LOS ANGELES, CA - Wonderful Halos, one of America’s most-loved healthy snack brands, is kicking off the back-to-school season on a sweet note with a nationwide contest to support teachers and help fund classrooms. According to the National Education Association, over 90% of teachers spend their own money on school supplies every year. With inflation driving school supply prices up nearly 24%, Wonderful Halos wanted to ease the financial burden of the new school year for some of the everyday heroes who make a difference in students’ lives.

Now through September 26, educators and families across the country are encouraged to nominate a “sweet teacher” for a chance to win a $10,000 cash prize and a year’s supply of Wonderful Halos. Five runners-up will also receive a $1,500 Amazon eGift card to fulfill their classroom wish list.

“The impact of one deserving teacher can forever change the life of a student. With our Sweetest Teacher contest, we are shining a necessary light on the incredible dedication teachers bring every day as the heart and soul of our schools,” said Jennifer Hirano, vice president of marketing, The Wonderful Company, in a recent release. “Both through this initiative and with Wonderful Halos as a healthy, sweet snack, we are committed to fueling and inspiring healthy learning all year long.”

Nominations are open to all public and private school teachers, including subject specialists who work with students from pre-K through 12th grade. Each nomination must include a brief statement (350 words or fewer) explaining how the prize would benefit their classroom. Entries will be evaluated based on the nominee’s impact, classroom needs, emotional resonance, and originality. The grand prize winner and runners-up will be selected on September 30 and announced by October 3.

To further celebrate the start of the school year, Wonderful Halos will hit the road with family-friendly pop-up events at select East Coast grocery stores, featuring on-site sampling, giveaways, an inflatable bounce house, and coloring stations. The road tour reminds parents that Halos are convenient, nutritious, and kid-approved – perfect for packing in everyday lunch boxes. Timed for the busy back-to-school season, Halos also provide 50 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin C per serving and are a natural source of energy to help kids and parents alike power through their day.

The road tour will visit the following locations:

• Sept. 6: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Stop & Shop, 125 Church St., Pembroke, MA 02359
• Sept. 7: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Stop & Shop, 400 Lincoln St., Hingham, MA 02043
• Sept. 13:
  • 9 a.m. to Noon, ACME Markets, 1305 W. Chester Pike, Havertown, Philadelphia, PA 19083
  • 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., ACME Markets, 2101-41 Cottman Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19149
• Sept. 14:
  • 9 a.m. to Noon, ShopRite, 4990-5005 State Rd., Drexel Hill, PA 19026
  • 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., ShopRite, 2301 W. Oregon Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19145

To make it easier to find Wonderful Halos, shoppers can look for the vibrant new point-of-sale (POS) displays featuring a cheerful, school-ready child, promoting Halos as “The Backpack Snack Hack.” Naturally sweet, seedless, and easy-to-peel, Halos help take the stress out of lunchbox prep – making it easy for families to “snack to school” with confidence.

LOS ANGELES, CA - Innovation is a word weighted with possibility—rooted in ideation, propelled by progress, and charged with hope. As the Southeast Produce Council’s Southern Innovations event approaches, set for September 10–13 in Charlotte, North Carolina, companies across the U.S. are preparing to showcase their visions, strategies, and solutions for the challenges shaping today’s marketplace and tomorrow’s opportunities. Ahead of the show, I connected with Phil Kooy, Chief Revenue Officer at Generous Brands, to gain insight into how the company is approaching the event and how its operation is built to embody innovation not just in thought, but in execution.

“Generous Brands’ mission is to inspire people through vibrant nutrition with brands like Bolthouse Farms, Evolution Fresh, Health-Ade, and SAMBAZON. With our recent Health-Ade acquisition, our portfolio now spans nearly $1 billion in premium beverages, making the Southern Innovations event an ideal time to discuss opportunities and possibilities,” Phil shares with me.

This year in Charlotte, Generous Brands will be featuring its seasonal launches for fall, which include a new Organic Cold Pressed Spiced Cider from Evolution Fresh and preparations for a second season of Sumo Cold Pressed Mandarin Juice.

“The cider has an incredible fresh taste profile, which you would expect from our cold-pressed lineup, and I guarantee it’s the best cider you have ever tried. We are elevating the cider experience, bringing much-needed innovation and excitement to a popular but sleepy category,” Phil explains. “Sumo had an incredible launch last year in our partnership with AC Foods, bringing the Sumo experience in a bottle to millions of Sumo followers. We received incredible feedback from both customers and consumers and have plans to expand the program this year based on demand.”

Bringing Health-Ade into the fold has only increased the power of Generous Brands’ diverse portfolio.

