Sustainability

GLC Cerritos Doubles Avocado Shipments as Mexico Smashes Volume Records

Tue, 19 May 2026 20:07:19 GMT

Driven by a historic supply surge out of Mexico, avocado grower-packer-shipper GLC Cerritos has doubled its year-over-year shipments, leveraging field-team expansions and new bagging technology to meet a booming U.S. demand that has pushed weekly industry volumes to a “new normal” of 65 million to 70 million pounds.

Bountiful rains in Mexico coupled with new acreage have allowed the country to avoid supply gaps for nearly two years, and this week it will hit 2.5 billion pounds of avocados exported to the U.S. in a single season for the first time ever, according to GLC Cerritos. This surpasses the record set in 2023, and there are still five weeks left in the season.

While the company says crossings have slowed in recent weeks, May shipments remain nearly 30% greater than those in 2025.

GLC Cerritos has added efficiencies to keep up with the record supply and sky-high demand.

“Increases to the field team for sourcing and increases in bagging machines for operations have allowed GLC Cerritos to double shipments [this season] versus last season,” says Sophia Cavaletto of GLC Cerritos.

Cavaletto says the 37% increase in high-quality Mexican avocado shipments since January 2026 creates new users, with Americans consuming nearly 20% more fruit this year than ever before.

“The increased volume has been driven from the supply side,” says Cavaletto. “This has been an ‘on’ year for avocado production. Traditionally ‘on’ years have been identified with lower-than-normal pricing. The upside is that new users are created during the ‘on’ years. Historically, once we create new users, the industry does not lose them when the heavy volume weeks subside. This has resulted in a ‘stickiness’ or permanent shift in the new users continuing to buy avocados.”

Jalisco to Play Key Role

As GLC Cerritos looks forward to the 2026-27 season, which begins in just a few weeks, it says the Jalisco region will play a key role in keeping Mexico an even more important year-round avocado supplier.

“Avocados in Jalisco are grown in a little warmer and drier climate than those in Michoacan,” says Cavaletto. “Nearly 50% of the orchards are made up of Mendez hass, which is genetically identical to hass but sets fruit up two months earlier. As a result, ... Jalisco tends to be able to supply new-crop avocados four to six weeks earlier than Mexico was able to before Jalisco was added.”

Dry Matter Matters

To ensure every avocado coming from Mexico satisfies consumer expectations of flavor, consistency and color, Mexican avocados go through a quality control process called dry-matter testing. The Avocado Institute of Mexico says the key to procuring avocados with delicious taste and optimal consistency is in the fruit’s oil content.

GLC Cerritos says dry-matter standards established by the Association of Avocado Exporting Producers and Packers of Mexico, or APEAM, will ensure quality standards through the seasonal transition.

“With 35,000 independent growers, Mexico has to jealously protect its reputation for quality in the market,” says Cavaletto. “As such, strict protocols in harvest permit issuances are key. Growers must pass multiple tests to show that their grove has sufficient dry matter before obtaining a harvest permit. After harvesting, the fruit is subject to a final test at the packinghouse. If the fruit does not pass any single of these tests, it is not allowed to be shipped to the [United] States.”

Standing Out With Sustainability

While bountiful rains and new acreage in Mexico have allowed GLC Cerritos and others to avoid avocado supply gaps for nearly two years, the agricultural sector is increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather shifts.

GLC Cerritos is mitigating these long-term climate risks to ensure that a bad weather cycle won’t abruptly reverse these record-breaking volume trends.

“Continuous improvement is part of the culture at GLC Cerritos,” says Cavaletto. “Being at the vanguard of farming techniques allows the team to have up to three times the productivity and a larger size curve than the national average. Farmers cannot be passive in today’s competitive environment. Attention to pollinators, tree density, pruning, fertigation are all key to this culture of continuous improvement.”

GLC Cerritos further differentiates itself through its commitment to sustainability and certifications including GlobalG.A.P., the Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade.

“Volume, quality and reliability are all nonnegotiables,” Cavaletto says. “Jalisco has only had access to the U.S. market since 2022. Aside from the baselines of food safety, environmental stewardship and social responsibility, these certificates help to add a level of confidence and reliability that the supplier is professional in all aspects of their business.”

GLC Cerritos says its teams are highly trained for ladder harvesting and that it actively supervises every harvest to ensure the highest quality in the operation.

Ethical Charter Implementation Program Highlights Rapid Growth in Produce

Tue, 19 May 2026 20:36:01 GMT

The Ethical Charter Implementation Program has released its second annual industry report, which it says spotlights significant growth in participation and measurable progress in how the fresh produce industry approaches responsible labor practices.

ECIP says more than 300 suppliers and 1,700 growers now participate in the Learn, Assess and Benchmark platform, or ECIP LAB. The organization says this expansion reflects broad industry adoption as a practical, non-audit approach to strengthening labor management systems and advancing continuous improvement.

“We are excited to celebrate the growth ECIP experienced in its second year and believe it is on a trajectory to scale across the produce value chain,” says Laura Himes, vice president of produce sourcing for Walmart. “More importantly, the continuous improvement tools and resources that ECIP offers are helping develop a more resilient industry through stronger management systems and responsible labor practices.”

The number of suppliers earning two or more engagement stars rose from 41 to 137. ECIP says this 234% increase year over year signals stronger alignment with principles in the Ethical Charter on Responsible Labor Practices and more active supply chain participation.

“Strong renewal rates are showing that suppliers and growers see real value in ECIP, using it to benchmark progress, strengthen systems and stay aligned with evolving expectations around responsible labor practices,” says Kenton Harmer, director of market-based impact at the Equitable Food Initiative, which oversees the ECIP software platform and provides technical support.

By the end of 2025, 60% of participating growers were classified as highly engaged by earning three or more engagement stars or through their participation in an approved third-party audit program that qualifies them for a gold star, according to ECIP.

“What we’re seeing in this second annual report is not just growth in numbers but growth in how suppliers and growers are using ECIP to build stronger management systems, engage their workforce more effectively and demonstrate continuous improvement over time,” Harmer says.

ECIP’s second annual report highlights key areas of strength across the industry, including more structured oversight of grower networks, clearer contracting practices and stronger internal accountability systems among suppliers. Among growers, foundational practices such as freely chosen employment, worker communication systems and documented management processes are becoming increasingly standardized, according to the program.

“ECIP has become a key component of how we operate at Costco,” says Amanda Kuhn, produce buyer at Costco Wholesale. “We encourage our suppliers not only to join the platform but also to meaningfully engage with its tools and resources to strengthen their labor practices and drive continuous improvement. We’re excited to see the broader industry embrace this important program and its impressive growth in such a short time.”

ECIP participation now spans across North, South and Central America and South Africa, which the program says underscores its relevance across diverse production regions and supply chains. Mexico is the most engaged geographic location, with dense activity in the U.S. and Canada.

Access the full report at ethicalcharterprogram.org/report .

What U.S. Grocers Can Learn From U.K. Retailers to Turn Produce Waste Into Protected Profit

Mon, 18 May 2026 15:13:46 GMT

In the grocery industry, managing the produce aisle has always been a race against the clock, where shelf life is measured in mere days and financial margins are razor-thin.

While many U.S. retailers treat surplus or cosmetically imperfect fruits and vegetables as a late-evening write-off, their U.K. counterparts have long treated waste mitigation as a disciplined, morning operational routine. In this Q&A, Alex Considine Tong, chief product officer for Retail Insight , outlines the valuable lessons U.S. grocers can learn from the U.K.’s highly scrutinized market.

Drawing on data from over 700 grocers, Considine Tong explains how shifting from rigid expiration dates to predictive, morning sell-through signals can help store teams intervene proactively. By adopting these proven British practices and applying smart inventory reconciliation to non-bar-coded items, U.S. grocers can seamlessly merge sustainability with commercial survival — capturing shopper intent while the product is still fresh.

The Packer: Markdown windows are a major lever for sustainability. But in the produce aisle, where shelf life is measured in days rather than weeks, how can U.S. retailers use store-level data to identify the exact “tipping point” for a bag of salad or a crate of peaches before they become unsellable?

Considine Tong: The challenge with produce is that the tipping point isn’t stamped on the packaging. A printed date tells you when something expires; it doesn’t tell you whether you’re going to sell it before then. That gap between “it’s still within date” and “it’s still going to sell” is where a lot of produce waste actually happens.

What I’ve seen work well is moving away from date-only triggers and toward sell-through signals. If you combine how quickly a product is moving at the shelf, what hourly sales rates look like relative to the stock on hand and how many days of life remain, you get a much sharper picture of where the real risk sits. A bagged salad with three days left but a sell-through trajectory of 60% needs attention today, not tomorrow evening.

With WasteInsight, that kind of signal surfaces as a clear action for the store team: Mark this down now, while it’s still desirable, rather than waiting until it’s close to the bin. That timing distinction matters both for waste and for margin. A 20% markdown at 10 a.m. moves product. A 50% markdown at 7 p.m. saves very little.

The other piece is ordering. When sell-through signals feed back into buying decisions, teams start to see where they’ve been consistently over-ordering certain lines and can pull back before the problem repeats. That’s where the sustainability and the commercial discipline converge.

There is a common perception in U.S. that ESG (environmental, social and governance) initiatives are a luxury for stable economies. Given your visibility into 700-plus grocers, can you provide a specific example of how financial discipline and sustainability converge specifically within the produce department? How does reducing shrink directly buffer a retailer against inflation?

There’s a tendency in some conversations to treat sustainability and margin as separate priorities, something you focus on when times are good and trade off when costs are rising. From what I see across hundreds of grocers, that’s exactly the wrong framing. In produce particularly, they’re the same conversation.

Produce is one of the highest-shrink categories in grocery. When fruit or vegetables spoil before they’re sold, retailers have already paid for that product. The cost is locked in. The only question is whether they recover any revenue from it or write it off entirely. In an environment where procurement, logistics and energy costs are all climbing, every unit that reaches a shopper’s basket instead of the bin is directly offsetting that pressure.

What I consistently see is that a large share of produce shrink is avoidable. It tends to come from three places: markdowns that happen too late to drive sell-through, stock that’s in the backroom rather than on the shelf and ordering patterns that repeat last week’s mistake rather than adjusting to what actually sold. Addressing those three things doesn’t require a sustainability budget; it requires better timing and better signals.

The retailers managing this well have moved from treating markdowns as an end-of-day clean-up to treating them as a proactive margin lever earlier in the day, while the product is still fresh and shoppers still have intent to buy. In inflationary conditions, recovering that margin on a consistent basis adds up considerably.

The U.K. is noted for having higher regulatory and public scrutiny. What is one specific “exit rule” or “ordering behavior” common in U.K. produce departments that U.S. grocers have yet to adopt but could implement tomorrow to see an immediate drop in waste?

One of the clearest behavioral differences I’ve observed between U.K. and U.S. grocery operations is how markdowns are timed. Part of what drives this in U.K. is the regulatory and public scrutiny environment: food waste reporting obligations and retailer sustainability commitments are far more embedded in U.K. grocery than they currently are in U.S., which means store teams and buyers are held more visibly accountable for what ends up in the bin. That accountability has shaped how the industry thinks about markdowns, not as a loss-recovery tool but as a routine operational discipline.

In many U.K. produce departments, the markdown decision is tied to sell-through progress at a defined point in the day, not to how close a product is to its end of life. The discipline I’ve seen is essentially: If a product hasn’t hit a certain sell-through threshold by midmorning, it gets a controlled price reduction while it’s still fresh and there’s still footfall to take advantage of it.

The contrast with common U.S. practice is stark. Markdowns often happen late in the evening, when sell-through is already a lost cause. By that point, you’re discounting because the product is about to expire, not because you’re trying to move it. That’s the difference between a commercial intervention and a write-off with a yellow sticker on it.

The ordering side of this is equally important. U.K. teams I’ve spoken with often run tighter guardrails on short-life replenishment, adjusting volume based on recent sell-through and waste rather than repeating the same order regardless of what moved. If yesterday’s data shows a line underperformed, today’s order adjusts. That sounds straightforward, but it requires the right signals reaching the right people quickly enough to act.

Both of these are changes U.S. retailers could make without waiting for a major systems transformation. The tools to surface those signals exist. The bigger shift is cultural: treating the markdown decision as something that happens at 10 a.m. based on data rather than at 9 p.m. based on what’s still on the shelf.

Produce often lacks the rigid bar codes and tracking of dry goods (think bulk apples or loose greens). How does Retail Insight help grocers solve the inventory inaccuracy problem for non-bar-coded items, and what impact does that accuracy have on preventing over-ordering?

Non-bar-coded produce is genuinely one of the harder parts of fresh inventory management. With packaged goods, you have a scan at the till that tells you a unit left the store. With loose apples or bulk salad greens, that unit-level signal often doesn’t exist in the same way, which means the store’s system may have a very different view of what’s on hand versus what’s actually sitting on the shelf or in the backroom.

What we focus on is building a clearer picture from the signals that do exist: deliveries, expected sales curves for that line and that day, markdown activity, waste recorded by the store team. Taken together, these give a working reconciliation of where inventory should be against how the product is actually selling. That reconciliation won’t always be perfect for every loose item, but it’s considerably more actionable than any single data point in isolation.

