<p>Relaxing after work on a Tuesday evening, I turned on the television to find a familiar name appear on the screen. Embedded in a citrus orchard in California was a rustic Bee Sweet Citrus bin featured in a Walmart commercial. It might help to give you context. Walmart recently began taking strides to improve its fresh produce program, sourcing produce directly from local growers.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><iframe width="480" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mXbKr0iD2n8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The retailer announced back in August that it was making more changes in its operations, training and sourcing as it looks to increase sales of bananas, lettuce and other produce to instill more confidence among shoppers looking for healthier choices, according to the Huffington Post.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Changes include delivering produce from farms to store shelves more quickly by purchasing fruits and vegetables directly from local growers. In addition, Walmart began conducting independent weekly checks of the produce aisles at its more than 3,400 Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Express stores.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Bee Sweet Citrus has been evolving its fresh produce program and is a prime example of a company that is helping to grow the citrus category as well as fresh produce as a whole. So, it seems fitting that the company should grace my screen.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The company recently built a new 35,000 sq ft. palletization building at its Fowler, California citrus packing facility. All cartons from the company’s entire packing facility are now transported by conveyor from each of its five citrus packing lines to the new palletizing building. Eventually, all cartons will be robotically palletized in the new building. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>James Sherwood, Vice President of Operations, tells AndNowUKnow, “Our new conveyor system from each of our packing lines to the new palletizing building allows us to be more efficient and increase the safety of our facility.” </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>He continues, “Our goal is to pass on these efficiencies to our buyers which will ultimately save the consumers money when they buy California fresh Bee Sweet Citrus.” </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Bee Sweet Citrus is different from most other citrus packing houses, since it packs 17 different citrus varieties and at times 8-10 citrus varieties concurrently. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>“Our portfolio allows retailers to offer a full range of the citrus category. Bee Sweet Citrus prides itself on growing and packing the freshest, highest quality, best tasting citrus available with year around availability.” </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Wal-Mart has also launched a produce training program for 70,000 associates, including store managers, that teaches them how to better handle fresh produce.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.beesweetcitrus.com" target="_new">Bee Sweet Citrus</a><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/walmart-local-farmers" target="_new">Huffington Post</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
