Opinion
Someone told you to find a television, and you stared in disbelief. You were shocked, bewildered. You stood in terrible awe. A gaping hole, billowing smoke, chaos.
Fall is all about the harvest bounty — bubbling hot jonathan apple pies adorned with sugary laced lattice tops, jack-o-lantern pumpkins, ornamental gourds, sweet fall grapes, hard squash and crunchy apples.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just reported another sad fact about obesity.
As the industry waits for the new “normal” in the world and in the fresh produce business, one can’t but help wonder about the soon-coming merger of the Produce Marketing Association and United Fresh.
The lack of in-person produce expos leaves marketers with one fewer tool in their toolbox.
Customers never like selecting what they consider is leftovers, even if what’s available is pristine.
The lack of an in-person Fresh Summit is a big loss for fresh produce marketers.
Occasionally a store manager would call for assistance, usually after their produce department’s gross profit turned out low, and the shrink figure high. They wanted a fix. Right away.
These are not the good old days. At least, let’s hope not.
Throughout history, a common measurement of human progress is our capacity to reduce human suffering, wherever it exists.
Single-use packaging is subject to volatile raw material sourcing, commodity markets, and manufacturing capacities.
Truck rates continue to push higher, U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics show.
This time of year, there are multiple versions of “top food trends” stories for 2022. And why not? The future is always a more alluring topic than the gritty present.
After nearly two years of working with and through the COVID-19 pandemic, like others in agriculture, mushroom growers faced increased challenges the last quarter of 2021.
How can the U.S. Department of Agriculture advance racial justice, equity, and support for underserved communities?
For reasons that everyone can understand, healthier living is at the top of the collective to-do list for 2021.
Staff, order, prep and stock the produce department so that whatever decision is reached, it’s because the offerings are so fresh, the stock level so nice, that in that moment any decision is a good decision.
It’s quite a commitment to attempt offering a clean and fresh produce department when shopping traffic heats up.
At its last meeting, the LGMA board voted unanimously to require its members to conduct preharvest testing of product grown in fields where elevated risk factors may be present.
How is it that we are recognized as the most beneficial of all the food types that exist, but consumption is waning?
So, what exactly is a normal work week for a produce manager? It depends.
Every time a tool of production is taken away and not replaced with a better alternative, it has negative consequences.
Grapes are one of the strongest categories that a produce operation offers, with impressive volume and dollar sales.
As a result of COVID-19, there has perhaps been no greater level of awareness around federal feeding programs that target children.
My first Fresh Summit experience was in 2008 in Orlando, Fla. I had graduated from college five months before, joined The Packer six weeks before, and spent my 21st birthday working on our annual Fresh Summit preview.
With talk of sustainability buzzing around our industry, it is gratifying to read about the things companies in the food and agriculture sector are doing to reduce their environmental impacts.
What vegetable commodities are winning this year?
What are the headlines that you will remember from 2021?