“The acquisition was incredibly exciting for us as it rounds out our beverage portfolio with a fully complementary segment and helps us drive availability and innovation around the macro gut-health trend for our customers,” Phil describes. “The response from the marketplace has been very encouraging. Customers are excited for Generous Brands to continue bringing category solutions through more innovation, more marketing investment, more category and in-store support, and more ideas to drive growth in refrigerated functional beverages for years to come.”

If you had not already felt the long-term vision at play for Generous Brands, you will now. As Phil tells me, the beverage category is highly dynamic: consumers get bored easily and are quickly on to the next. “What solution can I find in this beverage for what I need?”

“So the question I get asked the most is, ‘Help me find what is next. Where is the consumer going?’ Or, as I like to say, ‘skate to where the puck is going,’” Phil suggests. “If healthy soda sales are starting to slow as they cycle massive growth and dollars and brands move from refrigerated to center-store ambient sales, our job is to lead with solutions to replace those dollars for our customers. These are the biggest opportunities. Now that we have solutions within our Generous Brands platform to address needs across the consumer spectrum via Bolthouse, Evolution, SAMBAZON, and now Health-Ade, we are hard at work bringing these ideas forward. The longer-term vision is for our customers to win across the macro trends of protein, gut health, mood, and clean nutrition, among others, with a ‘build or buy’ mentality, where we identify additional opportunities that we may not be fully addressing currently.”

As Phil concludes, the produce industry is addictive for many of us because it’s on-trend, fast-paced, and ever-changing—and the refrigerated beverage set in the produce department is no exception.

Check out what Generous Brands is all about by visiting SEPC Southern Innovations Booth #222 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE, CA - To speak of a life is always a collective effort. Its true magnitude lies not just in the person themselves, but in the way those around them experienced the moments, the joy, the heartache, and the triumphs of that life. Allen Lund was a man whose ambition was never about power or popularity, but about compassion and grace. To honor that legacy, his wife, Kathie, and their children came together to weave Allen's story into the binding of a book. Out of this devotion, Be Good: The Allen Lund Story was born.

“This book is a celebration of my father, my mother, and the life that they created together. Many of the stories that were told during our Monday Night Therapy—the scheduled weekly meetings with Jenna Day, the author—were opportunities for us to celebrate my dad, but also to bring together stories that were unknown to us,” Eddie Lund, President of the Allen Lund Company (ALC), shares. “We got to know my father and my mother better, and with so much more depth, because of this project. I am so grateful for that. There were lots of laughs, tears, and just being family.”

As Eddie explains, stories are contagious. Once the family began sharing stories about Allen, the natural progression was a book to hold those moments. With careful craftsmanship by Jenna, Be Good traces the life of a man defined by unwavering integrity and quiet but remarkable bravery.

From modest roots to a place of national influence, the biography shows how discipline, humility, and faith can quietly transform an ordinary life into an extraordinary testament of everyday sainthood. For those who knew Allen as a devoted husband, father of six, and faithful daily Mass-goer, this book offers a richer portrait. Be Good reveals the depth of Allen’s character and the passion and enthusiasm that animated his life—qualities that made building a billion-dollar company not just a professional achievement, but a natural extension of who he was.

“Dad’s impact extended beyond business and continues to impact those who knew him today,” Eddie reflects. “Be Good gives readers a chance to meet the man who made ALC and its surrounding community great.”

The family invites you to share your personal stories and memories here, and help celebrate the legacy of a man who touched so many lives.

Be Good: The Allen Lund Story is available for purchase at Dynamic Catholic, Walmart, and Amazon.

Published by Dynamic Catholic, the book is more than a collection of stories—it is a legacy of fingerprints, a reminder of the countless ways Allen’s life continues to touch others, and a gift to all of us fortunate enough to read it.

WASHINGTON, DC - As the Organic Trade Association (OTA) celebrates 40 years, the organization took a bold step today with the launch of the Seal Makes It Simple campaign, aimed at raising consumer awareness about the benefits of organic for personal well-being and the environment. As the leading voice for the organic trade, OTA developed the integrated media, digital, and retail campaign to help eliminate consumer confusion when shopping for food and textiles—amid a myriad of certifications and choices available—with a clear call-to-action to look for and choose the USDA Organic seal.

Organic is now a $71 billion industry, growing at double the pace of conventional food products, according to OTA’s 2025 Market Report. This growth is driven by younger consumers—both Gen Z and Millennials—who are recognizing the health benefits of organic and are willing to pay more for it. Unlike other eco-labels or certifications, only organic is federally regulated, ensuring that food and fiber are produced without toxic pesticides, GMOs, synthetic additives, or antibiotics, while promoting animal welfare, sustainable agriculture and a healthier planet.

