local summer produce

Even retailers well-versed in handling local programs can fine-tune their strategies. Retail expert Joe Watson has you covered.

Hy-Vee spotlights local produce
Hy-Vee spotlights local produce

Hy-Vee gives a starring role to produce across a variety of platforms.

USDA, Colorado sign first cooperative agreement for the local procurement of food
USDA, Colorado sign first cooperative agreement for the local procurement of food

The USDA has announced that it has signed its first cooperative agreement under the new Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) with the Colorado Department of Human Services.

Foodshed.io helps Schnucks to celebrate its biggest local produce season
Foodshed.io helps Schnucks to celebrate its biggest local produce season

Schnuck Markets, Inc., in partnership with Foodshed.io, is celebrating its most expansive local produce season since it was founded in 1939. 

Packer Insight — Infrastructure bill, buy local campaigns, retail strategy
Packer Insight — Infrastructure bill, buy local campaigns, retail strategy

The Packer's editor-in-chief Tom Karst, Northeast editor Amy Sowder and retail editor Ashley Nickle discuss some of the big topics of the week, from the new infrastructure bill to buy local campaigns to retail strategy.

Amy Sowder
The Great Berry Debate

Is bigger better? Can big berries still taste as sweet as those tiny powerhouses? And does local matter more in the case of berry flavor?

Side Delights share insights on shopper demand to support local
Side Delights share insights on shopper demand to support local

Side Delights shares farming insights from their Network of family-owned farms and why shoppers prefer locally grown, family-farmed food

Bronx, N.Y.-based Baldor Specialty Foods created a Peak Season Box for home delivery.
Baldor Specialty Foods starts Peak Season Box for home delivery

For home delivery, Baldor Specialty Foods, Bronx, N.Y., has created a Peak Season Box of fresh fruits and vegetables in their prime time.

Conversations at WCPE: Jewel-Osco’s Scott Bennett on creating excitement in stores
Conversations at WCPE: Jewel-Osco’s Scott Bennett on creating excitement in stores

Scott Bennett, produce sales and merchandising manager for Jewel-Osco, will discuss in at the online West Coast Produce Expo how he has approached continuing to create excitement in stores despite the pandemic.

Monthly USDA seminar focuses on local food during pandemic
Monthly USDA seminar focuses on local food during pandemic

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is hosting web seminars every third Monday of the month on how local food systems can respond to needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Applications open for local food grants

The Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture are inviting communities to apply for technical assistance to help promote local foods.

Introducing the Produce Artist Award Series
Introducing the Produce Artist Award Series

Are you a produce merchandiser or specialist who takes pride and joy in your work? We created the new Produce Artist Award Series to recognize you.

Wish Farms’ local campaign supports charity, Florida businesses
Wish Farms’ local campaign supports charity, Florida businesses

Berry grower Wish Farms, Plant City, Fla., is encouraging consumers to support their local Florida businesses affected by the pandemic.

Lipman Local program supports smaller growers
Lipman Local program supports smaller growers

Lipman Family Farms, Immokalee, Fla., is celebrating 10 years of its Lipman Local program, but the company has worked with smaller local farms before that program began.

 SWFL Fresh promotes Southwest Florida products in pandemic
SWFL Fresh promotes Southwest Florida products in pandemic

Reviving an idea that promoted Florida produce following a natural disaster, the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences has a new “buy local” program, SWFL Fresh.

Freight Farms, Sodexo plan brings container farms to colleges

Container farm manufacturer Freight Farms and Sodexo have plans to bring hydroponic vertical farms to schools and universities across the U.S.

Side Delights releases ‘Journey of a Potato’ video

Side Delights, San Francisco, is launching “Journey of a Potato,” an educational video for consumers and buyers.

Pro*Act names Cultivating Change farm grant recipients

Pro*Act has chosen 14 recipients for the latest round of Cultivating Change Local Farm Grant Program, boosting their food safety, sustainability and wholesale readiness efforts.

PA Veggies launches new state-wide directories
PA Veggies launches new state-wide directories

PA Veggies has launched four news directories as an enhancement to the available listing at paveggies.org to service farmers, consumers and wholesale buyers.

Grimmway Farms brings 50th anniversary to Fresh Summit
Grimmway Farms brings 50th anniversary to Fresh Summit

Grimmway Farms is celebrating its 50th anniversary on the road at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit in Anaheim, Calif.

Larger Farm Journal Initiative Focuses On Conservation, Education
Larger Farm Journal Initiative Focuses On Conservation, Education

The Voice of the Farmer is a new exhibit located on the National Mall. It's just one component of a larger initiative called, “America’s Conservation Ag. Movement.”

Amy Sowder
Help shoppers make their summer peach dreams come true

You’d think I’d know how to pick a good peach by now.

Stemilt gives cherries for spitting, funds for students
Stemilt gives cherries for spitting, funds for students

Wenatchee, Wash.-based Stemilt Growers donated cherries to the Wenatchee Valley Fourth of July cherry spitting contest and donated funds to the Washington Apple Education Foundation.

California Avocado Commission takes over Little Italy Food Hall
California Avocado Commission takes over Little Italy Food Hall

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Restaurants in the Little Italy Food Hall will feature avocado-centric dishes in June, and 19 food writers got an early taste of the creativity during a California Avocado Commission event.

