After the normal preholiday draw, produce markets should show signs of softening up. Hopefully with some warmer weather in the desert and Mexican growing areas, product will have a better chance of maturing.

The Southeast Produce Council has named Faye Westfall, a longtime member of the fresh produce industry who has been directly involved with the council since its earliest days, to the SEPC board of governors.

United Natural Foods Inc.'s Warehouse to Wheels program has grown by more than 300 percent over the past two years and is now available to associates at a majority of UNFI’s 56 distribution centers. Originally developed at a single UNFI distribution center to help combat a driver shortage, today the program is offered to eligible distribution center associates interested in obtaining the training necessary to receive their Class A CDL license while being employed by UNFI.

As part of the West Pak Cares committee community involvement program, West Pak Avocado of Murrieta, CA, donated a load of 134,500 avocados to Brighter Bites, a Houston-based nonprofit that delivers fresh fruits and vegetables directly into families' hands. The organization has provided more than 50 million pounds of produce and hundreds of thousands of nutrition education materials to more than 500,000 individuals in Texas, California, Florida, New York and Washington, DC.

‘Tis the season for the sniffles, thermometers and canceled plans. The flu season in America has reached unprecedented highs, arriving earlier than anticipated, making the holidays far from merry and bright for some. With the quick onset of the flu, a nationwide shortage of nearly 260 drugs used to treat influenza, respiratory infections and COVID-19 are noticeably absent from pharmacies right now. The empty store shelves are causing consumer panic, as children’s over-the-counter pain- and fever-reducing medications are scarce.

Weis Markets recently donated $275,000 to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank as part of its year-round Fight Hunger program. Weis store managers presented the donation during a hunger action event at the food bank’s Healthy Food Hub in Williamsport, PA. The donation will enable the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank to distribute more than 1 million meals throughout the 27 counties in which it operates.