Flashfood released its first impact report, “The State of Food Waste,” May 16-18 at the ReFED 2023 Food Waste Solutions Summit in St. Louis, Missouri. The report looks at the role of food waste in the current climate crisis and how reducing waste at the retail level has the potential to lower greenhouse gas emissions, […]
Category: Produce News
The Shelby Report covers the produce industry for grocery retailers nationwide, from fresh fruit and vegetable trends and supplier announcements to merchandising strategies and regional market news. Updated regularly across our five regional editions.
Find all our fresh coverage in Focus on Fresh.
Posted inProduce News, National
Proposal Aims To Increase Produce Consumption For Consumers
Reps. Mark Alford (MO-04) and Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) recently introduced H.R. 3127, the “Supporting All Healthy Options When Purchasing Produce” Act, in the U.S. House of Representatives. The American Frozen Food Institute has welcomed the introduction of the proposed legislation that will help families eat more fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet […]
Posted inProduce News, West
Four Star Fruit Appoints Dixon As Director Of Imports
Delano, California-based Four Star Fruit has appointed Justin Dixon as director of imports. Dixon will play a role in expanding Four Star’s presence in growing regions worldwide and building sustainable partnerships with grower priorities top of mind. Dixon brings extensive sales and leadership experience to the Four Star team. More recently, he was with Kingsburg Orchard […]
Posted inProduce News, Albertsons, Anniversary Issues, West
Produce Is Driver, ‘The Heart’ When It Comes To Stores
At Super King Markets, produce is king. Eddie Avila, director of produce, joined the company in 2017, with more than 30 years of industry experience. Avila, who had worked for Albertsons in Southern California for 32 years, said he didn’t realize what a produce buyer was until he got into the independent grocer arena. “When […]
Posted inWest, Produce News
Full Harvest Expands Supply Chain Digitization To Produce Grades
San Francisco, California-based Full Harvest has announced its expansion beyond surplus to all USDA Grade 1 produce on its online marketplace for commercial buyers and sellers. Helping the food waste problem by bringing the entire produce market online for more efficiencies, the addition expands its reach to retailers, foodservice companies, and direct-to-consumer distributors, among others. Full Harvest is an end-to-end online […]
Posted inProduce News, Midwest
BelleHarvest Acquires Valley View Co.
Belding, Michigan-based BelleHarvest has acquired Valley View Co., an acquisition that increases its overall growing and storage capacity by 20 percent, providing the company with a greater ability to expand its varietal mix and enhance overall quality for the end consumer. The deal brings increased acreage, packing house operations and storage capacity to the BelleHarvest organization. As […]
Posted inProduce News, West
Ocean Mist Farms Expects High Quality, Volume On Spring Crop
Ocean Mist Farms, a year round producer of fresh California artichokes, is expecting a large spring crop from its growing region in Castroville, California. “The storms that devastated parts of California during the winter months put the season behind about four weeks,” said Ben Wilson, artichoke commodity manager. “That being said, we have recovered nicely, and are […]
Posted inProduce News, Southeast
Fresh Del Monte Named ‘Most Trusted Company’ By Newsweek
Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. has been named one of America’s Most Trusted Companies of 2023 by Newsweek for the second consecutive year. This award is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., a statistics portal and industry ranking provider. “America’s Most Trusted Companies 2023” were identified in an independent survey based on a sample of […]
Posted inProduce News, West
FPFC Names 2023 Apprentice Program Class
The Fresh Produce and Floral Council has selected 12 people to participate in its 10th FPFC Apprentice Program. The participants are Dan Addiego, FreshSource; Shane Aldrich, D. Gardikas Produce; Morgan Bahri; Jake Beggin, Local Bounti; Noah Lines, Westlake Produce Co.; Courtney Ludford, Wonderful Citrus; Abby McPherson, Frieda’s; Jackie Nakashian, Trinity Fruit; Nick Schiavo, Allen Lund Co.; Elyse Seiler, Monterey Mushrooms; Alexis Storm, JLZ Produce; and Fernando […]
Posted inWholesaler/Distributor News, Produce News
SF Market Achieves Climate Benefits Through Produce Recovery, Distribution
Seven million pounds of fresh produce donated since 2016 The SF Market, San Francisco’s original wholesale produce market, home to 26 independent merchant businesses, has reached a milestone in recovering and donating seven million pounds of surplus produce since the program began in 2016. The SF Market’s Food Recovery Program works with market merchants each […]
Posted inProduce News, Association News
Viva Fresh Donates 20K+ Pounds Of Fresh Produce
Donation to North Texas Food Bank aims to help close hunger gap The Texas International Produce Association again teamed up with the North Texas Food Bank of Plano, Texas, to help close the hunger gap. At the conclusion of the Viva Fresh Expo earlier this month, 21,806 pounds of fresh produce was donated. The donation […]
Posted inPackaging News, Produce News, Southeast
G&R Farms Releases New Packaging For Vidalia Onion Season
Glennville, Georgia-based G&R Farms has released redesigned packaging in coordination with the start of the 2023 Vidalia onion season. The moves aim to highlight the premium essence of their Vidalia onions and support retailers with increased sales. The redesign presents an illustrated and fresh feel donning a striking new color palette, with an art like aesthetic. […]
Posted inProduce News, West
Are Green Bananas Impacting Your Produce Gold?
