FirstFruits Marketing, growers of the Opal apple, is seeking applications from nonprofit organizations to benefit from 2014-15 Opal sales as part of the "Youth Make a Difference" initiative, a campaign designed to provide financial support to causes led by youth ages 6 to 25.

The attorney for Sweet Onion Trading Corp. in Grant, FL, was expected to file a motion Jan. 8 to give post-bankruptcy creditors assurances that the company will pay its new debts in a timely manner as it reorganizes under its Chapter 11 petition.

The firm filed for bankruptcy protection Dec. 24 with the goal of moving forward, and in fact, it has continued to operate since that date.

Hillary Femal, vice president of global marketing at IFCO Systems, is the Reusable Packaging Association’s first female chairperson in its 16-year history. She is joined by representatives of 20 additional companies, including four new members.

The group will focus on creating added benefits for members and strengthening the RPA’s position as the industry resource for the adoption of reusables.

Church Bros., a leading grower-processor-shipper of more than 500 fresh vegetable SKUs, recently hired several employees to assist multiple operations within the company.

“For our company, stored apples are in very good condition at this time,” said John Rice, president of Rice Fruit Co. in Gardners, PA, in an interview with The Produce News Dec. 17. “We had the type of growing season that is conducive to good fruit condition and coloring, and the relatively cool growing season in August and September was an added boost.”

“We have a nice crop,” said Scott Swindeman, a partner in All Fresh GPS LLC. “I would like to see the pricing be better, but we have a nice crop, a good size profile and high quality.”

“Our friends in the Northwest have a whopper” of an apple crop, he continued. “This is keeping prices a little depressed.”

Swindeman indicated that he didn’t expect pricing to change a whole lot in early 2015, but said business was good as of mid-December.