Where this matters most practically is in identifying discrepancies early. If expected sell-through and actual sales are diverging for a short-life produce line, that’s a signal worth acting on before the product runs out of time. And from an ordering perspective, visibility into those patterns helps store teams and buyers understand where they’re consistently ordering more than they sell, which is one of the most persistent drivers of produce waste.

The principle I keep coming back to is this: Better ordering prevents waste more reliably than any markdown. Markdowns recover value from product that’s already at risk. Better inventory signals stop you buying more risk than you need to in the first place.

In U.K., “wonky” or “ugly” produce campaigns are mainstream. From a data perspective, do you see a missed opportunity for U.S. retailers to use dynamic markdowns for aesthetically imperfect produce earlier in the day, rather than waiting until the item is at the end of its life cycle?

Yes, and I think it’s a bigger opportunity than most U.S. operators currently recognize. In U.K., wonky or imperfect produce ranges have become a mainstream category; there are shoppers who actively look for them as a value option. That normalizes the idea that cosmetically imperfect doesn’t mean nutritionally inferior or unsafe, and it opens up a whole sell-through window that U.S. grocery stores largely aren’t using.

The data question is about timing and early identification. Product that’s slightly misshapen or cosmetically off tends to move more slowly at full price, which means it builds up sell-through risk faster than standard lines. When you can see that risk accumulating earlier in the day, you have options: a modest markdown in the morning when footfall is high, better placement at the shelf or a clearer price signal to shoppers who are already looking for value.

What I observe in stores that handle this well is that the markdown doesn’t need to be deep to be effective. The value for the shopper in a morning markdown on imperfect produce isn’t the dramatic discount; it’s the availability and the freshness. That’s a very different proposition to a steep end-of-day reduction on something that’s been sitting on the shelf all day and is approaching its final hours.

The broader opportunity for U.S. retailers is to stop treating produce markdowns as a loss-recovery mechanism and start treating them as an active sell-through tool. The earlier you intervene with the right product at the right price point, the more revenue you recover and the less ends up as shrink.

Emerald Packaging’s New SoCal Hub to Enhance Shelf-Life for Border Growers

Thu, 14 May 2026 20:50:09 GMT

Emerald Packaging has made the first acquisition in its 63-year history, integrating Blower-Dempsay Corp., a Southern California facility, into its operations. The strategic move will allow the flexible packaging leader to shrink a standard two-day transit down to a matter of hours from the Mexican border, giving the company unprecedented agility to turn around just-in-time orders and helping its customers deliver the freshest product possible.

“We’ve been thinking about an expansion to a second site for the last several years,” says Emerald Packaging CEO Kevin Kelly. “But the companies that have come up for sale have either been too large for us to buy or too far away for us to manage. This one is the perfect size, only an hour away by air and has room to grow.”

Kelly says the acquisition of the Santa Ana, Calif., facility spells massive sales growth potential for the Union City, Calif.-based company.

“I could see us boosting our sales by up to 50% with this facility and additional machines at the mother ship in Union City,” he says. “So, I think that sets us up for some time.”

One of the largest produce packaging manufacturers in the country, Emerald Packaging’s customers include Taylor Farms, D’Arrigo California, Duda Farms, Grimmway Farms, Wada Farms and others.

“There were other big pluses, too,” Kelly says of the acquisition. “Our largest customer now has operations along the Mexican border, as do others. Time to market is everything, so being three hours to the Mexicali border crossing, or under two hours to Tijuana, was a big part of my thinking. A factory in place with the same equipment and suppliers as our own, experienced employees and room to expand sealed the deal.”

Just three hours from the Mexicali crossing, the new facility’s strategic location will also help Emerald reduce transit times and increase the shelf life of its customers’ products, the company says.

“It will make just-in-time deliveries easier, especially those last-minute orders that sail in during the week,” says Kelly. “Mexicali really is a two-day point now from Union City. By contrast, Santa Ana could deliver inside a morning. A lot of our appeal to customers is our agility at turning around those panic orders, and this only makes that easier, cementing a clear advantage we have in customer service.”

Emerald Packaging CEO Kevin Kelly says the company’s recent acquisition of a Santa Ana, Calif.-based facility could boost its sales by 50%.

(Photo courtesy of Emerald Packaging)

Kelly says the acquisition also gives Emerald Packaging redundant capabilities, a critical advantage during any potential business interruption.

“Up to now, if something happened here in Union City, we’d really have to rely on the aid of friendly packaging manufacturers to see our customers through,” he says. “Now, at least for some packaging materials, like salad and baby carrots, we have a second plant that can cover them. We need to add some capabilities there, like lasers that make those nano-holes for breathability, but that should be done by the end of the year.”

Equipped for the Future

Emerald’s new Santa Ana facility features an eight-color, 52-inch-wide Windmoeller & Hoelscher printing press, two Nordmeccanica laminators, two slitters and a thermal oxidizer. The company says it plans to add slitters with laser and hot needle capability and a second printing press soon.

“Our presses are currently all W&H — the best on the market for generations,” says Kelly. “This means great print quality and commonality of parts and tooling, which gets us flexibility where we run jobs and allows us to fix maintenance issues quickly, since press parts are common.”

Kelly says these advantages translate into better uptime, essential in a plant geared for quick job turns.

The addition of hot needle and laser units will give Emerald more capacity to run modified atmosphere packaging “where we expect most of our growth to come over the next few years,” says Kelly.

Aligning Company Cultures

Beyond equipment compatibility, Emerald Packaging says Blower-Dempsay’s company culture is also a fit, as it aims to integrate the staff of both companies and scale its headcount from 250 to 300 by year-end.

“Of all the challenges that can kill an acquisition, cultural issues stand out,” says Kelly. “So, we’ve developed a plan to onboard the existing employees and train the new ones we hire.

“Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve sent waves of managers down to work with employees to bring the factory up to our standards, which communicates how we expect them to care for the place they work,” he says. “Next week we’re bringing the entire crew up to Union City to spend time with us, see how we run our machines, schedule and check quality.”

Kelly says the most important aspect of this training is that the Blower-Dempsay staff will have the chance to experience Emerald’s company culture firsthand.

“We have an ongoing schedule of managers spending time there, which will help with the integration. Going forward, we aim to hire the same way we do at the mother ship, not just bringing people aboard out of need, but bringing people on because they fit how we work,” he says. “Because they have the right ethics. If we stick to how we’ve done things here, we should be successful there. If we don’t, we’ll know quickly, and course-correct as needed.”

Sustainability Play

Long known for its efforts on the sustainability front, Emerald was the recipient of the inaugural 2026 Printer of the Year award from the Flexographic Technical Association for its print quality and sustainability efforts. The company also won two 2026 Flexible Packaging Association silver awards for sustainability and technical achievement for its 30% post-consumer recycled resin potato bag.

How does this new production arm in Southern California help Emerald Packaging scale its sustainable packaging initiatives?

“As anyone knows who runs a factory, finding time to experiment, to run trials, comes at a premium,” says Kelly. “So, new initiatives often fall off the radar.”

But with its strategic expansion into Southern California, Emerald is effectively buying the time it needs to innovate.

“With the new printing press coming this summer and the new one in Santa Ana, we’ll have increased capacity by 30%,” he says. “We’re also adding laser capacity this summer, taking us from eight lasers to 10, which also opens time.

“For the foreseeable future, we’ll be able to turn trials more quickly, which will help us innovate and push new products out the door,” he continues. “Since most of what we’re working on these days is sustainable packaging, we’ll advance much faster than we otherwise would.”

As to the future, the CEO sees potential for continued expansion.

“I could see us expand further, especially with the large number of companies along the West Coast that are operated by older owners with no successor,” he says.

Your next read: Emerald Packaging Eliminates Over 1M Pounds of Virgin Plastic with Help of Partners, Including Walmart

Why Berry Growers See Sustainable Operations as Essential

Thu, 14 May 2026 16:38:11 GMT

Innovative farming techniques, the latest energy conservation programs and efficiencies to reduce their carbon footprint are some of the practices berry grower-shippers have implemented to meet their sustainability goals.

“Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword; it has become a core expectation across the supply chain,” says Brad Peterson, director of business development for Watsonville, Calif.-based California Giant Berry Farms.

The firm’s trade partners are increasingly focused on topics that directly impact their business, such as packaging regulations like Extended Producer Responsibility and social responsibility initiatives like ethical sourcing and compliance programs, he says.

“Responsible production and food safety standards remain central to these conversations, with GlobalG.A.P. certification reinforcing trust and transparency,” Peterson says.

Sustainability also plays an important role at Salinas, Calif.-based Naturipe Farms LLC, says Janis McIntosh, director of marketing innovation and sustainability.

“Sustainability at Naturipe starts on the farm and is part of our everyday decision-making,” she says. “Our growers are constantly testing, learning and improving how they farm.”

Because Naturipe’s growers are owners, they’re invested in making sure their farms thrive for the next generation, McIntosh adds.

“That mindset drives real action,” she says.

Sustainability is embedded across all operations at Century City, Calif.-based Fruitist, from how berries are grown to how they are packed and distributed, says Steve Magami, co-founder and CEO.

“Because we operate a vertically integrated model, we’re able to implement and scale these practices more consistently across the supply chain,” he says.

Late last year, California Giant achieved B Corp certification, which Peterson describes as “a milestone that signifies we meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.”

The certification holds the company accountable to its stakeholders and ensures the business operates as “a force for good from the inside out,” he says.

The company’s involvement in sustainability is visible across several key areas of its operations.

“We have invested in a solar array at our Santa Maria, Calif., cooling facility, which helps offset grid electricity use and reduce our carbon footprint,” Peterson says.

“We require 100% grower compliance with integrated pest management and were the first to offer Bee Better Certified blueberries, which requires our partners to dedicate at least 5% of their land to creating high-quality pollinator habitats,” he adds.

And through California Giant’s supplier code of conduct, the company maintains a 100% sign-off rate among its growers, ensuring alignment on human rights and safety, Peterson says.

The company’s philanthropic efforts have resulted in more than $290,000 donated to community causes and food banks.

At Naturipe Farms, growers are actively testing new varieties and farming techniques to improve soil health, reduce inputs and increase yields, McIntosh says.

“They are strategic in their water usage, adjusting in real time based on variety, weather and field conditions,” she says.

Though Naturipe growers have always focused on field-level sustainability, their work in recent years has expanded and transformed into a learning center, McIntosh says.

“Our grower-owners have now set aside specific acreage just for testing new and innovative sustainable practices,” she says. “These fully staffed ranches implement, monitor and report on various trials from new pollinator and cover crop mixes to irrigation and machinery calibration.”

Their research is shared inside and outside of the company.

Fruitist became the first fruit company in Peru to achieve Level 3 carbon footprint accreditation and is on track for net zero by 2030, Magami says.

“Sustainability measures include advanced irrigation that reduces water use by 20% per hectare, solar installations covering up to 35% of electricity at certain facilities and planting 5,000 acres of forest reserves in Peru,” he says.

Hannaford Hits Record 29M Pounds in Food Donations as Retailer Expands Northeast Safety Net

Wed, 13 May 2026 16:34:58 GMT

As food insecurity continues to challenge families across the Northeast, Hannaford Supermarkets says it has expanded its community support systems, headlined by a record-breaking 29 million pounds of food diverted from waste to local dinner tables this past year.

The retailer’s 2025 Community Impact Report shows a shift toward deeper, more strategic regional investments, moving beyond traditional charitable giving to provide $1.3 million for child wellness and $1.5 million for local education. By leveraging a network of 450 hunger-relief organizations and 1,000 local vendors, the Scarborough-based company says it is increasingly positioning its 188 stores as essential infrastructure for regional stability in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont.

The 2025 report showcases how Hannaford is moving beyond traditional retail to serve as a cornerstone of community health and sustainability.

“At Hannaford, we believe strongly in the power of doing good in the communities we serve,” says Ericka Dodge Katz, director of external communications and community impact for Hannaford Supermarkets. “This is especially felt in our approach to addressing food insecurity, which is grounded in robust local partnerships and shaped by associates who understand the needs of the communities they call home. Whether it’s supporting the work of local nonprofits or making daily donations to ensure families have access to healthy food, we’re proud to support initiatives that are making a meaningful impact every day.”

2025 Impact Highlights

Combating hunger: Through the Fresh Rescue program, Hannaford donated 29 million pounds of fresh, nutritious food — a 15% increase since 2022. This effort supported more than 450 local food pantries and hunger-relief organizations.
Direct financial investment: Hannaford provided $400,000 in direct support to regional food banks and saw the Hannaford Charitable Foundation invest $1.16 million into nine strategic organizations focusing on food access, health and education.
Empowering youth: The Eat Well, Be Well initiative contributed $1.3 million toward child health and wellness, while the Hannaford Helps Schools program donated $1.5 million to more than 1,700 schools across the Northeast.
Investing in local: Hannaford continues to champion regional economies, sourcing 8,000 store items from over 1,000 local vendors, including more than 125 local farmers.
Environmental leadership: The report reaffirms Hannaford’s status as a sustainability leader, maintaining zero food waste-to-landfill and progressing toward its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

A Culture of Care

Beyond external donations, the report underscores Hannaford’s commitment to its 28,000-plus associates. In 2025, the retailer focused on expanded development opportunities and community-centered initiatives, ensuring that the people who serve the community are equally supported.

This dedication to transparency and impact earned Hannaford the PRNews Platinum Award for CSR, ESG or DEI Report for its 2024 edition, setting a high bar for the 2025 release.

“Our approach to addressing food insecurity is grounded in robust local partnerships and shaped by associates who understand the needs of the communities they call home,” Dodge Katz says.

Divert Opens Washington Facility to Expand Circular Infrastructure for Unsold Food in Pacific Northwest

Wed, 06 May 2026 19:37:59 GMT

Divert Inc., a circular economy company on a mission to prevent food from being wasted, has opened its Integrated Diversion & Energy Facility in Longview, Wash., the first of its kind in the state. The 66,000 sq. ft. facility leverages Divert’s high-recovery depackaging technology and anaerobic digestion to process unsold food and organic materials into renewable energy and nutrient-rich fertilizers that support further food growth in the region. At full capacity, the facility will be capable of processing up to 100,000 tons of unsold, nondonatable food annually.

The facility expands clean energy and organics diversion infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest, creating a circular system that captures the value from uneaten food and keeps it in the regional economy. At capacity, the facility will transform the material it receives into over 235,000 MMBtu of renewable energy and 450,000 lb. of nutrient-rich fertilizer annually — enough to power over 3,200 homes and support the growth of 225 million lb. of apples. Divert’s facility helps bring Washington and Oregon closer to their goals to reduce wasted food and greenhouse gas emissions by offsetting up to 23,000 metric tons of CO₂e each year through its operations. This advanced, purpose-built infrastructure will have impacts across the food value chain, from sending data upstream to facilitate source reduction and edible food recovery, to setting a new standard for downstream purity in land-applied soil amendments derived from food materials.

“The Longview facility will help build a more resilient, circular food system in the Pacific Northwest with energy, agriculture and economic impacts well beyond our operations,” says Ryan Begin, CEO and co-founder of Divert. “Across the country, waste systems are becoming more complex, and disposal is moving farther from where material is generated. We need solutions that keep value local. Our model is proven to increase food donation, recover energy and return nutrients back into the regional economy in an efficient, scalable way. That supports compliance, strengthens agricultural communities and advances greater energy independence.”

Divert Inc. has opened its Integrated Diversion & Energy Facility in Longview, Wash., the first of its kind in the state.

(Photo courtesy of Divert Inc.)

Through the new facility, Divert provides its integrated services to some of the largest food retailers and manufacturers in the Pacific Northwest, including Albertsons, Fred Meyer, Kroger, Reser’s Fine Foods, Safeway and more, while a partnership with Feeding America helps to optimize donation opportunities to people facing hunger in the local community.

“Our partnership with Divert and the new Longview facility give us an integrated organics diversion solution in the region we can rely on,” says Danelle Macias, senior director of sales and support for Albertsons, Portland Division. “Service reliability is essential to our business, and this is the kind of partnership where the operational details are taken care of, so we can focus on servicing our customers and communities.”

The facility also supports businesses navigating an expanding landscape of organics regulations, including Washington’s Organics Management Law and Portland’s business food scraps requirement, which require companies to divert organic waste from landfills.

“People often forget about the enormous climate impact of food production — and, by extension, food waste,” says Oregon metro councilor Christine Lewis. “By giving food scraps a circular-economy market option, Divert’s work elegantly addresses both halves of the equation. This is what innovation looks like.”

State leaders also emphasize the project’s impact on the regional workforce and long-term economic opportunity.

“For more than a decade, the Longview region has seen promising projects come and go, but Divert is different. It has followed through on its commitment to invest in this community,” says Heather Kurtenbach, executive secretary, Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council. “From the earliest stages, they partnered locally, prioritized our skilled workforce and ensured that good-paying construction jobs stayed right here in Longview. This project demonstrates that our region’s deep industrial roots and talented workforce can once again support major manufacturing investments and help lead Washington’s climate technology future.”

Longview, a major industrial region for the Pacific Northwest, offers close proximity to utilities capable of receiving renewable natural gas. Through an interconnection agreement with Cascade Natural Gas, RNG from the facility is fed directly into the existing distribution pipeline to power homes, businesses and hard-to-electrify industries in the area.

Divert is a portfolio company of Ara Partners, a global private equity, infrastructure and energy firm focused on decarbonizing the industrial economy. To learn more about Divert, click here.

The Hidden Risk: Why Water Quality Is the Next Big Challenge for Specialty Crops

Mon, 04 May 2026 20:12:48 GMT

In the world of specialty crops, the conversation around water has long been dominated by the urgent need for volume, with many farmers wondering if they will have enough supply to simply get through the season. However, Kilimo CEO Jairo Trad points to a more insidious threat mounting in the global supply chain. While drought remains a visible crisis, water quality — specifically the degradation caused by overfertilization and runoff — is emerging as a significant risk that many producers have yet to fully quantify.

Founded in Córdoba, Argentina, in 2014, Kilimo was born from Trad’s observations of how weather volatility could decide the fate of a family farm. Today, the climate-tech company uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze satellite imagery and meteorological data, helping farmers across seven countries, including U.S. and Chile, reduce water use by up to 30%. As the company expands its footprint in high-stakes regions like California’s San Joaquin Valley, the focus is shifting toward a more holistic view of water stewardship.

The Quality Blind Spot

For high-value crops like almonds, berries and citrus, the chemistry of the water is just as vital as the volume. Poor water quality doesn’t just impact immediate yields; it creates a compounding cycle of soil degradation and increased costs. Trad notes that this is particularly dangerous in specialty crop regions where production is concentrated. When water courses become polluted, the farming activity itself begins to worsen the very conditions required for future harvests.

“Water pollution and overfertilization lead to significant problems for farmers down the line,” Trad says. “In specialty crops, there is not enough data and not enough conversation around the water quality that farmers are using and how the same farming activity keeps worsening those water conditions.”

This creates a feedback loop that threatens the sustainability of the land in the most literal sense: the ability to sustain production over the long term. If the water quality isn’t high enough for the crops, the entire economic model of the farm begins to crumble, Trad says.

Data as the New Inheritance

Kilimo is tackling this vulnerability by moving beyond simple irrigation schedules. Its platform acts as a bridge between traditional agricultural wisdom and modern climate demands. By layering water balance modeling and local climate data, it can show growers in real time the exact difference between what a crop demands and what is actually being applied.

This data-first approach does more than just save acre-feet; it reduces the need for excess pumping and helps mitigate the overapplication of fertilizers that leads to water pollution. For Trad, this technology is a way to protect the “grandfather’s wisdom” that has guided farms for decades.

“Data can become a new kind of inheritance — a tool that doesn’t replace wisdom but helps it weather a changing climate,” Trad says. “Agriculture isn’t merely the sector most exposed to water risk; it’s our strongest partner for rebuilding the commons.”

Rewarding Stewardship Through Water Credits

To bridge the financial gap, Kilimo has pioneered a first-of-its-kind water-credit marketplace. In this model, verified water savings are treated similarly to carbon credits. Global companies like Microsoft, Google and Coca-Cola — seeking to meet water-positive pledges — invest in these credits, effectively paying farmers for the water they conserve.

This mechanism ensures that the cost of protecting water quality and quantity isn’t shouldered by the farmer alone. It transforms water conservation from a regulatory burden into a verifiable asset. As Trad puts it: “Water for agriculture is essentially free … so [farmers] have very little reason to be mindful of water beyond their own ideas that they should conserve it. The challenge is to give value to water.”

A Shared Future

As climate pressures mount, the industry must recognize that specialty crops are essentially “solar panels that function on water.” If the water fueling them is compromised, either by scarcity or by pollution, the entire system fails. By prioritizing water data today, specialty crop growers can transform a hidden risk into a verified competitive advantage.

The goal is to build a system where the health of the resources is as measurable as the harvest itself. In Trad’s view, this is the only way forward.

“Technology helps, but it doesn’t lead,” Trad says. “Farmers lead. We bring the tools; they bring the wisdom. That’s the only way this works.”

Thx! Turns Nonprofit, Seeks to Usher in New Era of Purpose-Driven Commerce

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 10:55:55 GMT

Thx!, a purpose-driven program connecting consumers with farmworkers through impactful storytelling and dream fulfillment, has reached a major milestone in its evolution: The program will begin operating under the umbrella of Seeding Futures Inc., its U.S.-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, according to a news release.

Thx! says this strategic transition marks a significant step forward in its mission to prove that doing good is good business, while unlocking new opportunities for brands, retailers and consumers to create meaningful impact.

By operating within the structure of a nonprofit, Thx! says it will deepen its commitment to social impact, with a stronger focus on education-driven dreams for farmworkers and their families. At the same time, partners across the value chain will benefit from a more efficient and purpose-aligned model, it adds.

“This is a natural evolution of what Thx! has always stood for,” says Martin Casanova, founder of Thx! and Seeding Futures. “We are strengthening our foundation to create more impact, more transparency and more value for everyone involved — from farmworkers to consumers and from brands to retailers.”

Stronger Value Proposition for Partners

With this transition, Thx! partners, including growers, brands and retailers, will now engage with a program operating under a U.S. nonprofit structure.

Thx! says this provides several key advantages:

Enhanced credibility and transparency through nonprofit governance.
Greater impact focus, particularly in education and long-term empowerment.
Potential tax efficiency, as a significant portion of the program cost may qualify as a tax-deductible contribution in the U.S.
Stronger emotional connection with consumers, reinforcing brand value and differentiation.

The integration with Seeding Futures ensures that every action taken within the Thx! ecosystem continues to be verified, measurable and purpose-driven, says the nonprofit.

Leadership Expansion to Support Growth

As part of this new chapter, Matías Notti has joined the board of directors of Seeding Futures. Notti brings extensive experience in agriculture, international business and operations across multiple markets. His addition to the board reinforces the organization’s commitment to scaling impact while maintaining operational excellence, Thx! says.

“Matias has been with us since the very beginning. He was the one who envisioned Thx! as a co-branding program. His contribution has been incredible, and I’m truly excited to see him take on this important role,” Casanova says. “His perspective and experience will be instrumental as we expand globally.”

Bigger Vision for the Future

With this transition, Thx! and Seeding Futures are setting the foundation for accelerated growth and deeper impact across the Americas and beyond. The organization’s short-term goals include:

Expanding education-focused initiatives for farmworkers.
Increasing the number of partner brands and retailers.
Launching purpose-driven business programs across multiple channels.
Continuing to innovate in consumer engagement and storytelling.

Thx! says as it enters this new phase, its mission remains clear: to create a world where every purchase has meaning — and where helping others achieve their dreams becomes part of everyday life.

The Farmlink Project Breaks the Silence on Surplus Produce

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 22:56:03 GMT

The latest campaign from The Farmlink Project, a nonprofit that connects farmers with surplus produce to food banks, highlights how the organization rescued 6 million pounds of potatoes.

Eliza Blank, CEO of The Farmlink Project, says growers are facing this surplus due to a bumper crop year in the U.S. and in Europe, which makes it difficult for U.S. growers to send the potatoes to processing overseas.

Aidan Reilly, co-founder of The Farmlink Project, says the other problem is that the domestic market for potatoes collapsed during this time of strong yields and U.S. potato growers feel powerless to discuss these challenges.

“Every mention that there’s surplus product in the market hurts the market even more and hurts these people and these families even more,” Reilly says. “This hush-hush nature — while there’s just millions of dollars being lost, farmers struggling and just mountains of not just potatoes, whatever the produce of the season might be just rotting.”

Breaking the Taboo of the Bumper Crop

Reilly says he learned about the surplus through a Facebook post and knew Farmlink needed to help. Blank says growers don’t want food to go to waste, yet in a complicated fresh produce supply chain, it might mean that growers don’t see many options for their surplus.

“What I’ve come to learn and appreciate about the work we do is that there are so many stakeholders in food and in food systems,” Blank says. “And it is very challenging to try and satisfy all of them, even though they may all have equal importance.”

She says this puts growers in an unfortunate situation where food donation might be a conduit for the surplus, but maybe they don’t know where to turn.

“They’re in a position where they can’t talk about it; it also means a lot of the food just isn’t getting donated,” she says. “These farmers want to donate food. You don’t grow food and then trash it without feeling something very deeply.”

Aidan Reilly, co-founder of The Farmlink Project, says he hopes a new campaign about the organization’s efforts takes some of the taboo away from food surplus.

(Photo courtesy of The Farmlink Project)

From Social Media Sensation to Supply Chain Solution

To call attention to this surplus and to promote the work that Farmlink does — tracking down surplus produce and getting it to communities in need — the organization launched a Food Search and Rescue unit and a social media campaign.

The campaign features creative videos and language to draw people in with novelty, keeping consumers around for the message.

“We just decided to go all in on that concept where it’s like we’re going to make something fun and short and shareable,” he says. “But if you’re going to get one message across, it’s about what Farmlink exists for, which is we’re going to go out wherever this is in the middle of a field and find where this product is.”

He says that message seems to resonate with Farmlink’s social media audience.

“I have many anecdotes of people who clicked on us because of something fun or funny we did,” Reilly says. “And now they’ve become fully aware of the situation in the United States, and those are really valuable transformations for me. That’s a huge win in our eyes. That’s why we do stuff like this.”

While there is a fundraiser as a part of this campaign , Reilly says the real focus of this search and rescue campaign is to raise awareness of the need for solutions like Farmlink.

“We wanted something to point to. We wanted strong imagery. We wanted people to get impressions, attention that we can point to, drive more focus toward something like this, because it’s not the last time it’s going to happen,” he says. “It’s not the first time.”

Eliza Blank, CEO of The Farmlink Project, says the messaging of this campaign highlights the work the organization does to find surplus food and get it into the hands of food banks and those in need.

(Photo courtesy of The Farmlink Project)

More Than Point A to Point B

Reilly says it was important to share the story about how growers end up with surplus and how it ties into the bigger fresh produce supply chain. He also sees it as important to highlight the work Farmlink does.

“What we’re trying to [do], as always, is push the availability and the solution of food rescue as an option for when things like that happen to make sure this stuff doesn’t go to waste,” he says. “It’s not waste until it goes to waste.”

Reilly says that means the growing community needs to be more transparent and open.

“If we can remove some of the taboo around this, then we can make sure the food gets to people who need it,” he says.

Blank also says that this campaign is a nod to the work Farmlink does to make this food rescue possible.

“When you’re talking about commodity-level surplus, there are big questions that FarmLink is always trying to answer,” she says. “‘Where is it? Where does it need to go and how is it going to get there?’ And in order to do that, that takes a lot more than the point A to point B down the road that we’ve become exceptionally good at.”

Blank says that the ultimate goal of raising awareness of this food surplus is for growers to contact Farmlink.

“We want people to know to pick up the phone and call Farmlink when they’re sitting on surplus, because we can make sure that it gets to a community in need,” she says. “We have a very sophisticated and thoughtful infrastructure to do this effectively and efficiently. There’s not a lot of red tape.”

Harps Food Stores Shares How Freshness Innovation Drives Nearly 10% Sales Growth

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 22:59:40 GMT

Mike Roberts, vice president of produce operations with Harps Food Stores, says his team noticed elevated shrinkage in its broccoli crowns due to moisture loss; the crowns had reduced firmness and a decline in quality.

However, fixing the issue required more than one approach.

“While temperature management is critical, it wasn’t fully addressing these challenges, so we needed an additional solution to better maintain product integrity,” he says.

Addressing Shrink, Improving Quality

This is where Roberts began working with the team at Verdant Technologies to trial the HarvestHold solution in its broccoli to address these issues. Roberts says the Harps team was aware of HarvestHold for a while, so they decided to implement a trial as he saw it was a fit with seeking to enhance performance in key categories.

Matthew Aronson, chief revenue officer of Verdant Technologies, says the conversation with Harps and adding HarvestHold stemmed from the need to extend the quality of the broccoli. Aronson says that HarvestHold’s technology blocks ethylene to address the water loss that the Harps team saw and that it helps the broccoli maintain firmness.

“We talked about seven extra days of shelf life with naked iceless broccoli and what that could mean to reducing shrink or food waste at the store and certainly at home for the shoppers,” Aronson says.

Verdant Technologies worked with Harps’ broccoli supplier, Ocean Mist, to implement this trial. Aronson says it was a team effort to get this trial in action, which spanned several months. Harps’ distribution partner, Associated Wholesale Growers, is also working to introduce HarvestHold across its retail network.

“Kudos, Ocean Mist, who has been a longtime partner of ours on the broccoli side and working with not just Harps but [also] the AWG team,” he says. “We executed this over not just a couple weeks. This is a few months to get a sizable enough data set.”

Measurable Gains in Sales and Sustainability

Roberts says that since implementing HarvestHold, broccoli volume at Harps stores has increased by 9.96%.

“While multiple factors can influence sales, we believe improved shelf life and better at-home performance are contributing to increased customer satisfaction and repeat purchases,” he says.

Roberts also acknowledges that part of the draw for using HarvestHold is its ease of use. He says the investment in adding HarvestHold is beneficial, based on what he’s seen from an improvement in quality and a reduction in shrink. He says the cost is minimal compared to the potential benefits of implementation.

“It’s easy to implement, cost-effective and doesn’t involve applying anything directly to the product; it’s simply a sheet placed in the box,” he says. “At the end of the day, it helps reduce waste, saves customers money and supports our mission of helping families enjoy fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables.”

Collaborative Supply Chain Blueprint

Roberts says that the reduction in food waste and keeping fresh produce out of landfills were key factors in adding HarvestHold technology. He says he also sees increased quality as an improved experience for the shopper.

“If a customer takes broccoli home and it lasts longer and maintains its quality, that creates a better overall experience,” he says. “That’s a win for the customer, a win for Harps and a win for reducing food waste. Those kinds of improvements can set us apart in a meaningful way.”

He says improving quality, reducing waste and improving customer satisfaction all contribute to the value customers see in the Harps brand, which in turn strengthens the financial performance and the company’s employee ownership.

Roberts says he’s deployed HarvestHold on Southern peaches successfully the past few seasons and is already looking ahead to the potential that HarvestHold might have in other commodities.

“Leafy greens would be at the top of the list, given their sensitivity and high shrink potential,” he says. “Beyond that, berries present a significant opportunity due to their volume and perishability.”

Winning Gold for Specialty Crops: Corteva’s Award-Winning Microbial and Fungicide Breakthroughs

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:42:33 GMT

The Edison Awards, often referred to as the “Oscars of Innovation,” recognize products that solve real-world problems through cutting-edge science and social impact. This year, Corteva Agriscience secured a double victory, taking home the gold Edison Award for its microbial nutrient enhancer Utrisha N and the bronze Edison Award for its next-generation fungicide Adavelt active.

According to Tim Davies, bioprocess science and technology leader for Corteva Agriscience, these accolades validate a natural solution that benefits everyone from the field to the dinner table.

“I think one of the things that resonates … is that this is a natural solution that helps farmers increase yields, which reduces the cost of products for consumers and has an impact both for the farmer but also environmentally as well,” Davies says.

Utrisha N: Gold-Standard Microbial

Winning the gold award, Utrisha N is a biological product that allows plants to capture nitrogen from the air and convert it into a usable form. While initially widely adopted in row crops like corn and soy, Davies notes that the product is quickly becoming a powerhouse for specialty growers, particularly in high-stakes markets like California.

One of the standout features of Utrisha N is its Organic Materials Review Institute registration, making it a vital tool for both organic and conventional growers.

“It is OMRI registered, so it can be used by conventional farmers and organic farmers alike,” Davies says. “One of the areas where we’ve had very good results is in potatoes, where farmers are seeing significantly improved yields by adding [Utrisha N].”

With global fertilizer prices remaining volatile, Utrisha N acts as a nutrient enhancer that works alongside traditional nitrogen practices. Davies notes that in more than 1,000 internal and farmer-partner trials, the product successfully increased yields in more than 80% of cases.

Adavelt Active: Bronze-Level Crop Protection

In the highly competitive crop protection category, Adavelt active secured the Bronze. While Utrisha N represents the biological side of the portfolio, Adavelt showcases Corteva’s technical prowess in traditional chemistry.

The goal, according to Davies, is not to choose one method over the other but rather to provide specialty growers with a balanced toolkit.

“What we’re working on, really, at Corteva, is to use all of our technical abilities to provide the best outcomes for farmers,” Davies says. “Whether it’s a traditional chemical or a biological, both have their place in the market, and both can provide great benefits for farmers in the right place when they deploy them in the right way.”

Bringing Award-Winning Tech to the Specialty Market

With Utrisha N already registered in over 50 countries, Corteva is now focused on expanding its reach into more specialty acres. By generating rigorous agronomic data, the company aims to give specialty growers the peace of mind they need to invest in new technology.

“Farmers need confidence that when they spend money on a product, it’s going to work,” Davies says. “We’re working hard to increase those confidence levels.”

As Corteva continues to roll out these award-winning solutions, the company says it will continue providing the right technology at the right time to ensure a more resilient and productive future for specialty agriculture.

Organizations and Agencies Formalize Zero Deforestation Agreement for Mexican Avocados for Export

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 19:57:25 GMT

The Association of Avocado Producers and Exporting Packers of Mexico (APEAM) has formalized a Zero Deforestation Agreement with Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA), establishing a framework to ensure export-bound avocados meet environmental standards increasingly required in global markets.

The agreement creates a voluntary self-regulation system for avocado exports that is designed to verify compliance with Mexican environmental law while strengthening traceability and transparency across the supply chain. This builds on a Mexican federal requirement published in October 2025 mandating zero deforestation for agricultural exports and is a big milestone for the Mexican avocado industry’s sustainability commitment, which includes APEAM and the Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association (MHAIA), as part of the industry’s Path to Sustainability.

Under this framework, APEAM will serve as a coordinating governance body, overseeing implementation of a bilateral operational work plan that covers orchards, packing facilities, inspections, traceability and logistics for hass avocado exports to the U.S. In coordination with SEMARNAT and PROFEPA, the model introduces clear mechanisms to:

Identify orchards with potential environmental risk.
Support producers in meeting legal compliance requirements.
Require remediation or compensation measures when applicable.

Government agencies will retain full oversight and enforcement authority. The agreement is intended to provide greater assurance of supply chain compliance, reduce regulatory and reputational risk and support continued access to Mexican avocados under evolving environmental standards.

During the signing, Mexico Environment Secretary Alicia Bárcena Ibarra said the agreement reflects closer coordination between government and industry to meet environmental obligations, while advancing trade and APEAM’s leadership in sustainability initiatives. APEAM says the framework will translate environmental requirements into verifiable and measurable actions, reinforcing the sector’s ability to meet international expectations.

“The agreement marks an important day for the industry and for the country,” says Raúl Martínez Pulido, president of APEAM. “Export avocado production to the United States only has a future if it is compatible with protecting our forests. The deal is not a symbolic gesture or a short-term response, but the natural evolution of a model built over nearly three decades on clear rules and shared responsibility. There is no competitiveness without legality, and no sustainable trade without environmental responsibility.”

The agreement reaffirms APEAM’s commitment to working alongside government authorities and commercial partners and is expected to strengthen regulatory certainty for producers and exporters while supporting long-term access to premium markets.

Mexico supplies more than 85% of avocados to the U.S., making the industry — represented by APEAM in Mexico and MHAIA in the U.S. — a critical component of the U.S. fresh produce market.

Natural Grocers and Rodale Institute Celebrate Earth Month With Annual Ladybug Love Campaign

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:16:51 GMT

To celebrate Earth Month, Natural Grocers is again teaming up with the Rodale Institute for its annual Ladybug Love campaign. Rooted in the company’s longstanding commitment to organic integrity, regenerative agriculture and environmental stewardship, the campaign encourages communities to protect beneficial insects while supporting regenerative organic agriculture.

This year’s Earth Month fundraising efforts will benefit the Rodale Institute’s farmer training, which includes highly immersive, full-time programs that prepare farmers for careers in regenerative organic crop and vegetable production by advancing organic practices and soil health.

“The Ladybug Love campaign highlights the essential role beneficial insects play in building healthy soil, resilient farms and a more sustainable food system,” says Raquel Isely, vice president of marketing for Natural Grocers. “Rodale Institute’s science-driven research and immersive farmer training programs are helping advance regenerative organic agriculture in meaningful, measurable ways. With the support of our customers, this campaign helps cultivate the next generation of organic farmers while reinforcing our shared responsibility to care for the land, protect biodiversity and nourish the planet.”

Customers can take or renew their Ladybug Love pledge online, committing to avoiding chemicals that harm ladybugs and other beneficial insects in their homes, yards and gardens while supporting 100% organic produce. Natural Grocers says it aims to raise $100,000 in April for Rodale Institute’s farmer training programs through the following in-store fundraising opportunities:

Natural Grocers will donate $1 (up to $25,000) to the Rodale Institute for every Ladybug Love pledge signed from April 1-30.
Customers can donate $1, $5 or $10 at the register to support the Rodale Institute’s farmer training programs from April 1-30.
For every Ladybug Zip Pouch sold from April 1-30, Natural Grocers will donate $2 to the Rodale Institute.
{N}power members who make or renew their pledge from April 1-15 will receive $5 off their purchase from April 22-24.
{N}power members will also receive a free limited-edition Earth Day-themed reusable bag and sticker with any purchase from April 22-24.

Through April 25, customers are invited to count the ladybugs hidden throughout the pages of Natural Grocers’ Good4u Health Hotline magazine (Vol. 105) for the chance to win a $500 Natural Grocers gift card.

Throughout April, Natural Grocers says it will continue to celebrate Earth Month by sharing regenerative living insights and resources related to food, homes, gardens and yards. The celebration is set to culminate with a three-day Earth Day event, April 22-24, featuring “Even More Affordable Earth Day” deals, giveaways and special offers for {N}power members.

