​​BENTONVILLE, AR - Walmart is eyeing growth for its Neighborhood Market business operations, tapping the expertise of a new executive. The retail chain has announced Kyle Kinnard as its newest Senior Vice President of the Neighborhood Market business unit.

Kinnard currently serves as SVP and General Merchandise Manager of Home at Walmart U.S. According to reports from Yahoo! Finance, he previously worked for Sam’s Club for more than two decades, starting as a cashier.

During his tenure, Kinnard served in a variety of leadership roles including Senior Director of Operations in China and Senior Vice President and President of Sam’s Club Mexico, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Kinnard is taking over for Kelvin Buncum, who is retiring from the role after more than 12 years. Most recently, Buncum served as Executive Vice President of Neighborhood Market.

“Kyle brings a deep-seated knowledge of operational transformation, item merchandising and inventory management,” Cedric Clark, Executive Vice President of Store Operations, said in a recent LinkedIn post. “His international experiences will also help Walmart U.S. learn best practices from our strong international businesses.”

The announcement of Kinnard’s move comes almost two months after Buncum announced his upcoming retirement on LinkedIn.

For more updates on this strategic leadership change, stick with us at ANUK.

SALISBURY, NC - Food Lion is celebrating some exciting operational achievements as the company earns yet another ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. For the 23^rd consecutive year, the retail chain has received this distinctive honor, demonstrating its outstanding leadership and advocacy of energy preservation to promote a cleaner future.

“We created our commitment to sustainability around immense care for the towns and cities we serve and an energy-efficient future,” said Matt Yates, Vice President, Brand Strategy, Food Lion. “By including the disciplines embedded in our DNA to turn the lights off when leaving a room and making sure freezer doors close completely not only establish good business practices, but also a solid framework to deepen our commitment to sustainability.”

The omnichannel grocery retailer is the only company in the nation to receive the distinctive honor for 23 years, a press release explained. Recognized for its dedicated sustainability efforts and successes in energy conservation, Food Lion has made several strides in sustainability over the past year.

In 2023, the company converted overhead lighting from fluorescent to LED in 224 stores; Now, 95 percent of Food Lion’s 1,108 stores have more sustainable lighting with upgrades planned in 2024 for the remaining locations. In fact, the grocer increased its allocation of funds for overhead LED lighting installation projects in stores by more than 13 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, the release noted.

Additionally, Food Lion’s reduction in energy usage since 2000 is equivalent to the CO₂ emissions of 123,114 homes’ electricity use for one year.

Through the ENERGY STAR recognitions, collaborative efforts are gathered on a large scale in the fight against climate change and safeguarding public health. More than 900 of Food Lion’s total 1,108 stores are ENERGY STAR certified, conserving energy and resources by generating fewer gas emissions than typical buildings.

To dive deeper into the chain’s sustainability strategies, click here.

More updates are on the way from ANUK, so stick around.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - GrubMarket launched its Sustainable California initiative one year ago, and now the company is reflecting on the strides it has made over the last 365 days. The initiative was created to bolster agricultural sustainability and promote stronger food systems throughout the Golden State through meaningful endeavors, which GrubMarket has made good on.

"Reflecting on the past year, we are immensely proud of the accomplishments we have achieved through the Sustainable California initiative," said Mike Xu, Chief Executive Officer. "From planting hundreds of thousands of trees to supporting cohorts of underrepresented farmers, every milestone represents a step forward in GrubMarket's mission to create a more sustainable and equitable food system. Our dedication to environmental stewardship and sustainability is ingrained in every part of our company, and we are deeply committed to continuing to expand upon our Sustainable California initiative to build the foundation for a healthier, more resilient future for the food industry."

Throughout the past 12 months, GrubMarket has been working alongside the global reforestation non-profit One Tree Planted, a release stated. A core achievement of the Sustainable California initiative has been the successful planting of over 100,000 trees, primarily across Northern California, including drought-stricken areas ravaged by wildfires and deforestation.

This extensive reforestation effort helps preserve key watersheds and agricultural ecosystems, enhance biodiversity, fight the impacts of climate change, and sequester carbon dioxide. As part of this tree-planting project, dozens of different tree species have been planted, hundreds of hectares of land have been reforested, and thousands of wildlife species have benefited. Once fully mature, these trees are expected to sequester nearly 5,000,000 lbs of CO₂ per year.

In addition to tree planting, GrubMarket has been collaborating with California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) to support farmers making the transition to organic agriculture practices. Through the Organic Transition Program, GrubMarket and CCOF have committed to providing grants, mentorship, and technical assistance over three-year periods to underserved farmers in California who want to make the challenging leap to organic production.

The program began in 2023 with 10 farmers representing 10 different California counties. They farm a variety of mixed vegetables, berries, grapes, livestock, and poultry and tend to hundreds of acres of farmland.

Click here to read more about this initiative.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow to see what the next year brings for GrubMarket and this initiative.

YAKIMA, WA - In honor of Farmworker Awareness Week, Superfresh Growers® launched a new video interview highlighting the essential contributions of farmworkers. This recent video installment features Farm Manager Claudio Villalobos, who shares his firsthand perspective on working in the agricultural industry.

In the insightful video, Villalobos shines a light on the time and care he puts in to make sure his team of farmworkers understand their importance, not just to him but the whole company, a press release explained.

