ALEXANDRIA, VA -- The U.S Department of Agriculture is planning to add fruits and vegetables to the Women, Infants & Children program, a move that could translate into $80 million for the produce industry once the program is in full swing, Steven Christensen, deputy administrator of the Special Nutrition Program of the USDA's Food & Nutrition Service, said at a July 13 industry meeting. The public may get its first look at a revised WIC package as early as January, with a final rule expected in November. Produce trade associations have been urging USDA to add fruits and vegetables to the

As the 2005 fresh grape harvest gets underway in California's San Joaquin Valley, there are some striking differences between the current season and the 2004 season. Most notable is that last year was one of the earliest harvests on record, district by district and variety by variety. The first harvest on many vineyards in 2004 came two to three weeks earlier than normal, and some growers said that it was the earliest start they remember. By contrast, this year's harvest is starting within a few days of normal. Most growers The Produce News talked with said that their starting dates were

FreshPoint Inc., a leading specialty produce distributor based in Houston, has signed a purchase agreement to acquire The Fowler & Huntting Co. Inc., a full-line fresh fruit and vegetable distributor headquartered in Hartford, CT. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close by July 30. Fowler & Huntting was founded in 1865 and supplies foodservice operations and retail customers throughout Connecticut, Rhode Island, western Massachusetts, southern Vermont and eastern New York. The company has been owned by the Yandow family since 1943 and Kenneth, William

Officials at Mann Packing Co. Inc. released the following statement July 18: SALINAS, CA -- The sudden passing of Joe Nucci, president and CEO of Mann Packing, has touched all of us deeply. It has also given us time to reflect on what a gifted leader and manager Joe was. Bill Ramsey, co-chairman of the board and a partner at Mann with Joe's father, Don Nucci, commented, "Joe had a vision, but it was a collective one -- one he built with a strong executive team, dozens of managers and hundreds of loyal employees. All of them, together with Joe, have a business plan. In his honor, we are

More than 20 health officials from the United States and Canada participated in a food-safety tour of California fields and production facilities July 12-14. The tour, organized by Watsonville, CA-based Alliance for Food & Farming, provided an opportunity for these officials to see first-hand how California cantaloupes, tomatoes and lettuce are grown. Alliance Executive Director Marilyn Dolan said that the goal of the tour "was to enhance better understanding of California production practices among the health officials charged with regulating the produce industry." Participating on the tour

PHILADELPHIA -- Ellis Fleisher Produce Co., a distributor on the Philadelphia Regional Produce Center, here, has extended its business through a new affiliation with Liberty Foods Inc., also based here. Liberty Foods is a distributor of 45 food categories, serving a region ranging from Washington, DC, to New York state. Fleisher is providing 10,000-12,000 packages of fresh produce a week for Liberty to distribute to Pennsylvania state prisons, hospitals and other such state institutions. Schools are not currently part of this program, but Mr. Fleisher said that this status may change. As a