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Tim York began working in the produce industry after college, without knowing he would never leave it.

Twenty-nine U.S. senators have asked Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to directly pay specialty crop growers and to immediately increase purchases of fresh produce for food banks and federal feeding programs.

Produce and allied industry companies are finding ways to help consumers whose finances have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with donations of produce and resources.

Registration is open for the Center for Produce Safety’s Research Symposium weekly web seminars, a five-part series in place of the annual meeting that was cancelled by COVID-19 restrictions.

Brighter Bites, which distributes fresh fruit and education materials to school children and their families in major urban centers, has a $2 million campaign to continue meeting their needs during the pandemic.

The House of Representatives on April 23 passed a $484 billion stimulus package.

Rarely has the produce industry less predictable than it is now.

Dole, Western Growers, Imperfect Foods and other industry members are donating food and equipment, and offering services directly targeted to easing hardships during the pandemic.

Companies awarded contracts through the USDA’s Buy Fresh program will be boxing the produce themselves to distribute to food banks, and the program is expected to last for six months at $100 million in produce a month.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning on buying $470 million in surplus food, including $105 million worth of produce, as growers cope with disrupted supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic.