WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio has introduced legislation that would expand salad bars in schools. The Salad Bar in Schools Expansion Act, as it’s called, establishes grant funding to provide training, technical assistance, and placement of salad bars in elementary, middle and high schools all across the United States. It also ensures USDA is proactive in promoting school salad bars and allows schools flexibility to use federal funding for cafeteria equipment to purchase salad bars.
"This important legislation is about more than just salad bars in schools; it’s about creating lifelong healthy choices for America’s children," said Tom Stenzel, President and CEO of United Fresh Produce Association.
More than 30 million children eat their meals at school each day in the United States, and according to the United Fresh Produce Association, school salad bars increase children's consumption of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Over the last five years, Tour de Fresh, along with a number of members of the fresh produce industry, foundations, and allied businesses have donated more than 4,000 salad bars to schools, benefitting more than 2 million children nationwide.
The Salad Bar in Schools Expansion Act will help build on the industry efforts to ensure that more schools across the country will be afforded the same opportunity as current recipients of donated salad bars.
According to the United Fresh Produce Association, they along with produce organizations from across the country announced their support of this legislation, including:
- California Fresh Fruit Association
- Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association
- Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association
- Grower-Shipper Association of Central California
- National Potato Council
- National Watermelon Association
- New York Apple Association
- Ohio Produce Growers and Marketing Association
- Texas Citrus Mutual
- Texas International Produce Association
- Texas Vegetable Association
- Western Growers
- U.S. Apple Association
“The Salad Bar in Schools Expansion Act will enhance students’ access to fresh fruits and vegetables at school lunch and help to transform school food environments,” Stenzel added. “Salad bars are an effective strategy to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, introduce kids to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and one of the easiest ways for schools to successfully implement healthier school lunch standards.”
Stay tuned as AndNowUKnow follows the efforts of organizations like Tour de Fresh to increase produce consumption, including this new legislation.
WATSONVILLE, CA - Motivated by its philanthropic culture, the owners of California Giant Berry Farms have established the California Giant Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit. The foundation will support local organizations by donating more than $100,000 a year to charitable causes.
“It’s always been in the California Giant Berry Farms DNA to support organizations that are making a difference by educating for change, but formalizing the Foundation shows our passion and commitment to support this movement for many years to come,” said Cindy Jewell, Vice President of Marketing. “The Foundation has given our employees a sense of purpose far beyond providing fresh produce to consumers.”
California Giant Foundation will support the following four pillars, according to a press release:
- Childhood Obesity and School Nutrition – the Foundation’s signature event, Tour de Fresh, will continue to raise funds to put salad bars in schools and increase the demand for food education. Additional organizations that benefit include Santa Cruz Warriors Kids Club, Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools and more.
- Hunger and Food Insecurity – support to local homeless and hunger-based organizations like Food Bank programs and Grind Out Hunger seek to significantly decrease the number of hungry families in the community.
- Prevention and Awareness – national and local support is given to organizations that affect change by educating and increasing awareness about prevalent diseases that affect so many. Organizations that benefit include American Cancer Society, Jacob’s Heart (children battling cancer) and Living Breath Foundation (Cystic Fibrosis), among others.
- Community – support of local health and fitness initiatives that benefit employees of California Giant Berry Farms and their families, including Pajaro Valley Shelter Services, Court Appointed Special Advocates, community sports programs and more.
Tour de Fresh, which is presented by the California Giant Foundation, is a four day cycling and fundraising event taking place this October 19th to the 22nd to benefit the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools campaign.
“We are honored to be able to give the Tour de Fresh a long-term home and look forward to being a leader in this industry movement that is making a positive difference for childhood nutrition,” said Bill Moncovich, President and CEO of California Giant Berry Farms. “We’re also very excited to set higher goals for this year’s ride that include putting 100 or more salad bars in schools.”
To learn more about last year's event, you can watch the video below:
The inaugural Tour de Fresh event raised over $142,000 in 2014 and placed more than 40 salad bars in communities across 11 states. To learn more about this event, check out our previous story by clicking here.
LONDON, ENGLAND - Tanimura & Antle (T&A) sponsored an event this morning that quite literally brought the star treatment to the cauliflower category.
London-based Celebrity Chef Hari Ghotra used her uniquely Indian-inspired style to prepare an entire head of cauliflower live at the London Produce Show at 11:30 a.m. local time today.
“We cannot wait to meet Hari in person in London and watch her demonstration,” Caitlin Antle Wilson, Sales and Marketing Director for T&A, said in a press release before leaving for the event. “We are thrilled to support her preparation of whole head Cauliflower - the ‘hot veggie item’ of 2015.”
