March 12, 2021
In 2020 at this same time period there was much uncertainty about the spring fresh strawberry season. The coronavirus pandemic had hit the country and stay-at-home orders were announced just as the California crop was coming into typical spring holidays shared with family and friends.
What a difference a year makes.
Today, as the same holidays approach, Bobalu Berry Farms is encouraged by consumer behavior in 2021, excited about spring strawberries and looking forward to celebrating spring and summer holidays a bit more this year. That increase and confidence was demonstrated with the recent Valentines’ Day demand at Bobalu Berry Farms.
March 12, 2021
Five Crowns, a family-owned third-generation grower, packer, shipper and processor of fresh produce, announces the opening of its new facility in Tracy, CA with partner GloriAnn Farms. The new facility will expand the value-added corn program and offer regional distribution of other core products.
Scheduled to open in April 2021, GloriAnn Farm’s new state-of-the-art processing facility will more than double capacity to produce their value-added line of products. It also provides much greater flexibility to manage unforeseen issues that may arise.
“If 2020 taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected,” said Mark Bacchetti, co-owner of GloriAnn Farms. “Last year we faced numerous obstacles that hindered our ability to keep up with significantly increased demand for packaged corn. Needless to say, we will be ready with this new facility and look forward to continuing to grow the value-added sweet corn category with our retail partners.”
March 11, 2021
SpartanNash announced that Greg Molloy has been named vice president of environmental health and safety. He will be responsible for developing and leading strategic initiatives in the areas of health, safety and environmental sustainability to ensure companywide compliance with all safety and environmental laws and regulations.
Molloy will report to Yvonne Trupiano, executive vice president and chief human resources officer. One of SpartanNash s key initiatives in 2021 is improving our associate experience through initiatives related to safety and retention. Mr. Molloy s leadership will be paramount to achieving these goals, said President and CEO Tony Sarsam. As we continue to build a people-first safety culture, his track record of creating comprehensive programs to deliver compliance and safety results and experience ensuring safety measures and awareness are embedded throughout business processes will enable and empower our success at SpartanNash.
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March 11, 2021
The South Texas Onion Committee was dumbstruck at 3:30 p.m. on March 9. A USDA Agricultural Marketing Service representative in Florida, the liaison to the South Texas Onion Committee, called Dante Galeazzi with sudden news that the marketing order was immediately being suspended.
Galeazzi, who is the executive manager of the South Texas Onion Committee, told The Produce News on March 10 that he and other Texas onion leaders met with the AMS via Zoom in January. The Texans were told that their onion marketing order would remain in place at least through this season. The future of the marketing order would be reviewed before the 2022 Texas onion season.
March 11, 2021
Weis Markets announced the promotion of Bob Gleeson to senior vice president of merchandising and marketing.
In this position, Gleeson will oversee the company’s fresh and center store merchandising, sales and procurement, marketing and advertising. He reports to Weis Markets’ Chief Operating Officer Kurt Schertle.
Gleeson joined Weis Markets in 2019 as vice president of fresh merchandising. He began his career in the industry at Shoppers Food Warehouse in 1984 as a part-time grocery associate. During his 29-year career with Shoppers, which is based in Lanham, MD, and subsequently Supervalu, he worked in increasingly senior leadership positions, including vice president of center store, senior vice president of merchandising and division president.