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Jill Dutton

Jill Dutton, associate editor of The Packer, specializes in retail produce news, market trends and urban farming initiatives. With expertise in the rapidly evolving e-grocery landscape, she provides analysis on how digital platforms are reshaping food distribution. Jill is a prominent voice on sustainability and consumer trends, offering actionable insights that help businesses navigate shifting market demands. Her work explores the full produce journey — from farm to retail — featuring grower profiles, supply chain insights and emerging production models that shape American food systems.

Latest Stories
After weathering a volatile winter, this year’s Vidalia onion crop has proven its hardiness through expert field management and innovative technology, ensuring that Georgia’s officially protected sweet onions will be ready for arrival.
In recognition of the International Year of the Woman Farmer, Elyse Lipman discusses the essential, often-unseen role women play in agriculture and how their leadership is vital to the industry’s future.
By integrating high-yield Flex Farms directly into classrooms, Fork Farms is turning schools into localized food hubs that improve student nutrition, foster intergenerational healthy eating habits and create a sustainable pipeline for the future agricultural workforce.
The company is shuttering underperforming locations and launching a business optimization plan to stabilize its finances after noncash impairment charges led to a $218.2 million quarterly net loss.
Programs that spark curiosity about fruits and vegetables, whether classroom tastings to space-bound tomato seeds, show how early exposure can shape children’s willingness to try more plants.
Driven by a convenience economy, the fresh produce industry is pivoting toward high-velocity, value-added products that eliminate prep time while delivering restaurant-quality experiences.
According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, 45,244 women producers operate across the state, managing 11.5 million acres of farms and ranches that contribute $22.2 billion in agricultural sales.
The new purpose-driven banana brand from Fyffes empowers women in agriculture through its Partnership for Good, an initiative providing business training and economic autonomy to rural communities in Costa Rica.
According to PRS In Vivo Sensory Room lab research, frustration-free packaging is more than just a nice perk because it gives a competitive edge to brands that support neurodivergent shoppers, making life easier for all shoppers as a result.
New research shows produce maintaining volume strength in a tighter food economy, even as GLP-1 usage, declining calorie intake and generational differences reshape how consumers define and shop for health.