Produce companies respond to needs during pandemic

Produce companies are finding new ways to distribute food during the pandemic, as well as changing plans in the face of how the consumers are buying food now.

The following companies are a few with recent news on how they’re changing plans and meeting needs of consumers.

Avocados From Mexico

Avocados From Mexico has a digital program encouraging consumers to make guacamole to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, with restaurants closed to dine-in customers during the pandemic.

Homemade Cinco, which began in mid-April and continues through May 6, gives consumers the chance to win $500 while showcasing their guacamole-making skills. Consumers are invited to spin an “ingredient wheel,” and then offers recipes with the ingredient. Through e-commerce platform Chicory, consumers are given the opportunity to purchase the ingredient, according to an Avocados from Mexico release.

Consumers who post their guacamole with the hashtag #HomemadeCinco. #Guacamole and #Sweetstakes and tag @AvocdosFromMexico are entered into the grand-prize contest, and daily prizes of $50.

“Our Cinco de Mayo campaign is an invitation to celebrate at home with our immediate family in new ways, and to find some joy in the midst of the current situation,” Alvaro Luque, president and CEO of Avocados from Mexico, said in the release.

Chestnut Hill Farms

Chestnut Hill Farms LLC, Coral Gables, Fla., has donated almost 70,000 pounds of pineapples to food banks in the Houston and Philadelphia areas.

In April, with help from gleaning organization Society of St. Andrews donated about 9,000 pounds of fresh pineapples to Share Food Program, Philadelphia and about 58,000 pounds of pineapples to the Houston Food Bank, with the assistance of Houston Refrigerated Logistics, according to a news release from Chestnut Hill Farms.

“We at Chestnut Hill Farms feel an obligation to help others, especially in times like these when so many are experiencing food insecurity, and we are grateful for the help we received in delivering this fruit to those in need,” Raul Romero, president of Chestnut Hill Farms, said in the release.

Crowley Logistics/Caribbean Produce Exchange

Crowley Logistics and Caribbean Produce Exchange Inc., a Puerto Rican produce distributor, distributed fresh produce from Puerto Rican farmers and other items to Puerto Rican and Hispanic communities in New York City.

The container had 16,000 pounds of plaintains, pineapples, papayas and other produce, according to a news release. It arrived at Baldor Specialty Foods in the South Bronx and will be distributed to seniors and low-income families, accordion to the release, and to community centers served through City Harvest.
Employees who serve as “first-line responders” at Baldor and other companies will receive fresh produce through the program as well.
Crowley Logistics shipped the container from San Juan to Jacksonville, Fla., and arrived in New York in late April.
“We want to thank our allies in this initiative for helping us bring the flavors, colors and freshness of our farms to the Bronx area at a time when these communities are experiencing an unprecedented crisis,” Angel Santiago, president and CEO of Caribbean Produce Exchange, said in the release.

I am Essential Campaign

A new campaign is recognizing produce and logistics companies and their federally-approved “essential” status in getting food to people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The “I am Essential” campaign features custom T-shirts, with a portion of each sale going to GlobalGiving’s Coronavirus Relief Fund.

Patrick Bastian of Leonard’s Express. Farmington, N.Y., started the project. Companies including Northeast Banana Corp., Dole Fresh Fruit, Leonard’s Express have purchased shirts, and about $5,000 was raised for the relief fund in the first week, Bastian said. The project highlights the efforts of people working to keep the country running, he said.

“Grocery stores, food distributors, trucking companies, port operators, law enforcement and health care are just a few of the people who are keeping our country afloat during this unprecedented time,” Bastian said in an e-mail. “I wanted to find a way to applaud these people and raise some money to fight COVID-19.”

PSSI

Sanitation company PSSI, Keller, Wis., is helping food processors during the COVID-19 pandemic, through resource sharing.

In a Q&A on the company’s website, CEO and President Dan Taft discusses customers’ most pressing concerns and how food processors have been affected during the pandemic.

“I think it is important to plan ahead and work in partnership with sanitation services to protect any scenarios that could play out,” Taft said in the release. “We know the situation is constantly changing, so we have to be ready to adapt and change with it.”

PSSI has implemented new processes at its partner plants to protect customer facilities and employees, according to the release. A guide pssi.com outlines the measures.

For more examples of what produce companies are doing in response to the pandemic, see The Packer’s COVID-19 webpage.

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