The Seal Makes It Simple program will run through December 31, 2026, and will debut in six regional markets where organic has strong potential for growth: Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Indianapolis, IN; Louisville, KY; Lubbock, TX; and Tampa, FL.

“Shopping should not feel like complicated homework,” said Tom Chapman, Co-CEO of Organic Trade Association, in a recent release. “There is significant trust in the USDA Organic seal, and this campaign cuts through the clutter of competing claims and messaging to help shoppers confidently recognize and choose the benefits of organic.”

Funding for the campaign is made possible through a $2.2 million USDA Organic Market Development Grant (OMDG) awarded in 2024 to OTA and The Organic Center—part of the $300 million Organic Transition Initiative. Together with Organic Voices and support from OTA members, the organization is investing $4.4 million over three years to expand consumer trust and grow organic markets. OTA was instrumental in championing and securing these initiatives, helping channel federal investment and meaningful support for farmers, businesses, and the organic marketplace.

“On behalf of our member retailers, we are very excited about the potential of the Seal Makes It Simple campaign to be a call-to-action for consumers to prioritize organic,” said Pat Sheridan, President and CEO of the Independent Natural Foods Retailers Association (INFRA). “Frankly, we’ve been waiting for something like this and are eager to support it.”

Additional activities planned for the month include OTA’s annual Organic Week conference in Washington, DC. Bringing together leading OTA members, policy makers, media, and influencers, the event will feature keynote speaker Jack Sinclair, CEO of Sprouts Farmers Market, as well as two days of panels and breakout sessions. The conference wraps up with a full day of advocacy activities on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, September 17.

“We’re at a pivotal moment at the Organic Trade Association—celebrating four decades of organic progress while charting an inspiring vision for the future,” said Matthew Dillon, Co-CEO of OTA. “This year’s event will be a convergence of ideas, innovation, and partnership as we build policies and programs to support growers, uplift agricultural communities, and deepen consumer trust in the USDA Organic seal.”

For more information on OTA’s activities during Organic Month, go to: ota.com/organic-month.

WATSONVILLE, CA - September marks National Mushroom Month, and Monterey Mushrooms® is leading the celebration by spotlighting the everyday usability of all mushroom varieties and encouraging consumers to make mushrooms a daily addition to meals and routines.

This year, in honor of Mushroom Month, Monterey Mushrooms is launching a series of initiatives designed to delight mushroom lovers and drive industry innovation nationwide. Anchoring this year’s festivities is the expansion of Monterey Mushrooms’ cutting-edge top seal packaging—an innovation setting new industry standards for quality and sustainability—as well as a wave of new specialty offerings and creative digital engagement strategies.

Building on the successful introduction in Madisonville, Texas, in October 2022, Monterey Mushrooms is proud to announce the rollout of its top seal packaging to additional farms in Loudon, Tennessee, and Morgan Hill, California. This expansion reflects the company’s commitment to quality and sustainability, providing consumers and retailers with improved packaging solutions coast to coast.

Along with its packaging advancement, Monterey Mushrooms is unveiling a collection of innovative specialty mushroom varieties, thoughtfully developed to meet evolving consumer tastes and culinary trends. These launches invite mushroom enthusiasts to explore new flavors and textures, reinforcing the versatility and creativity that mushrooms bring to any meal.

Throughout Mushroom Month, Monterey Mushrooms is activating targeted digital coupon campaigns and sharing daily social media content across Facebook and Instagram. These initiatives are especially designed to connect with Gen Z and Millennial shoppers—providing inspiration, value, and fresh ways to engage with mushrooms every day. The goal: deepen consumer engagement, elevate awareness of mushrooms’ nutritional and sustainability benefits, and inspire creative culinary adventures.

“Mushroom Month is our opportunity to celebrate the versatility, nutrition, and sustainability of mushrooms with consumers across the country,” said Lindsey Occhipinti, Marketing Manager, Monterey Mushrooms, in the recent release. “Our expanded top seal packaging, new specialty offerings, and creative activations are all designed to inspire discovery and reinforce our commitment to both quality and environmental leadership.”

WASHINGTON, DC - This September, the National Restaurant Association and ServSafe® are turning up the heat on food safety with a bold new campaign for National Food Safety Month (NFSM) 2025: Food Safety’s Most Wanted: How to Identify, Avoid, and Prevent the Top Violations.

