WASHINGTON -- Health and nutrition advocates, along with moms and dads, want more fresh fruits and vegetables in the diets of school children, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has established a program to support that trend. In March, USDA introduced a pilot program to school districts in five states -- California, Michigan, North Carolina, New York and Pennsylvania -- that provided students with fresh-cut apple slices. Apples were processed and packaged into single-serve, two-ounce bags, similar to those found in children's meals at major fast-food restaurants. Unlike restaurants, many

ORANGE COVE, CA -- Booth Ranches LLC, a family-owned, fully integrated citrus grower, packer and shipper, signed an agreement the week of Sept. 7 to purchase an existing packing facility presently owned by Sunny Cove Citrus LLC. This acquisition will more than double Booth's volume packing capacity, according to Neil Galone, vice president of marketing and sales at Booth. "Our volume continues to grow as a result of a long-term strategy, and this new packinghouse will give us the increased capacity to get us to the next level," he said in a Sept. 16 press release. The Sunny Cove packinghouse

WASHINGTON -- A salad bar in every school was just one of a handful of pressing legislative priorities that brought more than 400 produce leaders to attend the United Fresh Produce Association's Washington Public Policy Conference, held here Sept. 9-11. More than half of the produce industry representatives gathered met with congressional staff during the annual conference, carrying a message to boost nutrition programs, pass a produce-friendly food safety bill, reform immigration policies and block the Employee Free Choice Act. The national debate is currently focused on health-care reform

WASHINGTON -- A salad bar in every school was just one of a handful of pressing legislative priorities that brought more than 400 produce leaders to attend the United Fresh Produce Association's Washington Public Policy Conference, held here Sept. 9-11. More than half of the produce industry representatives gathered met with congressional staff during the annual conference, carrying a message to boost nutrition programs, pass a produce-friendly food safety bill, reform immigration policies and block the Employee Free Choice Act. The national debate is currently focused on health-care reform

NAPLES, FL -- Even the worst season in a decade was not enough to keep tomato grower-shippers and attendees of the 34th annual Florida Joint Tomato Conference from focusing on the future. "Dreadful," committee Chairman Bob Spencer said in summarizing the 2008- 09 season in the Florida Tomato Committee's annual report, which was released at the conference, held Sept. 8-14 at the Ritz-Carlton-Naples, here. It is doubtful the industry could survive another season like this one. Although the Florida tomato industry sold more product this season (June 2008 to June 2009) than last, and reversed a

Minneapolis-based C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., a leading produce- sourcing and non-asset based third-party logistics company, announced Sept. 15 that it has acquired Rosemont Farms Corp. Inc., a prominent produce-marketing company, and Quality Logistics LLC, a non-asset based logistics sister company that focuses on produce transportation. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Rosemont Farms offers produce and logistics solutions to retail and foodservice customers. Rosemont's expertise and well-established grower relationships will further augment C.H. Robinson's existing regional