Abby Prior, vice president of business development for Irvington, N.Y.-based Bright Farms, shows off Fresh Kick, a salad blend launched this summer that includes mustard greens for a horseradish-like bite.
BrightFarms plans significant growth

Bright Farms used its Fresh Summit booth to show off its locally grown leafy greens products and to share its plans for expansion.

Rutter’s convenience stores now offer local produce
Rutter’s convenience stores now offer local produce

Convenience store chain Rutter’s has added local fruits and vegetables to its retail and foodservice offerings.

Local food still has big draw
Local food still has big draw

New studies report local food continues to have a strong grip on U.S. consumers.

New York marketing program helps consumers find local produce
New York marketing program helps consumers find local produce

The New York State Grown & Certified program aims to make it easy for the state’s consumers to find New York-grown fruits and vegetables.

Thomas Fresh debuts stone fruit from Okanagan Valley
Thomas Fresh debuts stone fruit from Okanagan Valley

Calgary, Alberta-based Thomas Fresh has started marketing cherries, peaches and nectarines from the Okanagan valley in British Columbia.

It’s peach time in the Garden State
It’s peach time in the Garden State

New Jersey’s peach season has officially started.

Canada’s Loblaw’s pledges to buy local

Canadian retailer Loblaw Cos. Ltd. is signaling a huge commitment to local growers, pledging to spend $150 million more each year by 2025, buying local produce and curtailing imports when possible.

Loblaws plans to support Canadian growers by buying their produce; the retailer is pledging millions of dollars to aid in infrastructure costs for greenhouses and other season-extending measures.
Canada’s Loblaw’s pledges to buy local

Canadian retailer Loblaw Cos. Ltd. is signaling a huge commitment to local growers, pledging to spend $150 million more each year by 2025, buying local produce and curtailing imports when possible.

'Find Jersey Fresh' launches
'Find Jersey Fresh' launches

“Find Jersey Fresh” is the new focus and web tool for the state’s long-running and successful Jersey Fresh promotional campaign.

N.J. ag secretary harvests Jersey Fresh asparagus
N.J. ag secretary harvests Jersey Fresh asparagus

To promote the Jersey Fresh produce season, New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher harvested asparagus at Sheppard Farms in Lawrence Township, N.J.

Lucky’s focusing on local with new director
Lucky’s focusing on local with new director

Lucky’s Market has named Tim Overlie to director of local.

Black Gold Farms harvests Texas red potatoes
Black Gold Farms harvests Texas red potatoes

Black Gold Farms started harvesting its red potato crop in Pearsall, Texas, this week, the second year in a row with an early start.

MountainKing harvesting Texas red potatoes
MountainKing harvesting Texas red potatoes

Houston-based MountainKing Potatoes has started harvesting new crop red potatoes in Texas.

New Jersey to recognize best farm-to-school grower

The New Jersey’s Department of Agriculture’s Jersey Fresh Farm to School Week, will regocnize a grower farm-to-school efforts.

Florida locations of the sandwich chain will be emphasizing its locally sourced ingredients.
Subway to feature Florida produce

Subway has partnered with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to promote its use of tomatoes, cucumbers and green peppers from Florida.

Regional apple varieties garner attention
Regional apple varieties garner attention

Shiny new apple varieties get a lot of attention, but locally grown legacy varieties still generate plenty of sales and enhance the health of the category in general, marketers say.

Go behind the scenes at NatureFresh Farms’ Ohio greenhouse
Go behind the scenes at NatureFresh Farms’ Ohio greenhouse

Leamington, Ontario-based NatureFresh Farms gave public tours at its Delta, Ohio greenhouse this week.

New Yorkers crunch into local apples
New Yorkers crunch into local apples

Millions of New Yorkers simultaneously ate locally grown apples during the fifth annual Big Apple Crunch.

<p>Bright Farms logo vertical</p>
BrightFarms recalls leafy greens from retailers

BrightFarms is recalling fresh lettuces and herbs and herbs grown at its Chicago-area greenhouse for potentially being tainted with E. coli.

Lipman expands farming network in North Carolina
Lipman expands farming network in North Carolina

Lipman Family Farms has partnered with North Carolina-based Table Fare Farms.

Hy-Vee, Pinky Swear Foundation raises $882,000 for kids with cancer
Hy-Vee, Pinky Swear Foundation raises $882,000 for kids with cancer

West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee Inc. and Pinky Swear Foundation have raised more than $882,000 to help children who have cancer.

Though many people might associate local produce with summer deals, NatureFresh Farms has Ohio Red tomatoes available during the winter from its Ohio greenhouse.
Ohio growers question contract terms on local deal

“Local” has been a buzzword in the produce industry for years, and the trend has allowed consumers to take advantage of fresher foods and allowed retailers to reduce transportation costs.

With red delicious production in decline across the country, Michigan growers say volumes of galas, fujis and Honeycrisps are on the rise, with young trees coming into production and plantings increasing.
Michigan retailers play up local angle

Before Michigan produce makes it to retail, some Michigan retailers first visit their suppliers’ growing operations.

 Carolinas’ crop diversity good for locally grown
Carolinas’ crop diversity good for locally grown

Carolina consumers who want to eat fruits and vegetables grown close to home have plenty to choose from, marketers say.