Food Safety’s Most Wanted are responsible for everything from foodborne illness outbreaks to failed inspections. Each week in September, the campaign will help identify the culprit, understand its risks, and prevent repeat offenses. By personifying the most common food safety violations as outlaw characters, like The Greasy Spoon and The Contaminator, on the loose in restaurant kitchens, each week will spotlight a different “culprit,” helping foodservice teams recognize and stop these violations before they cause harm.

“Food safety is a foundation of trust between restaurants and their guests,” said Sherman Brown, executive vice president of Business Services for the National Restaurant Association, in a recent release. “Training is essential to creating a culture where safety is second nature. That’s why we’re excited to launch this year’s campaign with a fresh, visual approach that makes learning engaging and memorable. Customer safety is our first priority, and National Food Safety Month is a powerful reminder of that commitment.”

Weekly Breakdown:

• Week 1 Inadequate Cleaning and Sanitization: Learn how to spot sanitation failures and the difference between cleaning and sanitizing.
• Week 2 Contamination and Cross-Contamination: Learn the science behind outbreaks and get a 3-legged approach guide to food handling.
• Week 3 Poor Personal Hygiene: Good hygiene starts with constant reminders, and this week goes beyond proper handwashing.
• Week 4 Improper Temperature Control: You gotta know when to hold ‘em and how to log ‘em because time and temp play a major role in food safety during service.
• Week 5 Wrap-up: With bonus violations and a guide to building a lasting culture of food safety

Each week includes educational resources, prevention tools, and leadership guidance to help restaurants stay vigilant. From posters and quizzes to shift meeting briefs, the campaign offers everything operators need to train teams and reinforce best practices.

NFSM 2025 also features a special offer for participants and a full suite of downloadable assets. To join the campaign and receive weekly updates, visit foodsafetyfocus.com and subscribe.

For more than 30 years, ServSafe has been the leader in preparing foodservice workers to deliver safe dining experiences for their guests, while also keeping themselves safe. NFSM, recognized each September, was created in 1994 by the National Restaurant Association to heighten awareness about the importance of food safety education. The NFSM 2025 is sponsored by Tork, an Essity Brand.

WASHINGTON, DC - Equitable Food Initiative, the capacity-building and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, and retailers, announced that Windset Farms® is celebrating its 10th anniversary as an EFI-certified operation. Marking this milestone recognizes all the changes and accomplishments that have strengthened the workforce, enhanced operational efficiency, and elevated its reputation for responsible agriculture.

Since first achieving certification in 2015, Windset Farms has demonstrated consistent leadership in labor practices, food safety, and pest management. With significant data meticulously collected by Windset Farms’ teams and EFI audits, the greenhouse grower can prove that EFI’s worker-manager collaboration model has been integrated into every part of the operations, creating lasting cultural change and boosting operational excellence.

The results speak for themselves:

• $5.5 million in bonuses distributed to farmworkers since 2017
• 98% seasonal workers come back each year
• 70-plus workers trained in communication, conflict resolution, and problem-solving through the EFI program
• Safety upgrades, including 10 certified first aiders, improved equipment training, and multilingual safety materials and training in English, Spanish, and Punjabi
• Quality-of-life improvements, such as better drinking water access and responsive problem-solving through the worker-manager collaboration teams
• Streamlined qualification for the Certificate of Recognition, a voluntary program audited and approved by WorkSafeBC to ensure excellent health and safety standards.

“Social responsibility allows the workers in our greenhouse to have ownership, to be part of the team,” said Jeff Madu, Sr. VP of Operations at Windset Farms, in the recent release. “EFI allows them to have a voice back to management. If there’s an issue or something they don’t like in their workplace, they can access the worker-manager collaborative teams to make sure their voice is heard.”

“Over the past decade, Windset Farms has consistently stood at the top of the class for meeting our rigorous standards,” said LeAnne Ruzzamenti, director of marketing and communications for EFI. “Their high rate of compliance during audits is truly a testament to their commitment to excellence, and they set a high bar for all EFI-certified farms.”

Windset Farms has also leveraged EFI to increase transparency and safety by encouraging full incident reporting, including minor issues. This shift has created a safer workplace, reduced worker injuries, led to fewer missed workdays, lowered turnover, and improved morale. By sharing best practices across multiple sites, the company has accelerated the adoption of proven solutions even before new sites undergo certification.

For Operations Manager Tony Pacheco, who is responsible for the health and safety of more than 300 workers at Windset Farms’ Delta greenhouse, EFI’s training has been a game changer. It transformed a traditional safety committee into a worker-manager collaboration team, which includes workers from across all departments of the organization and allows workers and managers to dissect issues together, create solutions, and track results.

