John Gates, president of Lancaster Foods LLC in Baltimore, told The Produce News that the company continues to increase the amount of processing it does.

“We’re engaged in a lot of fresh-cut and repacked items today,” said Mr. Gates. “New for our company is that we’re now manufacturing salads. We do a tremendous amount of fresh-cut processing for foodservice operators and retail packs for grocery stores.”

East Coast Fresh Cuts, the fresh-cut division of Coastal Sunbelt Produce, is located a few miles from the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market in Savage, MD. Dave Zeleznik, vice president of East Coast Fresh Cuts, told The Produce News that the company, which in the past sold predominantly to the foodservice sector, is now focusing just as strongly on the retail side.

Now in its third generation of management, Edward G. Rahll & Sons Inc., located at the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market in Jessup, MD, is heavy into a full line of fresh produce, including a full line of herbs, and ethnic, specialty and exotic items. It still maintains its traditional line of commodity produce, including tomatoes, potatoes and onions, which it has handled for decades. Citrus from Florida and California, melons, and stone fruits are also important items in the company’s line of fresh produce.

Tony Vitrano, president of Tony Vitrano Co. on the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market in Jessup, MD, told The Produce News Aug. 24 that the company has always handled western fruits and vegetables with the same shippers year round. But local sourcing is on the rise.

“But we’re doing more and more eastern produce, including sourcing from local growers,” said Mr. Vitrano. “Customer demand is driving these changes today. With fuel prices high and consumers more interested in where their food comes from today, the demand for local and regional produce is higher than ever.”

Syngenta has developed a new web site feature to help growers choose and use business applications for social media. The breeder’s new Internet guide for social media, www.GrowingDigitalBlog, premiered in mid-August, according to a company news release from its Greensboro, NC, offices.

Stephanie Marchini loves growing pumpkins, but she loves teaching kids about growing them even more. She is the wife of Jeff Marchini, president of J. Marchini Farms in Le Grand, CA, a leading producer of specialty Italian produce including radicchio, fennel, Tuscan cabbage, Puntarelle, Cardone and Romanesco. The company is particularly well-known for its Black Mission and Kadota figs, and its Marchini almonds.

But pumpkins are Ms. Marchini’s passion. She and her sister-in-law, Fania Wright, oversee the Bear Creek Pumpkin Patch, which is located on the family’s Fox Creek Ranch.