With the mission to increase consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables among children, Indianapolis-based Imagination Farms has taken significant positive steps in that direction with two recently announced partnerships with prominent fruit producers. In the first alliance, Imagination Farms joined with Ito Packing Inc. in Reedley, CA, to market stone fruit and blueberries under the "Disney Garden" brand. The items were the first fresh produce products to carry the brand. Craig Ito, president of Ito Packing, said in a statement, "It's great to be the first company to roll out 'Disney Garden'

If the grape crop in California's Arvin district, the earliest in the San Joaquin Valley, comes off in the way it appeared to be shaping up as of the second week of June, it will be a welcome relief to buyers who have struggled to secure promotable volumes during the Mexico and Coachella spring grape seasons. The desert grape deals so far, out of both Mexico and Coachella, had been light on most varieties as well as late, making grape supplies short and prices steeper than usual at mid-season for the deals. But growers say they expect the crop in Arvin to be close to normal volume, if a week

Fullerton, CA-based JBJ Distributing Inc. is planning a July 5 opening of a regional sales office in Crown Point, IN, about three- quarters of an hour from Chicago. Rob Gurney, who has been with JBJ for 12 years, will run the one- person office for the company, which is a subsidiary of Veg-Land Sales Inc., also based in Fullerton. Veg-Land Inc., a 110,000- square-foot warehouse, and Flower Land -- flowers for retailers -- also are subsidiaries of JBJ and are based in Fullerton. The Crown Point facility will be JBJ's first regional office. Jimmy Matiasevich, a salesman in the Matiasevich family

With supplies down a bit, the New Mexico onion deal got off to a good start, and in mid-June shippers were quoting prices better than usual for this time of year. Stormy Adams of Shiloh Produce Inc. in Hatch, NM, summed up the comments of many who were interviewed by The Produce News when he said, "The crop is short, so demand is up and the prices are pretty good." Mr. Adams said that the short supplies are the result of reduced acreage and reduced yields. Mimbres Valley Produce Co. Inc. in Deming, NM, is one of the firms that contributed to the reduced acreage. "We decided to lay out of the

Newly formed WEA Farms in Lima, Peru, is launching a new line of value-added fresh asparagus products for retailers. Focusing on providing value-added items like Euro covers, microwavable bags, MA bags, tips, clamshells and other special packs, WEA intends to energize the fresh asparagus industry. "Everyone involved in this project is extremely excited," Peter Warren, a partner of WEA Farms, said in a press release. "We are targeting higher-end customers who are looking for a premium product with dedicated attention to the packing process. Our customers are already experiencing the benefits

Nogales, AZ-based Damon Distributing opened an office in Los Angeles the week of June 19 across from the Los Angeles Wholesale Market. Though Damon Distributing is well acquainted with the Los Angeles Wholesale Market and services customers in Los Angeles, the opening of its L.A. facility marks the first time Damon Distributing has opened an office in Los Angeles. Ray Del Toro is sales manager of Damon's Los Angeles office. Mr. Del Toro is new to Damon but is a 17-year produce industry member who grew up on the Los Angeles Wholesale Market through his father's business there. Sal Pelayo was