Latest News From Foodservice

Georgia growers who supply mostly retailers say they’re doing fine, but as for foodservice business — well, not so much.

The newest Fresh Insights for Foodservice report features baby lettuces, acorn squash, grapes and more, plus a section on how foodservice operators have been adapting their business models in light of COVID-19.

With schools closed, district foodservice professionals across the country are working with numerous collaborators to ensure students have access to healthy meals.

The road to the new normal as the COVID-19 crisis continues is a rocky one for many in the fresh produce industry.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are visible everywhere — from shuttered restaurants and empty streets to vacant parks and playgrounds and piles of empty Amazon boxes out for curbside recycling.

Avocados From Mexico recently launched the Guac & Beyond Chef Contest as a way to offer some financial help to foodservice professionals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Produce Marketing Association has cancelled its annual foodservice show in its traditional format, moving to PMA Foodservice: Delivered, a digital event.

The United Fresh Produce Association has named the recipients of its Produce in Excellence Foodservice Awards.

Fresh fruit sales were up about 9% for the four-week period, while fresh vegetable sales were up 25%.

Sysco Raleigh, Selma, N.C., has been awarded a maximum $120.9 million contract for full-line food distribution. 

Drop payments limits to fresh produce growers in the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, Democratic and Republic Congressional lawmakers told the Trump Administration on April 23.

For produce it has been the tale of two industries. Retail is rockin’. Foodservice? Not so good.

The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on produce sales is playing out at terminal markets across the country, including the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market.

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and the United Fresh Produce Association will partner on an April 23 web seminar discussing details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Purchase and Distribution Program.

Delving into the detail of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, Robert Guenther visited April 21 with The Packer’s Tom Karst.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering a web seminar on April 21 to explain details of its “Buy Fresh” program funded through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

California Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross has penned a thank-you letter for retailers and food distributors across the country.

Boston-based Costa Fruit & Produce is joining a growing list of foodservice wholesales selling directly to consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While most of us are taking sanctuary in our homes, and likely grumbling about it, there are heroes across the food supply chain that are working hard to adapt and ease disruption.

The School Nutrition Association and United Fresh are partnering to connect produce distributors to school foodservice directors looking for single-serve, wrapped produce as part of meal distributions.  

2020 U.S. potato acreage is likely to be down substantially in response to disappearing foodservice demand for frozen potatoes and large count-carton potatoes in the wake of COVID-19 restrictions.

Higher unemployment expected to take toll in coming weeks

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.

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

Oranges continued their hold on the top spot on PMG the week of April 6, but the rest of the top 5 shuffled slightly.

As you have probably figured out by now – especially if you've seen the cover of our March/April magazine – we have embarked on the next leg of the journey in our produce retail coverage.

UPDATED: The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement has scheduled another web seminar for retailers, foodservice operators and other buyers, with an emphasis on COVID-19 updates.

As the COVID-19 pandemic separates inspectors from on-site duties, NSF International has demonstrated the ability to conduct food safety audits using smartglass technology.

Want to catch up on how coronavirus is affecting the produce industry beyond your commodities or your segment of the business? We'll get you up to speed in 15 minutes.

The Produce for Better Health Foundation has named produce companies, retailers and individuals to its annual awards.

The Mushroom Council has joined B.GOOD restaurants’ mission of donating blended burgers and vegetable bowls featuring mushrooms to health care workers in the Boston area during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For food companies, now is the time to be there for the consumers you’ve worked to earn relationships with while they are at home, cooking and spending a significant amount of time on their phones.

Wholesalers and foodservice distributors are selling to consumers as they scramble to replace millions in lost sales to restaurants because of COVID-19 restrictions in place since mid-March.

With plummeting foodservice sales across the country, Pro*Act’s distributors and their restaurant customers are delivering boxes containing a week’s worth of produce directly to consumers.

The Packer’s Tom Karst spoke on March 30 with Craig Carlson, CEO of Chicago-based Carlson Produce Consulting, LLC.

The National Watermelon Promotion Board has launched an updated website, watermelon.org, featuring more content that promotes return visits for consumers looking for recipes, nutrition information and more.

Ohio, where I live and work, has issued an order for everyone in the state to shelter in place. Restaurants and schools have been closed, large gatherings are prohibited — and the world of produce has suddenly changed.

To help alleviate the backlog of foodservice produce inventory and the strain on local retailers and community, the Southeast Produce Council distributed free produce to people in the Jenkins County area of Georgia. 

The Packer’s Tom Karst talks on March 26 with Jason Resnick, vice president and general counsel for Western Growers, about the current foodservice crisis tied to the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.

The fresh produce industry is facing unprecedented losses with the COVID-19 pandemic according to Western Growers, which is asking the USDA to cover all PACA claims to ensure produce sellers are fully protected.

The National Grocers Association and the United Fresh Produce Association are working together to connect produce distributors and independent supermarkets.

Sid Wainer & Son, New Bedford, Mass., has rerouted daily operations and postponed a COVID-19 food rescue pop-up following a fire at its distribution center. 

The Packer’s Tom Karst visited March 25 with Alex DiNovo, president and chief operating officer of DNO Produce, the Columbus, Ohio-based distributor.

The National Restaurant Association has canceled its May 16-19 show in Chicago because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The United Fresh Produce Association is requesting urgent action by Congress to help the fresh produce supply chain deal with the financial shocks caused by the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.

As more consumers eat more avocados during more dayparts, the fruit is turning up on more restaurant menus.

UPDATED: Foodservice distributor Sid Wainer & Son, New Bedford, Mass., opened a pop-up store to help residents access fresh fruits and vegetables.

The world as we know it has changed, perhaps indefinitely, as industries across the country and globe are coming to terms with the new realities born as a result of the coronavirus COVID-19.

Suddenly, bars, casual eateries, and fine-dining restaurants have nearly vanished. Millions in produce sales have disappeared with them.

Clover sprouts from Jimmy John’s restaurants and a Chicago grower that have been linked to an E. coli outbreak came from a common seed lot.