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Why Patagonia Is Investing $1.55M in This California County’s Soil

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:43:22 GMT

In the sun-drenched landscape of Ventura County, Calif., the geography of agriculture and daily life is inextricably linked. Citrus groves and strawberry fields sit just steps away from suburban porches, schools and parks. While this proximity defines the local landscape, it also presents an opportunity for a new model of land stewardship.

Ventura County remains a focal point for agricultural innovation, and today, that innovation is centered on transitioning toward regenerative organic practices.

To support this evolution, Patagonia’s Holdfast Collective has approved a $1.55 million, three-year grant renewal to support the Rodale Institute’s Regenerate Ventura project. This funding aims to accelerate the transition of farmland toward regenerative organic agriculture, a mission directly aligned with Patagonia’s vision for the future of food. For Patagonia, the investment is deeply local because its headquarters sits at the base of the Ventura River delta, where the mountain water meets the Pacific Ocean.

“This renewal reflects what we’ve proven in Year 1: That hyperlocal, farmer-first support works,” says Rodale Institute CEO Jeff Tkach. “With Holdfast’s partnership, we’re not just funding transition; we’re funding a systems shift. The full vision for countywide transformation requires $10 million in total investment. We’re calling on others who are committed to this work to join us in making Ventura County a regenerative organic model for the nation.”

Paul Lightfoot, general manager of Patagonia Provisions, notes that the company’s employees are neighbors to these farms, living in Oxnard, Ojai and Ventura. Because the groves and neighborhoods are so intertwined, the health of the soil and the methods of application are a significant point of interest for the local community.

“It’s a nice thing to think about, because the meaning is, like, really important and personal,” Lightfoot says. He points to Ojai as a specific example where groves run through neighborhoods, making the success of the farming operations a shared community priority. “Our employees live in Ventura County. ... It’s just a huge point of concern for all of our people who live there and whose dogs run on the streets and their kids go to the parks and go to the schools there.”

While many might assume Patagonia Provisions is funding this to secure its own supply chain, the primary goal is to support farm viability. The division currently does not carry fresh produce like the lemons or strawberries grown in Ventura. Instead, the company is using the Holdfast Collective to act as a partner and funder to help local growers explore alternatives to what Lightfoot describes as the chemical agricultural treadmill.

Conventional farmers often face intense pressure from pest diseases and may find themselves caught in a cycle of increasing inputs.

“And that maybe works for a while, but it doesn’t work forever, right? Resistance is bred,” Lightfoot says. He notes that Rodale Institute’s role is to offer a different path for those interested in change. “What Rodale is doing is saying, ‘We’re going to go in and see if any farmers want to learn about their options for getting off the [chemical] agricultural treadmill,’ and a lot of them are saying yes.”

Rodale Institute steps into this space by offering technical assistance, business planning and equipment stipends. This farmer-first approach ensures that growers have the data and support they need to maintain a productive, profitable operation while moving away from synthetic applications. The project has already seen significant success since its 2024 launch, with more than 10,000 acres currently in transition and nearly 39% engagement among farmers who are Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC).

For Lightfoot and the team at Patagonia, seeing these funds put to work is a direct reflection of the company’s unique ownership structure. Because profits are paid to the Holdfast Collective to protect the planet, the success of the business is redirected back into the health of the local soil. Lightfoot says he views the grant as a way to use the “fruits of our labor” to help build a more resilient agricultural model right in their own backyard.

“Rodale Institute is filling a void,” says Greg Curtis, executive director of the Holdfast Collective. “They’ve shown up with rigor, trust and results. Their model proves that organic and regenerative organic agriculture is essential to climate resilience and farm viability in our own backyard and beyond.”

How One Houston Influencer is Turning Public Land into Productive Soil

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:24:25 GMT

Editor’s note: This story is part of an ongoing Sowing Change series about urban farming.

In the sprawl of Houston, a city defined by its concrete and vulnerability to the Gulf’s rising waters, Scott Sheridan sees a missed opportunity. Sheridan, the founder of Scotty’s Fermented Foods, is moving beyond the crock and the jar to tackle a much larger fermentation project: the soil itself.

Through his upcoming 1-acre community farm project, Sheridan is attempting to prove that Houston’s underutilized floodplains can be transformed from “dead land” into a vital defense against an impending food crisis.

Before he was a land regeneration advocate, Sheridan established himself as a prominent voice in the fermentation community. He has since translated that expertise into a massive digital presence, producing over 400 videos across social media. His content is designed to be a bridge for the curious — offering short, accessible tutorials that provide both the how and the why of soil health, microbial life and food preservation.

By sharing his own journey from a COVID gardener to a market-scale producer, Sheridan uses his platform to demystify the complexities of regenerative agriculture for a modern, urban audience.

Repairing the Broken Water Cycle

The inspiration for the project stems from Sheridan’s deep dive into regenerative agriculture, sparked by the challenges he faced in his own backyard during the pandemic. He points to the “broken water cycles” popularized by regenerative pioneers like Gabe Brown as the root of modern agricultural instability.

“The soil doesn’t absorb the water,” Sheridan says. “We’ve exhausted the river systems and the aquifers. In Houston, we had three so-called 100-year floods in a period of about five years. A lot of new floodplains were established. ... Irrigation has broken down because the soil simply can’t hold what falls.”

Vision From the Back Porch

The shift from theoretical concern to local action happened right in Sheridan’s own backyard. Living in a floodplain himself, he watched as a neighboring 5-acre block was transformed by the Harris County Flood Control program. Following those devastating floods, the county moved in, cleared out the existing homes and stripped away the driveways and curbs.

What remained was a vast, silent stretch of dead land — cleared for safety but left without a purpose. Rather than seeing a vacant lot, he saw a canvas for the regenerative principles he had been studying.

This observation led him to petition the county with a radical proposal: allow him to manage a 1-acre portion of that land as a community garden and land regeneration pilot. To his surprise, he found a champion within the county government: a representative in the vegetation management department who shared his dream of turning underutilized public infrastructure into a sponge of edible urban greenery.

This partnership has moved the project through the complex bureaucratic hurdles that often stall urban farming initiatives.

The Sponge Strategy: Soil Over Plants

For Sheridan, urban farming isn’t just about feeding plants; it’s about feeding microbes. His strategy for the 1-acre plot focuses on sheet composting at scale to repair soil structure, which in turn fixes the water cycle on a microlevel.

“I’m a no-till, no-fertilizer, no-pesticide guy,” Sheridan says. “I just add humus to the soil. I’m going to spend the first six months sheet composting ... creating a pile every 10 feet and spreading it across. When you compost on-site, you start that biological cycle with thermophilic bacteria inoculating the land. It’s the first step to making the soil absorb and retain water.”

By utilizing chip drop services for carbon and collecting vegetable waste from supermarkets and his own fermentation business, Sheridan is turning urban waste into the very engine of his farm’s productivity.

Model for Economic Resilience

While many community gardens rely on volunteerism, Sheridan is a staunch advocate for monetizing the mission. He thinks that for urban farming to truly take root in the culture, it must be a viable career path for young people.

“If we are just going to be volunteers ... it really won’t get legs,” Sheridan says. “We need to turn to young people and say, ‘Hey, there is an income we can create from this.’”

His vision includes a value-added model:

Market produce — Selling high-demand crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and eggplant.
Waste mitigation — Taking unsold produce and turning it into fermented products like sauerkraut, salsa and baba ghanoush.
Scaling up — Using public land to grow space-heavy crops, like cabbage and melons, that aren’t feasible in small backyard plots.

Beyond Policy: Creating a Culture

Sheridan’s project is currently moving through the final stages of approval. Unlike the bureaucratic speed bumps often associated with city-level projects, he found the county surprisingly receptive to the idea of edible parks.

“Houston is not the type of place you want to be in during a food crisis,” Sheridan says. “I have a dream that maybe we can create a culture where people are taking public land and starting to farm it ... doing this outside of policy.”

As Sheridan prepares to take his pitchfork to the floodplain, his goal remains clear: to turn Houston’s flood-prone dead zones into a blueprint for urban food security, an acre at a time.

Follow Sheridan on social media platforms: @scottysfermentedfoods.

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Measure to Improve Launches New Services to Demystify Shifting Regulatory Requirements

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:56:33 GMT

Measure to Improve has launched two new solutions to help produce companies meet growing reporting and regulatory expectations: the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Solution and the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Readiness Solution.

“We feel there is a really strong need for this,” says Corinne Carney, director of sustainability solutions for Measure to Improve. “These are complicated concepts. They’re tough to get your head around.”

She says these solutions are designed to help demystify some of the concepts in a way that is more grounded in the fresh produce industry.

Navigating the EPR Maze

EPR laws require companies to track packaging materials, register with a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) and, in many cases, contribute fees tied to packaging volumes. Measure to Improve says its solution helps organizations understand what information is required, identify where that information exists internally and prepare teams for reporting obligations.

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Solution helps companies build a credible, well-documented emissions inventory that supports buyer requests, sustainability reporting and future climate disclosure requirements. The focus is on creating a structured, repeatable process so emissions can be measured and managed year after year, Measure to Improve says.

“There’s so many small nuances and details that are not quite apparent from the jump; that’s where we just try to help demystify some of those things, because it’s all new,” Carney says of these EPR regulations.

She says 1 in every 5 Americans lives in a state with an EPR law, and each law is slightly different and in different phases of implementation. Some states have already begun charging EPR fees, and some have not. All but one state, Maine, have reporting deadlines of May 31, though she says what producers will be responsible for reporting varies by state. California has not officially finalized its EPR rulemaking.

Defining the Producer Hierarchy

One of the biggest questions Carney says Measure to Improve gets with EPRs is who a producer is and where those charges fall.

“The definition of a producer varies by state,” she says. “And there’s usually a hierarchy. So, if no one meets that criteria, then it’s the next person, and so on and so forth. But typically across states, the brand owner is the top of that hierarchy.”

And as many retailers use private-label packaging, the responsibility would also vary by state.

“I encourage everyone to look into this further, but for the most part, the retailer who owns the private brand would be the one responsible, not the grower,” she says. “But obviously, if the grower owned the brand, that would probably be their responsibility.”

Most of the focus with EPRs stems from plastic packaging, Carney says, though some states have additional regulations. This can make it challenging for growers selling into multiple states with EPRs.

“It varies by state — what packaging is and is not covered changes,” she says. “So, whether or not it’s just consumer packaging, or if it also includes that B2B or transport packaging, is just going to vary. In California, for the most part, transport packaging is included; shrink wrap, corner boards — all of that is going to be included in California. That’s largely the same case for Oregon, but it’s a case-by-case, state-by-state basis.”

Risk of Retroactive Fees

Carney says that it’s important for growers selling into EPR states, not just growing in them, to understand whether the products sold fall under these regulations. While there are some volume thresholds, she says growers already exceeding the thresholds but who don’t comply could face costly fines retroactive to the start of the EPR in that state.

“Let’s say you were unaware of EPR, and a couple of years from now, you become aware of that, and then you realize you needed to comply, and you have met the threshold every year since then, and you would need to pay retroactive fees back,” she says.

Driving Sustainability Through Data

While this all sounds scary, Carney says it’s important to understand the point of EPRs, which is to incentivize more sustainable design and materials.

“The fee rates are based off of the amount that you’re sending but also the material type,” she says. “For example, in some states for a recyclable film plastic, the fees might be half as much compared to a nonrecyclable film plastic. So, it is trying to incentivize moving in that direction. If you are growing into a certain state, or selling more, or whatever that might look like for a company, choosing more sustainable options is going to benefit them.”

Carney says that while EPRs may be newer to many fresh produce growers, greenhouse gas emission tracking is not. However, she says they’re both part of a growing trend of interest from both consumers and retailers.

“This is an area where sustainability is not going away,” she says. “These topics are not going away. They’re here to stay, and they’ve been very consistent. Both things really require a lot of data and information in order to make informed decisions on either one.”

Carney says that while retailers have asked for greenhouse gas reporting and that has driven some of the work, there are also increased regulations around greenhouse gases in different states, so it’s important for growers to have solutions to help track both EPRs and greenhouse gases.

“We aim to help build systems so that organizations can measure and use that information to improve themselves,” she says. “We know that there are different targets and goal posts, if you will, and once organizations have that information, they’re so well equipped to then move forward and do what makes the most sense for them.”

Spoonfuls Runner Harvests a New Family Milestone

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 19:44:06 GMT

Registered dietitian Michelle Piro will run the 130th Boston Marathon in support of Spoonfuls . She says running for a charity with such a connection to her professional life makes this experience much more meaningful.

But her Boston Marathon roots go much deeper. Her grandfather, Jerry, qualified and competed in the historic race 25 times and ran the 100th Boston Marathon.

“I’ve always wanted to run the Boston Marathon,” she says. “It’s been a dream of mine forever.”

Piro says that as a registered dietitian who studied nutrition and health promotion, she has always been passionate about food.

“The fact that they really reduce food waste and help fight insecurity as well within that process just really stood out to me,” she says.

As part of the team raising money for Spoonfuls, Piro got a chance to ride along with the Spoonfuls team and learn more about the work they do.

“That was a really cool experience,” she says. “Just to see how much they really do acquire and how much it’s so needed with the different organizations that they drop it off at.”

