Side Delights is offering summer solutions for shoppers to help keep kitchens cool and recipes fresh.

Since the summer season began, recent headlines have focused on the record-breaking heat. On Aug. 1, the Weather Service predicted that most of the U.S. would likely continue to see above-average temperatures for the rest of the summer. 

The Southeast Produce Council announced Aug. 2 that Brayden Browder is this year's SEPC Nolan Family Foundation Scholarship recipient. He is the son of Jon Browder of Pioneer Growers Cooperative.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on four produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA.

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

Bland Farms LLC, Battleboro Produce, Boyette Brothers Produce LLC and Sandyland Produce have announced a new partnership and sales company, Sand Candy Produce LLC. The four major sweet potato growers have partnered in Sand Candy Produce to focus on selling sweet potatoes grown in North Carolina and Georgia. With their respective packing facilities, each partner has the ability to pack bins, boxes, and bags with sizes ranging from two to 10 pounds, including shrink wrap and microwave.

Fortune Growers, a leading broccoli producer in Mexico, and ec2ce, an agriculture technology company based in Spain, will collaborate to deploy advanced predictive analytics in the broccoli sector in Mexico to improve operations by maximizing high-quality products for the export market.

Westfalia Fruit named Raina Nelson president of its U.S. operations as of the end of August. Nelson, a well-known trailblazer in the global produce industry, will succeed outgoing President Art Bruno, who is retiring after six years at Westfalia Marketing USA.