According to T&A, the event was a good way to further illuminate the versatility of cauliflower.
Chef Hari, who acquired her kitchen skills and deep passion for cooking from her “mum” at a young age, is not your traditionally trained chef. Her style stems from part of her Indian heritage and culture, and showcases easy, healthy, and authentic Indian recipes on her website HariGhotra.co.uk. To connect with Hari you can follow her on Twitter @HariGhotra.
The T&A team ‘live tweeted’ the demonstration from its Twitter handle @taproduce, and Catilin Antle Wilson will be featuring a blog post on familyfarming.taproduce.com next week after The London Produce Show, where you can stay engaged with the show by seeing the review.
To join in on the conversation via Twitter, follow @taproduce.
NORTH AMERICA - The storm formerly known as tropical storm Blanca has now progressed to hurricane status. Hurricane Blanca is continuing to strengthen, according to The Weather Channel, and is on track toward Mexico's southern Baja peninsula, including Los Cabos. Blanca will likely weaken as it makes its closest approach to Los Cabos on Sunday, but moisture from Blanca is expected to push into parts of the southwestern U.S. next week.
AccuWeather reports that this is the earliest since 1971 that two major hurricanes have formed in the Eastern Pacific. "Blanca is also expected to become the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the eastern Pacific, a record that is currently being held by Hurricane Ava from 1973. Ava reached that threshold on June 6 of that year," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.
As we’ve previously reported, Hurricane Andres brought only rough surf and rip currents to Mexico, but Blanca will bring more direct impacts as it continues to strengthen over the next few days and eventually approaches Baja California.
The current track will take this tropical system closer to the Mexico coastline as it moves northward, but the worst conditions will remain well offshore. Through Blanca will remain over the open ocean through Saturday, large surf and rip currents are expected to increase along the coast of Mexico from Acapulco to near Puerto Vallarta.
The Weather Channel is reporting that effects from the hurricane may reach all the way to the southern U.S., which may see increased rain and possibly thunder storms. Together with high pressure over the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, a pipeline of moisture may be pulled north into parts of the Desert Southwest and Rockies early next week.
Stay tuned as AndNowUKnow continues to follow this hurricane’s trajectory.
PLEASANTON, CA - Three investment funds that owned stock in Safeway before being sold to Albertson’s have won $44 per share, about 26 percent more than other shareholders received, after an appraisal lawsuit.
Other shareholders received $34.92 a share back in January when the company was acquired by Albertsons for $7.6 billion.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s Liz Hoffman, Albertson's will now be paying the group’s shares totaling upwards of $127 million and potentially serving as a victory for hedge funds that take cases to court after mergers and acquisitions go through.
“In appraisal cases, investors—many of which are hedge funds that buy their shares on the eve of a takeover—oppose the deal and then sue for a higher price,” Hoffman writes, noting that appraisal cases have inclined sharply over the last couple of years, with several retailers currently experiencing similar lawsuits after being sold or partnering with other companies.
This particular case ended in a settlement, according to the report, with both groups still entitled to a portion of any proceeds Safeway could receive from selling its joint stake in Mexico.
For all the latest influential information within the industry, keep checking in with AndNowUKnow.
RIVERHEAD, NY - Hapco Farms’ watermelon program is currently shipping out of Florida in full production this month.
“The fruit is looking excellent with high sugar content and volume is very strong as we start the season,” Raquel Mello, who handles watermelon sales for Hapco Farms, said in a press release. “With over 25 years of experience in shipping watermelon, we not only supply watermelon but we provide experience and knowledge to our customers.”
Hapco Farms ships from a total of 800 acres of land, working with retailers on packaging by offering hundreds of pounds of watermelon per bin.
“We offer private label graphic bins that can hold 700 pounds of watermelon, making it a turnkey buy for retailers,” Mello said.
Specialists from the company work with retailers on running the watermelon program for the season, assisting with things like:
- Handling inventory management
- Logistic tracking
- Category performance evaluations
- Purchase orders
- Short and spot buys
According to the company, it maintains strong grower relationships in order to deliver fruit throughout the summer months without any anticipated gaps or shortages in supply, Memorial Day through Labor Day.
FOWLER, CA - Bee Sweet Citrus President Jim Marderosian has announced the beginning of the company’s summer import program.
“Bee Sweet Citrus is a one-stop-shop for all citrus commodities,” said Marderosian. “Through our import program, we are able to provide our consumers with a variety of products—regardless of the season.”
For over 15 years, Bee Sweet Citrus has been developing a close relationship with citrus growers in Australia, Chile, and Peru. In order to ensure the safety of imported products from these countries, the Bee Sweet Citrus Quality Control team sees that all products are certified and audited in food safety, social accountability, and sustainability.