Piro says with such a deep family connection to the Boston Marathon, she knew she wanted it to be her first marathon. She says she grew up with stories of how her grandfather started running in his 40s and 50s, so this moment is full circle for her and her family.

“I was also born in 1996, and it is 30 years from when he ran,” she says. “I thought that was kind of a cool tie as well. It’s also running in memory of them.”

While her grandfather died in 2020 and her grandmother passed away last August, Piro has some of her grandfather’s mementos to help inspire her training.

“I have a lot of his old Boston memorabilia, old Boston T-shirts and jackets,” she says. “He ran the 100th marathon, Boston Marathon, so I have his old medal in my desk drawer,” she says. “It’s just so cool being able to come full circle and listening to those stories growing up and be able to do that now this year, especially on an anniversary year, I feel like it’s such a cool opportunity.”

As a Boston native, she says training has been going well, and she had a good foundation of running as she went into the training cycle. She says she’s also got a leg up as a dietitian as well, with the right foods and hydration.

And this means a lot of fresh produce. Piro says she enjoys mixing up and eating seasonally.

“Recently I’ve been utilizing a lot of citrus fruits, lots of oranges, especially a good snack or a refreshing thing to add to my meal after a run, or just in general,” she says. “Lots of oranges, lots of bananas. I feel like that’s a big part of training.”

Piro says she’s also eating a lot of apples, especially Cosmic Crisp, which she says she’ll eat as a snack and add to breakfast.

Vegetables, including squash and potatoes for carbohydrates, also play a key role in fueling her training.

“I also love a good fresh salad,” she says. “I’ll do a lot of different fun salads depending on the week and what I’m in the mood for. And that way, I’ll add a lot of different extra chopped veggies depending, too, on what’s on sale or what’s in season. I really emphasize any variety of different things. I feel like there’s no shortage of opportunities to get more produce in.”

Piro says she’s excited to continue her family’s legacy with the Boston Marathon and that being a part of Team Spoonfuls has made her first marathon more meaningful.

“Running for an organization that I just have the utmost respect for and something that I’m so passionate about with public health promotion and food access — I feel like it’s just the perfect storm,” she says.

Report Shows U.S. Food Waste at Historic Low, Driven by Households

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:59:52 GMT

Progress on the Plate: 2026 ReFED U.S. Food Waste Report marks a turning point in the movement to reduce food waste, revealing the first year-to-year reduction in surplus food since COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, total surplus food in the United States decreased to 70 million tons, a 2.2% reduction from the previous year, or a 3.7% decrease per capita. While this represents a significant milestone, nearly one-third of U.S. food supply (29%) still goes unsold or uneaten.

The new report from ReFED includes key statistics, insights, barriers and points of progress on the issue, to help professionals and communities alike understand the current state of the food waste challenge and how to meaningfully address it.

“This is an opportune moment to focus on wasting less food,” says Dana Gunders, president of ReFED. “With higher food prices, Americans are looking for ways to extend their grocery dollars. Using up more of what they’re already purchasing and wasting less is proving to be one of the most accessible ways to do it. At the same time, food waste reduction is recognized as a business decision with material impact on the bottom line for food businesses, which are elevating the issue to the C-suite and boardroom. The wind is at our backs, and it’s time to step on the gas.”

The amount of surplus food according to ReFED’s Progress on the Plate: 2026 U.S. Food Waste Report.

(Image courtesy of ReFED)

Fresh Produce Waste: A Persistent Challenge

Fresh produce remains the most wasted food type in the United States, accounting for 45.4% of all surplus food. Despite overall reductions in food waste, fresh fruit has been particularly difficult to manage and did not see the same waste reductions as more “visible” everyday items like milk.

To bridge the national results with specific industry trends, the following sections examine how fresh produce waste is currently being addressed across the farm, retail and consumer sectors:

1. At the Farm Level (24.2% of Surplus)
Farms are the second largest source of surplus food, contributing 24.2% of the total. Much of this waste is driven by systemic factors:

Harvesting: Approximately 19.9% of total surplus food across the supply chain is never harvested.
Buyer rejections: Strict aesthetic standards lead to “buyer rejections,” which account for 2.2% of surplus food.
Emerging solutions: Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement is increasing the appeal of imperfect produce, which can be diverted from landfills and sold at a discount to improve both nutrition and affordability.

2. In the Retail Sector (5.7% of Surplus)
While retail accounts for a smaller percentage of total surplus (5.7%), it represents a significant financial opportunity.

Efficiency gains: Grocery retailers saw a 1.1% decrease in their “Unsold Food Rate” between 2023 and 2024.
Financial impact: Surplus food in the retail sector was valued at $26.9 billion in 2024.
Policy and AI: Standardizing date labels through the proposed federal Food Date Labeling Act could save retailers $253 million annually through better inventory management. Additionally, AI-enhanced demand-planning tools are helping retailers right-size orders and improve yield.

3. Consumer Waste (33.5% of Surplus)
Residential waste is the leading driver of surplus food, but it also showed the most progress in 2024 with a 950,000-ton reduction.

Economic drivers: High food prices have forced consumers to adopt better food management practices, such as meal planning (72%), checking inventory before shopping (87%) and eating leftovers (76%).
The produce gap: Consumers are more effective at managing prepared foods, but struggle with fresh produce, which often goes to waste because it is “harder to manage.”
Financial burden: On average, individual consumers spend $762 per year on food that eventually goes to waste.

Looking Forward: The Path to 2030

The report identifies 47 solutions — including centralized composting, upcycling and portion size customization — that could reduce food waste by 20 million tons annually if fully implemented. By focusing on inventory visibility and behavioral change, U.S. aims to maintain this momentum to meet the goal of halving food waste by 2030.

To read the full report, click here .

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Kroger and Flashfood Take Waste-Reduction Partnership Divisionwide Across the Mid-Atlantic

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 20:06:23 GMT

Flashfood’s mission to tackle food insecurity and waste has reached a major milestone as its platform goes live across Kroger’s entire Mid-Atlantic Division.

Following a successful rollout in 16 Richmond-area stores last summer that saved shoppers nearly $700,000, keeping over 290,000 pounds of food out of landfills, the rollout now provides residents in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky access to affordable, high-quality groceries at more than 100 locations, according to the companies.

“From the start, our Richmond customers have embraced Flashfood,” says Kate Mora, president of Kroger Mid-Atlantic. “The expansion throughout our Mid-Atlantic Division is a natural next step. This will give more shoppers the opportunity to save on groceries while ensuring less good food ends up in landfills, bringing our Zero Hunger, Zero Waste commitment to life in a meaningful way.”

“In a short amount of time, the impact Kroger and Flashfood have been able to accomplish for their local communities — improving access to affordable, healthy food — is something I’m incredibly proud of,” says Flashfood CEO Jordan Schenck. “Together, we’re building a modern, data-driven shrink management system that supports Kroger’s waste reduction goals while helping more families access the food they need.”

Bridging the Gap Between Health and Affordability

As part of a collective effort to advance food-as-medicine initiatives, Kroger Health and Flashfood are placing affordability at the center of the nutrition conversation. In a 2025 survey, 70% of Flashfood shoppers reported a healthier diet since using Flashfood, according to a news release.

As Flashfood expands across the Mid-Atlantic Division, Kroger Health and Flashfood will offer a series of free virtual nutrition classes for Kroger shoppers. The classes will share tips for preparing easy, healthy meals on a budget and making the most of fresh ingredients found on Flashfood.

“Our team is always looking for ways to make healthier choices the easy choice for our shoppers, and Flashfood helps make those options both accessible and affordable,” says Laura Brown, director of nutrition for Kroger Health. “Through these nutrition classes, we hope to make healthy living more approachable while showcasing the wide variety of nutritious options available in our stores.”

With this expansion, Flashfood says it continues to scale as a trusted grocery technology partner for major retailers across North America. Flashfood is now available in more than 2,000 grocery stores, helping shoppers save hundreds of millions of dollars on groceries while keeping millions of pounds of food out of landfills.

How Little Leaf Farms Mastered the Disciplined Model for Indoor Ag Dominance

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 22:08:05 GMT

For Paul Sellew, founder and CEO of Little Leaf Farms, innovation isn’t about chasing the next tech play. It’s about something far more grounded: building a better system. While some in the indoor farming space have prioritized rapid growth, Sellew has steered Little Leaf toward a more disciplined model, proving the key to a sustainable food future lies in perfecting the fundamentals of how we grow, harvest and distribute every little leaf.

Discipline is critical in the indoor ag space, which has grappled with challenges from high energy costs to difficulty scaling to pests to intense market competition. All the while, Little Leaf Farms has quietly built a revolution to become North America’s top producer of indoor-grown lettuce.

The Devens, Mass.-based greenhouse grower seems to have cracked the code on scaling sustainability — earning a spot on Fast Company’s 2026 World’s Most Innovative Companies list and capturing over 50% of the indoor leafy green market in the process.

“We believe that innovation isn’t about chasing technology for its own sake,” Sellew says. “Rather, it’s about building a better system for growing and delivering fresh food. From the beginning, we’ve focused on fulfilling the original promise of controlled environment agriculture: fresher, more sustainable greens produced with consistency and strong unit economics.

“That means integrating advanced greenhouse technology with a disciplined operating model,” Sellew continues. “We’ve taken a continuous improvement approach to the fundamentals — how we grow, harvest and distribute — and have been constantly refining the system as we scale. In a category where others prioritized speed, we’ve stayed focused on building a model that works and keeps getting better over time.”

Sellew says the approach has enabled Little Leaf to expand into new markets, introduce new products and grow its footprint in a way that’s both sustainable and profitable.

Doing More With Less

Indoor ag operates in a dynamic macroeconomic environment, where cost pressures and efficiency matter more than ever.

For Paul Sellew, founder and CEO of Little Leaf Farms, innovation isn’t about chasing the next tech play. It’s about something far more grounded: building a better system.

(Photo courtesy of Little Leaf Farms)

“That’s reinforced our focus on disciplined execution — continuing to improve yields, reduce waste and optimize our supply chain so we can deliver high-quality greens at a competitive price,” Sellew says.

Through its controlled environment model, Little Leaf Farms says it uses 90% less water than traditional farming, eliminates chemical runoff and produces up to 30 times the yield of field-grown lettuce.

And given the fresh produce industry’s highly competitive fight for share of stomach, product innovation is another important driver of growth for Little Leaf Farms.

“Our introduction of teen leaf romaine, something that hadn’t been commercially grown in a greenhouse before, is a good example of how we’re expanding what’s possible in CEA,” he says.

Extending an Empire of Fresh

Since its founding in 2015, Little Leaf Farms has set out to redefine the packaged salad category through its year-round greenhouse model that harvests daily and delivers to grocers in as little as 24 hours.

It’s a business model that has Little Leaf Farms driving change versus adapting to it.

“We’re fundamentally changing expectations around fresh produce. For decades, leafy greens have been impacted by weather, long transit times and food safety concerns — all of which can lead to inconsistent quality and shelf life,” Sellew says. “By growing year-round in a controlled environment and delivering to stores within 24 hours of harvest, we’ve shown there’s a better way, where freshness, safety and reliability become the standard, not the exception.”

At the same time, Sellew says Little Leaf is laser focused on adapting to how the market is evolving.

(Photo courtesy of Little Leaf Farms)

“Consumer expectations are shifting toward fresher, longer-lasting products and increasingly toward online grocery shopping, where consistency and shelf life matter even more,” he says. “Our model is well-suited to meet those needs, and we continue to refine how we package, distribute and position our products to align with those behaviors.”

To support this business strategy, the greenhouse grower has advanced its expansion plans in the past year with a new 215-acre site in Manchester, Tenn., initially slated for 40 acres of greenhouse space with an option to grow to 80 acres. The company also broadened its footprint with an additional greenhouse at its McAdoo, Pa., campus and introduced a new product innovation: Romaine Leaf Lettuce.

Expanding operations to additional sites has helped Little Leaf Farms bring fresh greens closer to more consumers across the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest, while further flexing its scalability muscles.

“One of the biggest lessons from McAdoo is the importance of building systems that scale without sacrificing consistency,” Sellew says. “Our experience successfully designing and operating four 10-acre greenhouses in Pennsylvania has given us both the confidence and the operational foundation to take the next step with our first 20-acre facility in Tennessee. We’re applying those learnings from day one, from greenhouse design and automation to workflow optimization.

“Just as important is our approach to building teams,” he continues. “With each new greenhouse, we carry forward key learnings by transferring experienced leaders from existing facilities while also hiring and developing local talent. That combination helps us maintain our standards while building strong, regionally rooted teams.”

Sellew says the goal is to replicate what works and continue to improve it, so the company scales in a way that stays true to the model it has built.

Expansion also helps Little Leaf deliver on its 24- to 36-hour harvest-to-shelf promise.

“Proximity is a big part of our strategy,” Sellew says. “By building greenhouses closer to the regions we serve, we’re able to maintain that freshness standard even as we grow.

“We continue to invest in logistics, forecasting and supply chain coordination to ensure we’re moving product as efficiently as possible,” he continues. “It’s less about any single breakthrough and more about tightly integrating operations from greenhouse to shelf so the system works seamlessly at scale.”