“I’ve seen it, where as soon as we’re done working, we receive weird looks for wearing dirty shoes… They don’t stop and think of the value [the farmworkers] bring…that they can buy apples…and other foods because [of farmworkers],” Villalobos said, highlighting the stark reality of being misjudged in the community by going to the bank or doctor’s office with dirty boots straight from the farm.

Villalobos’ comments in the video are a reminder of the hard work, dedication, and skill that goes into producing every piece of fruit that consumers enjoy. Countless farmworkers play an essential role in our food supply chain, making every bite of a crispy apple or deliciously baked cherry pie possible.

“Superfresh Growers is committed to celebrating and supporting our farmworkers, not just during this week but all year round,” the company noted in the release. “We want to ensure their voices are heard, and their stories are told. Farmworkers are the backbone of the agricultural industry, yet their contributions are often overlooked by those outside of the farms. To farmworkers around the world, thank you.”

Farmworker Awareness Week serves as an opportunity to recognize and actively celebrate the well-being of the hands that feed us, showing our gratitude and appreciation for those who make our food systems possible.

Cheers to farmworkers everywhere!

LOS ANGELES, CA - ProducePay and Four Star Fruit are extending their partnership, enabling grocers and foodservice operators to offer consumers high-quality table grapes at stable prices. The duo teamed up with leading Mexican growers to provide 4 million cases of table grapes throughout May and early June, traditionally the lowest-volume period of the year.

“Consistent, quality table grapes can be difficult to procure throughout the year, but we’re changing that,” said Jack Campbell, Chief Executive Officer of Four Star Fruit. “With this partnership, we can now offer a solution to help retailers meet consumer demand during low availability months, creating a more predictable way of doing business for stakeholders in the fresh supply chain—for table grapes and beyond.”

To guarantee the availability of high-quality, affordable grapes during these critical months, ProducePay is working with many of the leading Mexican grape producers, a release shared. Made possible as a result of ProducePay’s Predictable Commerce Program, the offering aims to help national retailers solve two of their biggest challenges: how to meet year-round demand for high-quality fresh produce with stable pricing while managing increasingly more volatile supply chains.

Last year, ProducePay and Four Star Fruit launched this first-of-its-kind, comprehensive solution as a way to address the increasing volatility and unpredictability in the table grape supply chain caused by extreme weather events, global pandemics, and civil unrest.

“Partnering with these growers to provide the majority of the May and early June fruit from historically inefficient distribution methods like open markets is a huge win for retailers, growers, grocery shoppers, and our planet,” said Patrick McCullough, CEO of ProducePay. “Each year—and especially during May and early June—retailers are forced to navigate unpredictable supply, quality, and pricing of table grapes. Together, we set out to combat this volatility while dramatically reducing food waste. This program will create greater predictability that is welcomed by all supply chain stakeholders.”

Together, these partners are hosting an invitation-only Global Table Grape Summit. The summit will bring together the world’s best growers, genetics providers, trade associations, and retailers to discuss how to benefit end-consumers with high-quality table grapes at stable pricing.

To learn more about this partnership, click here.

How will this program affect the table grape market? Keep reading AndNowUKnow for updates.

TEXAS - What was a rumble in our business when I first joined has elevated to a roar, echoing as more and more women have taken on bigger roles and responsibilities in fresh produce. While more prominent on the whole, from International Women’s Day to the International Fresh Produce Association’s (IFPA) Women's Fresh Perspectives, the spotlight shines a little brighter on the endeavors and accomplishments of the female demographic of our industry. This is especially so for up-and-coming industry leaders, specifically those in the 28th class for IFPA’s Leadership Program.

This year, attendance is made up of the most diverse group of women of any leadership class in the company’s 25-plus year history. The group, Beth Keeton, class member and Chief Executive Officer of Elephant House PR, recently pointed out to me, celebrates multiple shifts we could be seeing in our industry’s top titles.

“Our Leadership Class has the most diverse group of women in terms of roles, backgrounds and cultures, and we are also the most degreed out of previous cohorts,” Beth said about being amid so many inspirational people. Yet, the class’ recent excursion to Texas also showed a shift in our industry’s leadership. “A common thread we saw during our trip in Texas was the women leadership represented at the companies we toured. I think we expected most tours to be conducted by men, just by the nature of our industry, and we met with some ROCKSTAR women!”

This particular tour included:

• Julie Krivanek, President, Krivanek Consulting
• Magaly Solis, Senior Program Manager, Brighter Bites
• Judy Clark, Chief Executive Officer, Fresh From Texas
• Victoria Lopez, Marketing and Brand Manager, Fox Packaging
• Jen Doxey, Director of Sales, Fox Packaging
• Courtney Schuster Moore, Organic Farmer, Rio Fresh

It was the perfect roundtable to usher in the up-and-coming female leaders of our industry. In addition to Beth, the class includes Maria Fernanda Reyes, Regulatory Affairs Manager at Agrofresh; Hollie Johnson, Commercial Director at Offshoot Brands; Erendira Lara, Procurement Director at NatureSweet; and Violeta Gomez, Director of Food Safety & Quality at CarusoUSA.

Congratulations go out to these women on their journey to help change and strengthen our industry for the better. Up next for the class is the pinnacle place for such growth: the Washington Conference in DC.

I think I speak for many of us when I say this will be an exciting journey to follow toward the future of our industry—a particular passion for our team at AndNowUKnow, so be sure to keep an eye out as we report the latest!