Vermont

Wholesalers, others in supply chain changing business models

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:38:51 GMT

Wholesalers, shippers and distributors are strategizing how to handle drastic changes in buying, selling, and how they manage employees as coronavirus COVID-19 has spread.

In typical times, one-third of business is from foodservice and two-thirds is from retail at TMK Produce on the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, president Tom Kovacevich said.

As with other companies, foodservice business has disappeared, and retail is strong, he said.

“The last couple weeks, our business overall has gone up 60%, but we expect that to level off because we expect people to not have any money with layoffs and unemployment,” Kovacevich said. “We’re concerned what effect that’s going to have when the population doesn’t have money to shop.”

At the Boston Market Terminal, wholesaler Community-Suffolk Inc. is using customer relationships to help, said Tommy Piazza, co-owner and director of potato procurement and sales.

“It’s fairly devastating. We are a large foodservice provider,” Pizza said. “Fortunately, we have a balance within, so all our eggs are not in one basket. But it’s super noticeable.

“And because we have those connections with the retail folks, they have been helpful in taking some of what would be foodservice sizes or packs and using that for their bulk displays,” he said. “I think that’s a good sign of our customer relationships.”

When some of Piazza’s customers have product destined for foodservice that can’t be used any longer, sometimes his company will take it, whether or not it was purchased from Community-Suffolk, to sell on their behalf, taking only enough of a cut to do business.

“Everyone’s got to be up-front about this. It requires ethics and humanity,” Piazza said.

Vermont Hydroponic Produce operating partner Lauren Mordasky said some of her customers, like Stop & Shop, have revised policies, no longer allowing drivers to unload tomatoes and cart them inside the retailer’s warehouse, avoiding a lumpers fee.

“It makes sense, because they don’t want a bunch of new people going into the warehouse. I’m not a fan of having to pay the fee, but it is what it is,” Mordasky said.

Supply was already tight on Vermont Hydroponic tomatoes, “but now it’s just insane. We can’t keep up at all,” she said.

Some companies are adopting entirely new lines of business, at least temporarily, which can offset the loss of foodservice business.

Baldor Specialty Foods, near the Hunts Point Wholesale Produce Market, Bronx, N.Y., is primarily a foodservice distributor, although it has a retail line called Urban Roots.

Baldor took the unprecedented step to open its company to direct-to-consumer home deliveries for purchases of at least $250 within a 50-mile radius of its headquarters.

“We have never considered doing this before,” Baldor CEO TJ Murphy said in a news release. “But in times of crisis, everything must be put on the table and considered.”

Employers are allowing flexible schedules so employees can take care of children while schools are closed, as well as sick or older family members.

“It’s just kind of being responsible in these tough times,” Piazza said.

Community-Suffolk and other company leaders are also encouraging employees and each other to take boxes of food home for vulnerable neighbors in need.

“It’s really, really concerning times for everybody. We’re doing our best to get food to the people who need it. I know if I don’t eat, I get really hangry. We don’t need the whole population getting hangry,” Kovacevich said.

Related news:

Foodservice distributors, restaurants, seek federal support

Updated: How the coronavirus is affecting the produce industry

Coronavirus causing sustained Thanksgiving-like demand at retail

Officials Seek Clarity from Feds After Farmworkers Arrested

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 21:29:02 GMT

Vermont officials, including the three members of the state’s congressional delegation, said Monday they are asking federal authorities to clarify their immigration priorities following the arrests last week of three advocates for farmworkers.

A spokesman for Republican Gov. Phil Scott said officials are working through the state’s congressional delegation to learn more about the arrests.

In a statement issued late Monday, U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, independent Bernie Sanders and Democratic U.S. Rep. Peter Welch said they expressed their serious concerns to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials about the arrests. They also are asking ICE about the potential impact in Vermont of President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for increased immigration enforcement.

“Instead of focusing on removing those people who pose a threat to public safety or national security, the Trump Administration is targeting all undocumented persons, including the people that help keep our dairy farms and rural economy afloat,” the statement said.

Will Lambek, a member of the Migrant Justice advocacy group, speculated the three arrested were targeted because of their activities on behalf of farmworkers. They also are members of the group.

“What they did is legally permissible,” state Attorney General T.J. Donovan said. “That needs to be acknowledged in this debate.”

He said one of the three served on a panel he led that helped write a guide for Vermont towns about immigration enforcement. If such arrests continue, they could impact the state’s agricultural economy, Donovan said.

Jose Enrique Balcazar Sanchez, 24, was arrested Friday on immigration charges along with Zully Victoria Palacios Rodriguez, 23, of Peru, shortly after they left the Migrant Justice office in Burlington, Lambek said. Neither has a criminal record.

And on Wednesday, Cesar Alexis Carrillo Sanchez, 23, of Mexico, was taken into custody when he arrived at the Chittenden County courthouse to face a drunken-driving charge, which state prosecutors dismissed. ICE said Carillo acknowledged entering the country illegally and is facing deportation.

The three are being held at a jail in New Hampshire. Their arrests sparked a Saturday rally in Burlington attended by about 200. Another rally is scheduled for Tuesday at the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier.

Boston immigration attorney Matt Cameron, who represents Balcazar and Palacios, said the civil charges against his clients could lead to their deportation. Nevertheless, he expects them to be released on bail, possibly as early as next week.

Vermont’s dairy farms, which produce about 65 percent of the milk consumed in New England, rely on immigrant labor. Most of the workers do not have legal status to be in the United States. State Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts has been looking for ways to help the dairy industry if there are large-scale arrests of farmworkers.

Balcazar has been outspoken in his support for Vermont’s immigrant farmworker community. He worked on Donovan’s panel that helped produce the immigration guide.

Donovan said he respects Balcazar.

“At the same time I want to acknowledge that the federal government has the authority to do this,” Donovan said.

Top retailers in the Northeast by market share

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:42:35 GMT

Each year, The Shelby Report showcases valuable retail market share data. In the interactive map below, find each major market around the Northeast. Also, highlighted are the major cities in each market.

All markets are “labeled” or identified by their primary state (with metros or key cities). Percentages are estimates based on annualized sales, industry data, institutional research and store footprints. Shares are updated as market metrics dictate and retailers supply their store lists.*

Market shares are for chains, independents and/or the wholesalers (voluntary or cooperative) which supply them within each region’s distribution area, extending well beyond typical metros or CBSAs. Each market is defined by the sphere of distribution, not by a rigid geographic boundary.

Major cities in each market:

Connecticut/Massachusets/Vermont - Hartford, Springfield, Montpelier
East Pennsylvania/Delaware/New Jersey - Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Scranton, Wilmington, Dover, Camden, Trenton
Maryland/DC/N. Virginia/Delaware - Baltimore, Washington, Arlington, Charlottesville, Georgetown
Massachusets/Rhode Island/New Hampshire/Maine - Boston, Providence, Manchester, Portland, Bangor
New York/ New Jersey - New York City, Newark
Upstate New York - Vermont - Albany, Syracuse, Burlington
Western New York - Northern Pennsylvania - Buffalo, Rochester
Western Pennsylvania -West Virginia-Maryland - Pittsburg, Erie, Morgantown