In my role as vice president of public policy at the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association, I am frequently asked this question. The answer is, get involved, beginning with the Washington Public Policy Conference.

Efforts to shape national legislation and federal regulations are a never-ending job for any major industry, as tomorrow's challenges quickly replace yesterdays successes.

If one wants to learn how to grow mushrooms, it helps to eat, sleep and breathe mushrooms. Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. co-founder Malcolm Clark has camped where mushrooms grow so he could learn to replicate those environs at Gourmet's facility in Sebastopol, CA.

Watsonville, CA-based California Giant has received approval from the American Heart Association's food certification program to promote the "heart check" symbol with its fresh strawberries.

Bill Moncovich, president of Cal Giant, said that the company hopes that displaying the heart check symbol on its strawberries will draw consumers to its products as they make choices within the produce department. We want consumers to choose our berries based on quality, taste and as a healthy addition to their daily diet, Mr. Moncovich said.

Freshway Foods, a leading, fresh-cut vegetable and fruit processor based in Sidney, OH, recently moved into its 37,000-square-foot plant addition, bringing its total production facility to nearly 100,000 square feet.

The company, which has been in business for 17 years, completed its existing state-of-the-art processing and distribution facility five years ago.

Slicing fresh fruit and vegetables, such as apples, and serving them in ready-to-eat packages is more likely to entice school-aged kids to eat healthy than handing them whole apples, according to a new study.

The study supplied Las Vegas school children with either whole Red Delicious apples or packaged fresh apple slices treated with NatureSeal, the powdered product used to maintain color and crispness.

San Juan Bautista, CA-based Earthbound Farm has partnered with California State University at Monterey Bay and Maryland-based foodservice provider Sodexho to provide organic produce for the university's cafeteria year round.

Credited with joining the parties together is Kari Bernardi, project coordinator for the Monterey County Farm to School Partnership, which is the local chapter of a national movement that links schools and farms.