An Eye to Future Growth

Sellew says making Fast Company’s list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2026 underscores what innovation in agriculture can achieve. But how does a company like Little Leaf sustain the No. 1 spot as the largest indoor leafy greens producer in North America, while continuing to innovate and expand?

“Growing remains at the core of everything we do,” Sellew says. “If we continue to improve how we grow, I believe that market leadership follows from that.

“Innovation for us is continuous,” he adds. “It shows up in new varieties, operational improvements and how we scale into new regions without compromising quality. We’re also exploring new product offerings that feature our leafy greens, creating more ways for consumers to experience the brand. The goal isn’t just to grow bigger — it’s to raise the bar as we grow.”

Moving forward, Sellew sees significant opportunity to expand both geographically and within households.

“Over the next several years, our focus is on thoughtful scaling — adding capacity, strengthening retail partnerships and continuing to grow the category overall,” he says. “We’re always working toward our long-term ambition: to become the No. 1 lettuce brand in the country. We believe controlled environment agriculture will play a much larger role in the U.S. food system, and we intend to lead that shift.”

Spoonfuls' Food Waste Challenge Bridges the Gap from Aisle to Kitchen

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:39:37 GMT

Spoonfuls, New England’s largest food recovery organization, has launched its Food Waste Challenge as part of its activities around Earth Month.

The organization seeks to help households tackle the 33% of food waste that happens at home. The initiative specifically targets best-by or sell-by dates and challenges consumers to look at monitoring and prioritizing at-risk items, flexible meal planning and shopping, rethinking date labels, freezing and strategic storage and eating leftovers.

Empowering Shoppers to Save

Liz Miller, senior community relations manager at Spoonfuls, says the Food Waste Challenge is a great opportunity for consumers to recognize their food waste habits, as nearly one-third of the food in the U.S. goes unsold or uneaten. While a lot of what happens at the grocery store level is consumer-driven, this is an opportunity for retailers to help consumers be more conscientious shoppers.

“It’s taking notice of the issue of wasted food and how it’s showing up in our daily lives, and then challenging ourselves to do better is the intent of the challenge,” she says. “And I think when we all go grocery shopping, that’s a perfect opportunity to practice that.”

Miller says there are also financial implications to wasted food, regardless of income, so she says she hopes this Food Waste Challenge is a motivation to make changes.

“The average household of four wastes around $3,000 on wasted food each year,” she says.

“What we understand from research is that households across the board are subject to this issue of wasted food and those households across the board are losing money if they’re wasting food,” she adds. “It’s exciting to be able to give folks sort of the tools to empower them to avoid that loss.”

Rethinking the ‘Perfect’ Produce

Miller says this could mean picking the misshapen pepper or another piece of produce that has some imperfections.

“It’s an opportunity for all of us, regardless of where we work or how we’re engaging in the food system, to really build a strong understanding of this very wide, widely reaching issue,” she says.

Miller says the Food Waste Challenge is an opportunity for consumers to be more thoughtful shoppers, knowing what they already have on hand and what needs to be used. It’s also a chance for consumers to be more intentional shoppers, buying only what can be consumed more timely.

“There was a study done a couple years ago that was looking at consumer food waste habits and interventions to reduce wasted food in the home, and making a grocery list and then sticking to that grocery list was one of the most effective ways that households were found to be reducing the amount of wasted food that they were generating,” she says.

Miller says there’s also some synergy with consumers’ bigger focus on food waste and apps, such as Too Good to Go or Flashfood, to help retailers eliminate surplus and excess product. While it’s easy to think that those apps compete for items that would be donated to food recovery organizations, she says this helps create broader consciousness around food waste.

“I think it opens the door for consumers to rethink their own standards, because when folks see something that’s imperfect or something that’s excess, they might not want it,” Miller says. “But then if it’s offered at like a discount and there’s kind of an exciting opportunity to grab something at a steal, more people are probably willing to do it.”

And this translates to consumers’ habits at home, where they may think differently about excess food.

“There’s some nice synergy with stores trying to be a little bit more sustainable and a little bit more efficient and using those kinds of apps and other software that’s helping them be more efficient,” she says. “With the consumers simultaneously becoming a little bit more tolerant of doing things differently in a retail environment.”

Aligning with Corporate Sustainability Goals

Miller says a major goal for the Food Waste Challenge is to curb the impacts of wasted food that ends up in landfills on greenhouse gas emissions, as nearly 3.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions are from wasted food.

“I know that that aligns with what a lot of retailers are thinking about as they’re thinking about their own sustainability goals and their corporate social responsibility goals,” she says.

Miller says the ultimate goal of the Food Waste Challenge is to promote more conscious consumption of food and build awareness, which is beneficial to all retailers.

“We welcome any retailer who wants to get on board to encourage their staff to take it and really just kind of dive into these issues with us, because it’s a great learning opportunity,” she says.

Miller says the Food Waste Challenge also helps show consumers realistically how much food they waste. She says she’s had many people tell her, “I don’t waste anything.”

“Then I challenge them to think about it a little bit more carefully and they start to realize, ‘I did throw away half a bunch of parsley just the other day’ or ‘Oh, yeah. Those carrots in my crisper got really floppy and I tossed them too.’ People start to think about it a little bit more critically.”

She points to Spoonfuls’ Wasted Food Inventory, which helps participants track food thrown away in a week and reflect on why the food was wasted to help determine small changes to waste less in the future.

“I think a lot of folks don’t realize it until they start paying attention to it, and then they’re shocked and ready to make a change,” she says.

Miller says if retailers have excess product that is safe to eat but needs to find a home, connect with a local food recovery organization like Spoonfuls to donate that excess produce.

“And that’s them taking the food waste challenge to heart and really making an impact,” she says.

Meet the Produce Exec Behind One of Canada’s Top Women-Led Companies

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 20:31:21 GMT

Equifruit is proving that responsible sourcing and paying farmers fairly can translate to category growth in the banana aisle. For the second year in a row, the Montreal-based, Fairtrade International-certified business has secured a spot on The Globe and Mail’s list of Canada’s Top Growing Women-Led Companies , landing at No. 21 and signaling a major shift in how North American retailers approach the price-sensitive banana category.

Launched in 2025, The Globe and Mail ranking recognizes women-led businesses demonstrating strong, sustained revenue growth. As a Certified B Corp operating across North America, Equifruit says it integrates fair trade standards in its commercial strategy while expanding its footprint in one of the most competitive categories in fresh produce.

Since 2019, The Globe and Mail has also ranked the top growing companies in Canada — a larger list of 400 companies versus the women-led list of 44 companies — on which Equifruit has also nabbed a spot for the past four years.

“On the one hand, it’s always lovely to get recognition, and on the other, I think it’s a bit of a learning moment to think about what a comparatively small number of companies are women led and to reflect on the challenges that must be facing female entrepreneurs for there to be so few of us,” says Jennie Coleman, president and co-owner of Equifruit. “I’m proud to be part of the few. I would just love to see more.

“I think women still face all kinds of barriers,” Coleman continues. “These are not necessarily barriers that I faced, but in access to capital, in mentorship opportunities, in being in a room where your voice is heard and accepted and encouraged — that’s a big one, and that’s the one I feel is most constraining.”

Tariffs Make for a Tough Year

As The Globe and Mail’s top companies recognitions are based on the past three years of consecutive growth, Equifruit’s place on both lists is all the more meaningful given the company’s 2025 tariff woes .

“Last year was a tough year for Equifruit,” Coleman says. “I think it was a tough year for everybody, but the tariffs were challenging and our sales were more or less flat.”

For Equifruit, which imports its fair trade bananas from Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Mexico, the April 5 baseline tariff of 10% the Trump administration imposed on nearly all countries slowed the momentum it had been building in the category for the last 20 years.

“You start to feel that you’re never going to make another sale, unless we do more of this advocacy that makes grocery decision-makers aware of the problem Equifruit is trying to solve with fair trade bananas,” she says.

Those tariffs were lifted in early November but not before the grocery industry learned a key lesson: bananas — a longtime loss leader — can command a higher price that consumers won’t hesitate to buy.

“Banana prices can rise, as we saw through tariffs, and the sun will still come up and people will still purchase them,” says Coleman, who notes
Equifruit has made some important gains at retail in a post-tariff North American trading landscape.

Growth at Retail

Equifruit’s expansion has been supported by retail partnerships across Canada and the U.S. Most recently, the company announced a new partnership with Canada’s Pattison Food Group , further strengthening its national presence.

Coleman says Equifruit’s growth is testament to retailers investing in “future-proofing their supply chains” with a women-owned, fair trade banana brand.

Its organic banana programs with Costco Wholesale Canada and Walmart Canada continue to grow, which Coleman says underscores retailer confidence in fair trade bananas as a values-driven offering in the produce aisle.

Advocating for Responsible Business

By connecting North American retailers and consumers with Fairtrade International-certified bananas, Equifruit says it contributes to a system designed to support farmers and workers as well as more equitable participation and leadership in agriculture.

To date, Equifruit has delivered over $5.5 million in fair trade premiums to Fairtrade International-certified banana growers and their communities.
Equifruit says these funds are democratically managed by the growers and invested in locally determined priorities such as education, health care, infrastructure and initiatives that advance gender equity and worker protections.

Women in Produce

Coleman sees The Globe and Mail Top Women-Led Companies list as an important recognition but thinks there’s still room for more women to lead in produce and other industries.

“I think the fact that The Globe and Mail has made this subset of women-led companies is a great start, because I think it offers role models for younger people,” she says.

The fair trade banana exec and her husband, Hugues Jacquin, who joined Equifruit as general manager last year, are both serving as role models. And Coleman says while she lacked a wealth of examples of women leading businesses in her childhood, she’s confident that won’t be the case for her children’s generation.

“I know it’s different for my kids, and I hope it’s different for all younger women,” she says. “They see you can have this cool, growing business that’s led by your mom. And you know, in our case, dad happens to have joined the company, but he’s joined mommy’s company. We just need these examples to be held up.”

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New Research Links Better Pay and Safer Conditions to Healthier Babies

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:30:51 GMT

A peer-reviewed study published in the journal Demography has found a direct link between participation in the Fair Food Program and improved birth outcomes for farmworkers. Infants born to farmworker mothers on Fair Food Program-certified farms were 10% less likely to be born at a low birth weight.

Low birth weight, the Fair Food Program notes, is closely linked to perinatal mortality, cognitive development, chronic disease risk and more.

Joaquin Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of public policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says low birth weight is a good marker to track, as it’s a sensitive indicator of the “health spillover” for both mothers and infants.

“We do show that mothers are getting healthier,” he says. “Their health, in terms of gestational diabetes and hypertension, [is] improving.”

Quantifying the Health Spillover

Birth weight, which has already been measured and validated through public health research, would also be a way to quantify how the Fair Food Program influenced maternal and infant health outcomes.

“It’s not just the income; it’s all of these other things that go along with that,” Rubalcaba says, noting that improved working conditions create a positive health spillover that extends beyond the individual.

“When you’re healthy, you don’t have to worry about your child being malnourished,” he says. “When you don’t have to worry about the things that we take for granted on a day-to-day basis, you’re able to focus on the things that make you productive.”

Rubalcaba says this spillover effect continues beyond just a nuclear family and into communities.

“The community is thriving as a result of the efforts, at least, in my opinion, in my survey of the data, and the fact that we were able to see a result in publicly available data, in the birth records data, was pretty remarkable,” he says.

Moving Beyond the Paycheck

While the data is remarkable, the three drivers of these health outcomes — safer conditions, higher wages and reduced stress — manifest in personal ways for the workers.

Wage premiums and stricter enforcement against wage theft for farms in the Fair Food Program raised worker incomes by 24%. Legal protections against sexual harassment, forced labor and verbal abuse helped decrease maternal stress levels. The program’s focus on safety standards also helped to reduce physical strain and environmental hazards.

Laura Safer Espinoza, a retired New York State Supreme Court justice and executive director of the Fair Food Standards Council, says the study’s outcome highlights the strong correlation between improvements in overall working environments and increased birth rates.

Safer Espinoza says more than $50 million has been distributed to workers on Fair Food Program farms. What’s more remarkable, she says, is that retailers and brands have pledged to support this program.

“They have agreed to commit their market power and put those purchasing practices to work to incentivize good practices at the bottom of the food supply chain,” she says.

More Than Just Better Pay

Safer Espinoza points to other successes within the program that speak to the broader themes of family. These include requiring workers to be paid at call time, which she says resulted in later starts.

“For the first time, workers who were called to the field at a later time were able to eat breakfast with their children. They were able to walk their children to school,” she says.

As researchers surveyed workers in Immokalee, Fla., about the benefits of the Fair Food Program, it wasn’t only better pay; it was more family time, says Safer Espinoza.

“Families reported that their children were healthier and happier, and parents were delighted to be able to have that precious time with their children in the morning,” she says. “And that’s simply because the law was being enforced.”

Safer Espinoza says this study shows tangible benefits when women working on Fair Food Program farms earn more through increased pay or the elimination of wage theft. She says eliminating sexual harassment and verbal abuse reduces stress and tension, too.

“When mothers can work and expectant mothers can work in an environment where it is safer, where they are treated with more respect, where they don’t have to be fearful and stressed every day, this is the proof that it makes a huge difference,” she says.

