Because of the earliness of Easter and the lateness of the strawberry harvest, it is going to be a struggle for the California strawberry industry to cover the East Coast trade for Easter this year, said Louis Ivanovich, vice president of West Lake Fresh, a Watsonville, CA-based brokerage specializing in strawberries.

To say things move quickly at the Ontario Food Terminal would be a gross understatement. With an average of over 1 million tons of produce and horticultural products passing through the terminal annually, the Toronto-based terminal is one of the larger wholesale produce distribution centers in Canada and the third-largest in North America.

Whole Foods Market announced that Gotham Greens is its operating partner of a commercial-scale greenhouse farm that will be integrated within a retail grocery space in New York City.

The 20,000-square-foot greenhouse, currently being constructed on the roof of the forthcoming Whole Foods Market store in Gowanus, Brooklyn, is scheduled to open later this fall.

Gotham Greens will grow premium-quality, pesticide-free produce year round in the greenhouse for Whole Foods Market Gowanus, as well as other Whole Foods Market locations throughout New York City.

CF Fresh Inc., a leading grower of organic fruits and vegetables based in Sedro-Woolley, WA, announced that it is formally changing the name of the company to Viva Tierra Organic Inc. in celebration of its 20th year in business.

Eddie Basha, chairman of Bashas' Family of Stores, died March 26 following a long illness. He was 75.

Edward Basha III, president and chief executive officer of the Chandler, AZ-based retailer, released news of the death of his father to company employees in a March 26 letter.

The Prince Edward Island Potato Board is in the second year of a three-year partnership with Olympic gold medalist and PEI native Heather Moyse, and the organization could not be happier.

Ms. Moyse has been the anchor of a successful public relations campaign with the message that potatoes are a nutritious choice for health-conscious consumers.

When developing the campaign, the board knew it needed to find a person with a strong connection to PEI for branding purposes.