One project that stands out was about improving access to drinking water in the greenhouse. Workers raised the issue through the worker-manager collaboration team, noting they had to leave the greenhouse to hydrate. The team worked through every challenge, from sourcing the fountains to running electricity, water lines, and drainage, and placing them where they wouldn’t interfere with existing equipment and work processes. Workers were informed of the budget, timeline, and process at every step so that they knew their request was being acted on, which turned a simple idea into a shared success.

“These projects sound so simple in nature, but they are never easy to implement,” Pacheco said. “The key is that EFI’s approach involves everyone in the process. People know why it’s taking time, and they see their ideas turn into reality.”

Windset Farms’ commitment to EFI goes beyond its own operations; it extends to industrywide sustainability leadership. Starting in 2021, Windset Farms partnered with EFI and sustainability expert Measure to Improve on the Produce & Reduce Program, a pilot funded by the California Workforce Development Board’s High Road Training Partnerships initiative.

At Windset Farms and two other pilot farming operations, 50 Green Team members were trained, and more than 2,500 indirect trainees were reached through the program, empowering them to identify waste reduction opportunities, conduct physical waste audits, and implement custom plans. At Windset Farms, specifically, these efforts resulted in:

• Increasing the amount of recycled corrugated cardboard from 256 tons to 314 tons in one year.
• Diverting more than 1,300 pounds of recyclable materials from the landfill.
• Ensuring organic waste bins were filled to capacity to reduce the number of truck trips to the composting site.
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by over 17 metric tons of CO₂e.
• Generated financial savings through recycling and waste reduction initiatives.

“Every single company should get started on these types of environmentally focused initiatives,” Madu said after the waste reduction pilot program. “There are financial savings along with positive environmental impacts – and our teams are proud to be part of the solution.”

Operating in Delta, British Columbia, and Santa Maria, California, Windset Farms has grown into one of North America’s largest sustainable produce suppliers, providing long English cucumbers, mini cucumbers, European cucumbers, mini peppers, Roma tomatoes, round tomatoes, small tomatoes, vine tomatoes, peppers, and cherry tomatoes to consumers year-round.

“This is the first company I’ve worked for that truly listens to and takes care of its employees,” said Socorro Mendoza, packhouse worker at Windset Farms. “Our voices matter here, and that makes all the difference.”

With consistently high EFI audit scores for an entire decade, Windset Farms stands as a model for how responsible agriculture benefits workers, businesses, communities, and the planet. Explore Windset Farms’ 10-year EFI journey, including worker stories, project photos, and sustainability highlights, at equitablefood.org/windset.

REIDSVILLE, GA - At the Southeast Produce Council’s (SEPC) upcoming Southern Innovations show, Shuman Farms will spotlight its premium sweet onions from Peru in a tailgating-themed booth designed to help retailers plan high-impact fall promotions. Here to discuss is John Shuman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“We will be at booth #300 and we’re bringing a full tailgating experience: game-day recipe inspiration featuring our premium sweet onions from Peru. We’ll also introduce our 2025 NIL athletes—University of Georgia linebacker CJ Allen and Georgia Southern University wide receiver Josh Dallas—and share how these partnerships translate into authentic, family-friendly content that reaches the next generation of shoppers,” John told me.

Shuman Farms’ goals for the show are to align fourth-quarter programs, share shopper insights from Gen Z and young families, and co-create turnkey game-day merchandising that drives department and total-store sales. The grower’s sales, marketing, and operations teams will all be in attendance, plus team members from Healthy Family Project discussing their holiday Carry the Cause initiative.

John explained that Shuman will start shipping its premium sweet onions from Peru in the next few weeks and will continue through February. The supplier is seeing normal production with good quality, as well as a good supply of organics with no expected gaps.

“Our Peruvian sweet onion program delivers the mild, sweet flavor shoppers love, keeping premium sweet onions on shelves year-round and maintaining category momentum outside the Vidalia® window,” John noted. “Our program supports Southeast U.S. economic activity via the Port of Savannah, reinforcing reliable supply and regional jobs while meeting year-round shopper demand.”

Shuman Farms’ Peruvian sweet onions are available in 2, 3, and 5 lb consumer bags as well as bulk. Seasonally, the grower also offers its Pink Sweet Onion bag in October for Breast Cancer Awareness, and Feeding America bags in November and December to raise awareness about hunger. For merchandising, Shuman provides both full-sized primary display bins and secondary display bins to make in-store execution simple and effective.

“Sweet onions, and produce overall, support flavor-first, better-for-you cooking—a natural fit for Food as Medicine strategies. The versatility and mild sweetness of premium Peruvian sweets make it easy for families to add more produce across everyday meals and game-day spreads,” John concluded.

For more on this year’s Southern Innovations showcases, keep clicking back to ANUK.