The Giant Co. recently donated $1.1 million to the Rodale Institute, a global nonprofit dedicated to growing the organic movement through rigorous research, farmer training and consumer education. The funds were raised through The Giant Co.’s Healing Our Planet campaign, which ran from March 1 to May 31, and allowed customers to round up their checkout purchases to the nearest dollar at Giant, Martin’s and Giant Heirloom Market stores.

Ever since its founding in 1906, Ben B Schwartz & Sons has been a leader in the Detroit produce scene. The company’s distribution network, which is located on the Detroit Produce Terminal, spans the majority of the U.S. and Canada, with produce arriving to its facility daily from farms across the globe.

The company will be headed to the IFPA Food Service Conference in Monterey, CA, where it will focus on one of the most important parts of the business.

Pace International has hired Luke Shepard as its newest senior manager of global operations.

In his new role, Shepard will bring process and quality improvements, strategic sourcing planning, logistics network optimization, and customer-service enhancements to the Pace global business. He will be based out of the Wapato, WA, plant, supporting U.S. operations, global expansion and diversification plans.

Protesting truckers have shut down cargo operations at the port of Oakland, one of the biggest gateways for California’s agricultural exporters. The shutdown will further exacerbate the congestion of containers dwelling at the Oakland Seaport as port officials urge terminal operations to resume. Today marks the fourth day of protests over AB5, a state labor law that reclassifies independent contractors as employees.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on four produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

As the calendar hit July 4, Wada Farms’ North Carolina watermelon season was just starting up, and the company was excited to see continued growth in this market segment.