Maryland produce industry beefs up resiliency

Cautiously optimistic is the feeling of at least one produce wholesaler at the heart of the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area, while state officials are taking action to beef up the supply chain’s resiliency amid crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Foodservice is coming back, but we are cautiously anticipating what happens this autumn, if the Delta variant affects indoor dining,” said Anthony “Tony” Vitrano, president of Tony Vitrano Co., based at the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market in Jessup, Md.

Almost 30 firms operate from the market terminal. Vitrano’s company distributes fresh fruits and vegetables to the region, including foodservice companies that count schools and universities as customers.

“The DC-Baltimore area is home to a number of colleges, so hopefully that should lead to more business,” he said.

Besides the improvements necessary during the pandemic, the company has upgraded its security system and keeps adding to its truck fleet.

Resiliency means finding customers wherever they are in this ever-changing climate.

This urban Mid-Atlantic region is home to a large immigrant population.

“So, serving them requires carrying a number of items that were considered specialty items in the past, but now are part of our regular inventory,” Vitrano said.

Maryland's General Assembly has created a Food System Resiliency Council to find solutions to the problems of 2020 and 2021, said Mark Powell, chief of agriculture and seafood marketing at Maryland Department of Agriculture.

The council is co-chaired by Russ Strickland, executive director of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, and Heather Bruskin of the Montgomery County Food Council, a nonprofit organization based in Bethesda, Md.

“This council is looking at what the pandemic did to the state's food distribution systems,” Powell said.

The council has convened virtually June 24 and July 30 so far.

At the most recent meeting, experts gave several presentations:

• Food access programming;
• Regional approach to feeding response during COVID-19;
• Food as critical infrastructure; and
• UMES Extension Small Farms Program.

Also, the state is implementing a new law, the Certified Local Farm Enterprise Program, Powell said.

“This requires that vendors selling to Maryland state institutions,” he said, such as prisons, and universities, “aim for a 20% goal of products from the farmers on our certified farmer list.”

This program requires that farmers on the list meet Maryland’s nutrient management law.