SpartanNash expanded its partnership with food waste reduction company Flashfood with the addition of 44 Family Fare and VG's Grocery store locations throughout Michigan, Iowa and Nebraska. SpartanNash was the first company to introduce Flashfood in Michigan and Indiana through its pilot program at Family Fare and Martin's Super Markets. The latest expansion brings the first-ever Flashfood locations to stores in Nebraska and Iowa.

Consumers are stockpiling Autumn Glory apple supplies, and according to Nielsen data the apple was up 34 percent in volume against a category that was down 2 percent.

Growers are keen to adopt automation to bridge the growing labor gap and ensure that their crops can be picked in time, according to the Global Harvest Automation Report, a study commissioned by Western Growers. The report is the first in a new annual series that will track, measure and report on industry progress in harvest automation across the fresh produce industry.

Kelly Davis, director of produce and floral at Allegiance Retail Services LLC, is leaving the company effective Feb. 18. She is leaving the produce industry and will be pursuing a career in real estate.

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas Spring Policy Summit will be returning as an in-person event. This year’s SPS will take place in Tubac, AZ, on March 16.

The agenda for this year is focused on interactive sessions designed to bring together regulators and industry to identify practical, goal-oriented outcomes for key issues facing the fresh produce industry at the Southwest border.

The Bipartisan Policy Center recently released a new study from its Food and Nutrition Security Task Force, on which International Fresh Produce Association Co-CEO Tom Stenzel serves.