Sponsored content Few things have greater impact on overall retail produce sales than banana quality. They are the most visible, most popular and profitable item in the entire produce department – if not the entire store. Numerous studies have shown that banana quality is central to overall customer satisfaction, and there are very few decision […]
Posted inProduce News, Southeast
Dole Introduces Golden Selection Pineapples
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Dole Food Company is introducing a more aromatic and golden pineapple in response to consumer demand for a sweeter pineapple-eating experience. The variety can be found at select supermarkets in the U.S. and Canada. Sustainably grown in Costa Rica, the new fruit has been cultivated to shine brighter and offer a more vibrant tropical flavor that […]
Posted inProduce News, Southwest
MountainKing Helps Retailers Get Ready For Red Potato Season
As the prime summer selling season for red potatoes approaches and supplies of russets and yellows continue to tighten, Houston, Texas-based MountainKing reports it is packing record numbers of its Butter Reds as it ramps up social media and in-store support of the variety. “We’ve steadily increased production of our Butter Reds for summer knowing […]
Posted inProduce News, Northeast, Sustainability News
Edible Garden Reports On Sustainability Initiatives
Belvidere, New Jersey-based Edible Garden has provided an update on its sustainability initiatives, including the company’s participation in Walmart’s Project Gigaton, an effort to remove emissions in the global value chain by 1 billion metric tons by 2030. Edible Garden’s 2022 Project Gigaton impact included: 32 metric tons of materials recycled; 200 barrels of oil […]
Posted inRaley's, Produce News, West
The Raley’s Companies Donates Apples To California Food Banks
Two divisions that operate as part of The Raley’s Companies – Bashas’, which has grocery stores in Arizona and New Mexico, and Raley’s, which has them in California and Nevada – were selected by FirstFruits to participate in the “Take a Bite Out of Hunger” initiative. They donated about 40,000 pounds of apples to local food […]
Posted inProduce News, West
Naturipe Farms Offers Blueberries From Southeast During Season
Salinas, California-based Naturipe Farms is promoting blueberries from its Southeast growing region in retailers. The berry grower will fill shelves with blueberries in all clamshell sizes, from the single serving six-ounce to the two-pound pack. Retailers can expect the crop between mid-April and mid-June. Weather plays a factor in the production of the superfruit in the […]
Posted inProduce News, National
Pricing Helps Improve February Fresh Produce Performance
Fresh produce prices were up over 2022, but a relatively low 2.4 percent on a per-pound basis, according to a monthly study conducted by IRI, 210 Analytics and the International Fresh Produce Association. February fresh produce sales reached $5.7 billion, up $18 million from January and an increase of 1.6 percent over February 2022 levels. […]
Posted inProduce News, Midwest
Corrigan Introduces Préserve Produce Preservation System
Gurnee, Illinois-based Corrigan Corporation has launched Préserve, a non-wetting produce fogging system that creates a wet rack environment to protect and preserve produce. Préserve is a patent-pending technology designed to be unlike any other fogging system in the food retail market. The produce preservation system produces high levels of dry fog humidity to slow transpiration […]