“All imported product, once off-loaded at the port, is trucked straight to our facility where it’s re-graded to ensure the highest quality,” said Bee Sweet Citrus Sales Representative Anders Skooglund. “Additionally, we offer our customers the ability to repack and reconfigure the fruit to any specific pack style that they may want during these months.”
Starting May and going through to October, Bee Sweet Citrus receives imported Clementines, Navals, Cara Caras, Minneolas, and lemons. The Bee Sweet Citrus team also handles all import clearance, logistics, inventory and conducts weekly market analysis calls with their international partners, according to a press release.
Marderosian continued that Bee Sweet prides itself in the ability to provide its consumers with citrus any time of year through the company’s summer import program.
LEAMINGTON, ON - Don’t let their small size fool you. These cocktail cucumbers pack a punch.
Pure Flavor®'s Poco Bites are smaller and crunchier than mini cucumbers and make an ideal snack for kids and adults. The high graphic, resealable, stand-up pouches are available in two sizes: 10 oz. and 1.5 lbs.
Featuring a Happy Poco™ Sandwich on the back for recipe inspiration, Pure Flavor® encourages consumers to experiment and try out Poco Bites on their favorite dishes. Just remember, they’re half the size, double the crunch. Try Pure Flavor®’s Poco Bites today!
If you’d like to see your product in this segment, please send samples to 2020 L Street, Suite 320, Sacramento, CA 95811.
WENATCHEE, WA - KIKU® brand apples set supermarket sales records for April, according to newly released data from Nielsen Perishables Group.
For the most recent four week period ending April 29, 2015, U.S. supermarket sales of KIKU® increased by 484%, the largest increase in the apple category, according to a press release from Columbia Marketing International (CMI). KIKU® volume increased by 615%.
“During April, KIKU® had stronger increases in sales and volume than every other branded apple or any individual variety,” said Steve Lutz, Vice President of Marketing for CMI. “Nielsen data breaks out 40 different apples brands and varieties. No other apple came close to matching this performance.”
During the same period, apple category retail pricing declined by 6.9 percent as a result of the record apple harvest last fall. Lutz continued that the category sales increases being driven by branded apples like KIKU® is good news for retailers struggling with dollar deflation in the apple category.
Robb Myers, CMI’s Vice President of Sales, echoed this sentiment, noting that high value apples like KIKU® are having a significant impact in driving category performance for retailers.
“If you examine performance of the top 15 selling apple brands and varieties, only five generated dollar increases for supermarkets over the same period last year," he said. "Other than Honeycrisp every growth item was a branded apple like KIKU®.”
Myers added that the company has a full supply of imported KIKU ready to go for retailers “looking to drive incremental growth in the apple category,” said Myers.
The popular apple brand is well positioned for further growth thanks to CMI’s strong alliances with growers in New Zealand.
EUROPE - The Delhaize Group and Ahold, after announcing simply that they were in talks of a merger and not giving any further information, are now reportedly aiming to have a deal struck as soon as the end of this month.
According to a Bloomberg report, discussions are moving swiftly and a goal has been set to reach an agreement before summer break kicks in, combining about 6,600 stores and about $68.5 billion in sales.
"Both groups are more mature than in 2007 and given the interesting synergy potential we believe the likelihood of success is clearly higher," analysts at KBC wrote in a note to clients, according to a Reuters report, referring to when the retailers tried and failed to come to an agreement. While those talks could still fall through, reports appear more confident this time around.
A merger between Ahold and The Delhaize Group would create a top 20 global retailer, with footholds in Europe and the U.S, potentially forming the fourth largest food retailer and accounting for four percent of the U.S. grocery market, Natixis analysts said.
Both retailers, however, continue to keep things hushed as they declined to comment further on any progress made in their discussions. But both did see an encouraging spike in shares this week, with Delhaize’s shares in Brussels, Belgium, climbing as high as 15 percent since the announcement of a possible merger with Ahold last month, and Ahold 2.4 percent jump in its shares in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
If combined, Bloomberg reports the retailers see little geographic overlap in the U.S. and European markets so there shouldn’t be significant store closures. Because talks are private, attendees that did comment in the report requested to remain anonymous, but confirmed that annual savings related to purchasing, supply chain, as well as overlaps on headquarters and administration are being discussed.
The deal, at this time, would currently look to be an all-share transaction or a mix of shares and some cash, though an all-cash deal isn’t in the plans, among other matters.
AndNowUKnow will continue to keep you up to date on this story as it develops.