And she says the study’s results aren’t necessarily an expected outcome that she and the Fair Food Standards Council members thought would happen on participating farms. She says the survey’s results show a greater impact on the Fair Food Program.

“We were not necessarily thinking, ‘This will increase birth rate and be transformational across generations in the way that it obviously is and has been proven to be,” she says. “It will make a huge difference for the children who are born to workers on Fair Food Program farms. They’ll be healthier and have better futures, and that’s something that I don’t think was necessarily contemplated when we set out, but it is a very beautiful result of this collaboration.”

A New Standard for Growers

Jon Esformes, CEO of Sunripe Certified Brands and the first grower to join the Fair Food Program, says he’s proud of how his company has become an employer of choice thanks to the positive culture created on his family’s farm. He says a couple of years ago, when he was on a panel about labor shortage with then-Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, he had to say that he had no trouble recruiting and retaining workers as an employer of choice.

“That spoke to over a decade of bridge building and creating what we call a safe and fair work environment where everybody understands their rights, everybody feels safe and making complaints, everybody feels like the company is open to evolution, and that’s been the history of the relationship with the coalition,” he says.

And that’s truly what workers want, Esformes says.

“At the end of the day, when someone shows up to do a job, they want to go to the job, do their job, earn their money, know that they’re safe and go home,” he says.

And this study, Esformes says, helps highlight the intangible benefits from creating this type of workplace culture quantitatively.

“People tend to be evidence-based and need that evidence to convince them to keep doing something,” he says. “We didn’t need that for ourselves. For us, we knew what was happening. But in the meantime, it’s good for the general population to have a greater understanding of the efficacy of this type of program and its impact on the community.”

A Haven for Hope: How a Training Farm Empowers North Carolina's Veterans

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:58:31 GMT

Midmorning on a 53-acre farm just outside the gates of Fort Bragg, N.C., a small group of veterans moves between greenhouses, specialty crops and animal pens, pausing to check water lines in the greenhouse before heading toward the livestock.

For many of them, this is unfamiliar work. A year ago, some had never set foot on a farm. What does feel familiar is something less visible to these veterans: the sense of being a unit, the understanding that the person beside you matters and the expectation that everyone has a role.

At Veteran’s Farm of North Carolina , that feeling is not accidental. It is built into the day-to-day work, shaped by Robert Elliott, a former Marine who understands what happens when that sense of belonging disappears.

Elliott grew up with farming in his blood. His family’s land in North Carolina traced back generations to a time when land grants defined ownership and identity. Over the years, that land diminished, reduced piece by piece until little remained. After his mother died, the final ties to that property slipped away. What had once been a defining part of his life was gone.

Elliott left for the Marine Corps, building a life far removed from the fields of his childhood. He spent 15 years in military service, both active duty and as a contractor, immersed in a world where structure, purpose and dependence on others were constant. When that ended, the transition back to civilian life was abrupt and disorienting.

“Nobody prepares us, really, at the level it needs to be done for transition back into the civilian world,” Elliott says.

That transition from military service to civilian life can be one of the most vulnerable periods for veterans, Elliott says, with its marked sudden loss of structure, identity and close-knit support systems. Research shows that this adjustment period often brings heightened risk for mental health challenges, including depression and isolation.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 6,398 veterans died by suicide in 2023 — an average of about 17.5 per day — and suicide rates remain significantly elevated compared to the general population. Studies also indicate that the risk is especially high in the first year after leaving the military, when many veterans are navigating major life changes without the built-in community they once relied on.

Elliott describes this transition in stark terms. He compares it to being shipwrecked on a deserted island, saying that a group of people survives together in an intense environment, relying on each other for everything. Then, without warning, they are placed back into a world that no longer feels familiar. The support system disappears overnight. The expectations shift. The sense of purpose becomes unclear.

“You wind up crashing on an island … and your survival depends on the people that are there with you … then one day you get picked up and dropped back into the civilian world … and you’ve lost that entire network overnight,” he says.

The Veteran’s Farm sits on 53 acres and operates as a working, small-scale agricultural system.

(Photo courtesy of Veteran’s Farm of North Carolina)

Joining the Journey

Back home, he struggled to find his footing until an unexpected moment with a chicken changed everything.

It belonged to his girlfriend at the time, one of several in the yard, he says, but this one refused to leave him alone. One day, it hopped into his lap and stayed there. It was a simple act, but it broke through the fog he had been living in.

“This chicken just hopped in my lap one day … and it was basically like God Almighty telling me: You need to get back to the farm and find a purpose.”

He started small. As he rebuilt his connection to the land, he also began talking about his experience. At a roundtable event in North Carolina focused on agriculture, he shared his story publicly for the first time. He used an analogy that resonated with civilians and veterans alike, describing the disorientation of leaving a tightly bonded group and trying to function alone.

The response was immediate, and people asked for copies of his remarks. Invitations to speak followed, taking him across the country and into conversations with agricultural leaders and policymakers. Media outlets picked up his story, drawn to the idea that farming had helped pull a veteran out of a dangerous place.

More importantly, other veterans began reaching out.

“In the beginning, it was just, ‘Come on over. I’ll show you what I’m doing,’ … and all of a sudden that turned into this little network of veterans,” he says.

They wanted to know how to do what he was doing. They were searching for a way to rebuild their own sense of purpose. At first, Elliott simply invited them over. He shared with them what he was learning and helped them think through their own next steps. A network formed, made up of veterans trying to find stability through agriculture.

The Veteran’s Farm becomes a place where people can decompress while still being part of a team.

(Photo courtesy of Veteran’s Farm of North Carolina)

That momentum eventually led to the creation of Veteran’s Farm of North Carolina.

The farm sits on 53 acres and operates as a working, small-scale agricultural system. It includes beef cattle, sheep and pigs, along with poultry production. Greenhouses support hydroponic lettuce and basil, while other areas are dedicated to mushrooms, ornamental plants, fruit trees and vegetable gardens. The diversity is intentional. It allows participants to experience a wide range of agricultural practices and decide what might fit their own goals.

Each year, about 70 veterans and active-duty service members come through the program. Some arrive with a clear interest in farming. Others are simply looking for direction.

Not all of them stay in agriculture. Elliott estimates that around 30% go on to start or contribute to farming operations. The rest take what they have learned and apply it elsewhere. That outcome is by design, as the program emphasizes the realities of farming, ensuring participants understand both the opportunities and the challenges before making major financial or life commitments.

The structure of the farm reflects a familiar system for many of its participants, Elliott says. New students enter the program while those further along take on leadership roles, helping guide and train the newcomers. It mirrors the hierarchy and mentorship found in military units, creating a sense of continuity that many veterans find reassuring.

A Safety Net After Service

The impact of the farm goes beyond skills training. Elliott says he has lost six fellow Marines to suicide since leaving the military. Those losses have shaped how the program operates. He has developed a model of suicide prevention that is integrated into the training, focusing on rebuilding connection, purpose and routine. A licensed family therapist visits regularly, working with participants on stress management and coping strategies.

The farm becomes a place where people can decompress while still being part of a team.

“It’s a safety net … a new unit for them to check into,” he says.

Elliott often refers to it as a new unit, and the language is deliberate. Veterans understand units. They understand what it means to rely on others and to be relied upon. At the farm, they find a version of that structure without the pressures of military service.

The results are deeply personal, he says. Over the years, 13 veterans have told Elliott that the program played a direct role in saving their lives.

“We have had 13 veterans who have told us … ‘If it weren’t for where I’m at right here, right now, I wouldn’t be here,’” he says.

The work continues to evolve. The organization relies on a mix of farm revenue, grants and community support. Produce and products are sold through local partners and markets, with some items donated to food banks. As funding sources shift, the farm is exploring tuition models and expanding access through programs that support veterans’ education and training.

For many participants, it is the first time since leaving the military that they feel grounded.

Elliott did not set out to build a national model or a widely recognized program. He was trying to find his own way back to stability. What grew from that effort is something larger, shaped by shared experiences and a common need for connection.

The land provides the setting. The work provides the structure. The people provide the meaning.

And in that combination, something takes root that goes far beyond farming.

Superfresh Growers Adds EFI Certification to Cherry Operations

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:34:47 GMT

Superfresh Growers has expanded its Equitable Food Initiative certification, which builds on its certified apple and pear acreage and now covers the majority of the company’s cherry acreage.

The company says it plans additional apple, pear, blueberry and cherry acreage certification over the next two years to extend EFI standards across the company’s full range of operations.

The expansion reflects a multiyear commitment to making EFI the operating standard across Superfresh Growers’ farms and production facilities, with a particular emphasis on apples and blueberries in the next phase, the company says.

“We’ve always tried to support the well-being of teams across the company and run strong operations, but EFI gives us a structure to keep improving and a way to measure if we’re actually getting better,” says Derek Tweedy, vice president of operations for Superfresh Growers. “It helps us listen to our teams, identify issues earlier and make practical changes that improve safety, culture and day-to-day work. When our teams are engaged and feel heard, the whole operation runs better.”

Superfresh Growers says it was among the early adopters of EFI when the program first launched and has continued expanding its participation as the program has grown.

Through EFI training, the company has implemented several employee-led improvements across both orchard and warehouse operations.

Recent additional improvements focused on Superfresh production facilities, including enhanced lighting in work areas and reflective safety vests for forklift operators. Superfresh Growers says that while some improvements are large in scope, others are simple solutions that come directly from employees doing the work every day. The EFI process encourages communication and problem-solving across all levels of the organization, creating a culture where employees feel ownership and responsibility in improving their workplace.

“EFI has changed the ‘that’s how we do it’ mentality to an ‘I have the power to make change’ mentality,” says Melissa Gomez, HR generalist and EFI coordinator for Superfresh Growers. “The biggest change we’ve seen is the level of ownership from our teams. Employees are speaking up, identifying issues and helping solve problems. That level of engagement is what makes this program successful.”

Healing the Soil, Healing Ourselves: Rodale Institute CEO Bridges the Gap Between the Furrow and the Pharmacy

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 18:29:12 GMT

For Rodale Institute CEO Jeff Tkach, the crisis facing American agriculture is personal. Years ago, facing a debilitating health crisis, he found that the path to his own recovery led not to a medicine cabinet but rather back to the earth. In his debut book, “The Farm Is Here,” released March 24, Tkach weaves his own story of transformation into a broader manifesto for a nation at a crossroads.

The book brings critical attention to the direct link between soil health and public health, leveraging both scientific research and Tkach’s own health journey to highlight agriculture’s role in addressing national health challenges.

Tkach argues that the fractures in the modern food system, from chronic illness to economic instability, share a common root: the degradation of our soil. He posits that we can no longer afford to view the environment and the economy as competing interests.

“Sustainability requires economic viability,” Tkach says. “In my new book ‘The Farm Is Here,’ I make the case that regenerative organic agriculture achieves both. By building soil health and reducing input dependency, farmers simultaneously strengthen their environmental impact and financial future.

“When farmers adopt these practices, input costs decline, soil fertility increases, and resilience grows,” he continues. “With regenerative organic agriculture, environmental stewardship and farmer prosperity go hand in hand.”

“The Farm Is Here” is available now at all major book retailers.

(Photo courtesy of the Rodale Institute)

The book arrives at a time when the American public is increasingly wary of the industrial food complex. Leveraging decades of rigorous scientific research from the Rodale Institute, Tkach illustrates that the biological health of a farm is the primary driver of the nutritional value of our food. He asserts that the disconnect between what we grow and how we feel is a dangerous illusion that must be shattered.

“We can no longer separate farming from health outcomes, and the conversation about agriculture has to shift,” he says. “In ‘The Farm Is Here,’ I share my own health journey to illustrate what Rodale Institute research has proven for decades. The quality of our soil directly impacts the quality of our food and the health of our communities.”

“Every farming decision is a health decision, and that reality is reshaping how we think about agriculture’s role in America.”

Jeff Tkach, Rodale Institute CEO

Beyond the individual, Tkach addresses the systemic vulnerabilities exposed by recent global disruptions. From supply chain collapses to the increasing frequency of climate-related disasters, he presents regenerative organic agriculture not as a niche lifestyle choice but rather as a critical infrastructure requirement for a stable society.

“The food system is only as resilient as the farming practices that feed it. Right now, we’re seeing supply chain disruptions, volatile input costs and climate unpredictability hitting farms hard. In ‘The Farm Is Here,’ I make the case that regenerative farming practices are the answer to those challenges,” Tkach says. “When farmers shift to diverse crop rotations, cover crops and soil-building practices, they’re building a food system that’s less dependent on volatile markets, more adaptable to climate extremes and more capable of delivering the nutrient-dense food consumers are demanding.”

Tkach emphasizes how the fates of public health, climate and community well-being are intertwined, and everyone has a role to play, presenting evidence-based guidance and actionable steps for individuals, institutions and policymakers to foster regeneration in daily life that can yield measurable, long-term benefits.

As former Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario puts it, “‘The Farm Is Here’ is an important book rooted in hope for our planet.”

“The Farm Is Here” is available now at all major book retailers. Learn more about the movement toward soil health at rodaleinstitute.org .