As part of its presence at the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics’ annual Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo Oct. 19-22, the Hass Avocado Board announced its new graphic mark and marketing campaign — Love One Today — a new, multi-year science-based food and wellness education program to the more than 8,500 health professional community in attendance. 

CERRITOS, CA — Nearly 300 produce industry professionals packed the Sheraton Cerritos for the Fresh Produce & Floral Council Membership Luncheon Nov. 6. KNBC4 Los Angeles sports anchor Fred Roggin was the luncheon's featured guest speaker. The FPFC's Annual Holiday Luncheon & Charity Auction is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 4, at the Sheraton Cerritos.

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Meijer will double match every customer’s $10 Simply Give donation made Nov. 15-16 to celebrate five years of feeding hungry families through its program that aims to restock the shelves of food pantries in the communities it serves.

For Farm Fresh Produce Inc., which is based in Faison, NC, sweet potato production and sales were the basis for domestic growth and international market development. The firm has expanded its fresh produce export offerings, but sweet potatoes will remain its core business.

Farm Fresh ships between 800 and 900 40-foot containers of sweet potatoes a year. About 600 of these containers are exported. The firm has “a large network of growers” who pack the “Farm Fresh” brand, and all Farm Fresh products are GlobalGAP-certified.

As Mexico’s Baluarte Bridge nears its official opening — tentatively scheduled for later this year — and the city of San Antonio booming, Mexico’s Abasto Corp. is well-positioned to make the most of the produce industry’s next likely hotspot with the opening of the 80-acre San Antonio Wholesale Produce Market.

Whether they span a border or a mountain range, bridges are increasingly important in the Texas produce industry.

The completion of the Baluarte Bicentennial Bridge, officially the Guinness Book Record holder as the tallest cable-stayed bridge in the world at 1,322 feet above the valley below and the second highest bridge of any type, open Texas for the first time to truck traffic from western Mexico.

Construction began in 2008, was completed last year, and the bridge is expected to open to traffic before the end of 2013.