Page 123 - Roduce Editorials News Today

Nathan Bender, a 16-year agribusiness veteran and co-founder of baby potato category leader Tasteful Selections, has assumed the role of president at the organization he helped establish in 2010. Bender, Tasteful Selections' chief operating officer since January 2019, will succeed his father, Bob Bender, as president.  Bob Bender will remain with Tasteful Selections as CEO.

Riding waves has always been one of life’s greatest pleasures for 30-year-old Brian Pollak of Watermill, NY. But now the fourth-generation family member of Hapco Farms is putting down his surfboard and putting on his sales hat — at least, during the workday. “I have been surfing for over 20 years,” Pollak told The Produce News. “I used to compete more, but now I just do it for the pure love of it. It’s more than just fun for me, it’s a way of dealing with stress and letting go of p...

THE HISTORY OF FLORAL ROW While the flower wholesale market has always had roots in St. Louis history, it wasn’t always associated with its LaSalle Street address on floral row that it’s known for today. Beginning in 1890, Wholesale houses for the sale of flowers were located primarily on the streets of Olive and Pine in downtown. This was the case due to the proximity of nearby greenhouses and easily accessible street cars.

Working in the mushroom capital of the world, Kennett Square, PA-based Phillips Mushroom Farms continues the legacy started by William Phillips, who first started farming mushrooms in the area in 1927. Since that time, the company has grown to where it now sells more than 57 million mushrooms per year.

The Mushroom Council plays an important role in the national promotion of fresh mushrooms. Membership is comprised of fresh market producers or importers that average more than 500,000 pounds of mushrooms produced or imported annually.

Pacific Trellis Fruit/Dulcinea Farms welcomed industry veterans Matt Tanner, Evangelina Kaudze and Shawn Young to the company, bolstering its ranks with added experience.

Sterman Masser, a partner member of Fresh Solutions Network, formed the Lykens Valley Grain Co. through an acquisition by Sterman Masser Potato Farms from Perdue Agribusiness. The purchase includes the Upper Dauphin Grain Center in Pennsylvania, renamed Lykens Valley Grain. Sterman Masser will use the facility to store all the grain they grow and harvest, in addition to local farmers' wheat, corn and contracted soybeans.

Last week, Brighter Bites, a Houston, TX-based nonprofit providing under-resourced families with fresh fruits and vegetables and nutrition education, hosted a virtual wine event, Wine for a Cause, as part of the International Fresh Produce Association Foodservice Conference held in Monterey, CA.

Grimmway Farms marked this year’s National Intern Day by celebrating its talented intern and summer work experience teams. For decades, Grimmway has offered paid internship programs to qualifying students, along with a unique paid work experience program for children of Grimmway employees who currently attend high school and college.

With National Blueberry Month in full swing, Naturipe is expecting to have promotable volumes of its jumbo blueberries, Mighty Blues, from Michigan, the Pacific Northwest and Peru. These fresh, firm and flavorful blueberries are consumer favorites and fly off the shelf.