Sometime this spring, the Produce for Kids program that supports Children’s Miracle Network of 170 hospitals and quality, kid-friendly television programming, will top the $4 million mark in donations. It is the perfect way to celebrate the program’s 10th anniversary.

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas held its annual membership meeting May 17 in Nogales, AZ, which featured several significant highlights.

Alejandro Canelos of Apache Produce Imports assumed the position of chairman of the association, while Matt Mandel of SunFed was elected to fill the position of chairman-elect and a slate of board directors was elected by the membership.

The redesign of its Web page at sweetonions.org has been expanded upon by the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee to interface with the Sweet Onion Festival’s Facebook page.

Kathy Fry-Trommald, director of marketing for the WWSOMC, told The Produce News in early May that the website has been refreshed on a regular basis for the past couple of years, and the Facebook tie-in has been in place since she launched the social media page in 2010.

Walla Walla sweet onions pack quite a punch for Keystone Fruit Marketing Inc. in Walla Walla, WA.

“It’s amazing that such a small crop has such national recognition, and we pride ourselves on promoting a great sweet onion,” Sales Manager Dan Borer told The Produce News May 2.

Matt Curry, president of Curry & Co. in Brooks, OR, said weather conditions during the coming weeks will tell the tale for Walla Walla sweet onion production.

“The weather has been cool this spring,” Mr. Curry said to The Produce News on May 3. “This is our third year of below-normal temperatures that have many crops later than normal.”

J.R. Kelly Co., known as The Horseradish House, is the largest supplier of horseradish roots in the United States.

The company is located in Collinsville, IL, just 15 miles from St. Louis, MO. Each year, J.J. Kelly Co. moves between 10 to 12 million pounds of the root.

“Our customer base consists of produce wholesalers and horseradish processors,” General Manager Dennis Diekemper told The Produce News May 1. J.R. Kelly Co. has been in operation for more than 75 years.

The company’s network of growers is also located in Collinsville.