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It’s hard to overstate the importance of strawberries to a grocery retailer.

Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market plans to expand grocery pickup through Instacart to all its stores by early May due to the coronavirus crisis.

Organic produce saw significantly higher dollar sales for the first quarter and for March amid the coronavirus crisis.

Grower-shippers were reluctant to go on record with their predictions for this season’s cherry crop, but most agreed that, if Mother Nature cooperates, there should be plenty to go around this spring and summer.

As you’re getting plans in place now for how best to take advantage of cherries this summer, take a look at the historic pricing and sizing information reported by USDA to get a feel for what’s ahead.

Nina Balducci, a pioneer of specialty foods retailing in New York City at Balducci’s, and part of the foundation of Baldor Specialty Foods, Bronx, N.Y., has died.

Atlantic Frozen Foods LLC, Food Connects Inc., Petersheim Produce, Ravco Foods Inc., and United Farm Group LLC are new companies to the Market. Balducci’s, Collier Family Farms, Hartman Gardens and others have updates.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is easing country-of-origin requirements to allow fresh produce that has been packed for foodservice operators to be diverted to retailers as demand shifts during the pandemic.

As we delve ever deeper into the coronavirus COVID-19 situation, food distributors and retailers are discovering this pandemic may unfortunately be with us for at least the immediate future.

Zespri’s kiwifruit season is starting early in May, and messages to consumers are focusing on the nutritional benefit and flavor of the SunGold variety.