FreshPoint

People, passion, produce, peas: shoots and tendrils

Continuing our blog about English peas, Marvin and I had a nice chat about another avenue of spring peas: shoots and tendrils. Marvin Wilhite of Cahaba Clubs in Odessa, Florida in the Tampa Bay area is a long standing business partner of Sysco/FreshPoints across the country, but here in Florida, we are fortunate enough to...

Read more

The technology of beautiful greenhouse tomatoes in the winter

As you sit in the comfort of your home, have you ever eaten a perfect tomato on a salad or a burger and wondered the journey that has taken that tomato from field to fork? Or in the case of Mastronardi tomatoes, greenhouse to fork? Recently, members of the FreshPoint team had the pleasure of...

Read more

Apprentice Diary: Final Entry—focusing on waste trends

When we talk about sustainability, we don’t just mean the environment—our employees are our greatest asset, and the foundation to our great success.

We work with internships, local schools and colleges for placement, and various in-house leadership programs throughout the year, developing people with a passion for produce. In this final entry of her diary series, Maria Elisa Vollmer shared her experience as an apprentice with FreshPoint Raleigh.

Read more

From chemistry teacher to staple on the farmers market: touring the Weiser Family Farm

FreshPoint Southern California recently visited the Weiser Family Farm for a tour and learning opportunity on the Tehachapi Grain Project. They were fortunate to have Alex Weiser as their tour guide, and he explained the farm’s history, walked through the cattle barns, and had a beautiful lunch made with local and sustainable ingredients. The Weiser...

Read more

Apprentice Diary: Entry two—Visiting one of our sustainable agriculture farmers

When we talk about sustainability, we don’t just mean the environment—our employees are our greatest asset, and the foundation to our great success. We work with internships, local schools and colleges for placement, and various in-house leadership programs throughout the year, developing people with a passion for produce. In this diary series, Maria Elisa Vollmer...

Read more

From ancient low-tech to modern day high-tech, the power of corn

From the summer grill to your holiday centerpiece, corn is perhaps the most versatile crop grown today. It’s also one of the oldest and most sacred crops grown in the world. Thought to have been first cultivated 8,700 years in Mexico’s Central Balsas River Valley, corn, or maize, became a critically important food crop.  Why?...

Read more

Apprentice Diary: Entry One—Integrating a passion for sustainability

When we talk about sustainability, we don’t just mean the environment—our employees are our greatest asset and the foundation to our great success. We work with internships, local schools and colleges for placement, and various in-house leadership programs throughout the year, developing people with a passion for produce. In this diary series, Maria Elisa Vollmer...

Read more

You haven’t had asparagus until you’ve had Zuckerman’s

“Doing cartwheels of joy!” — Karen Beverlin, The Produce Hunter The California Sacramento River Delta boasts exceptionally rich peat soil. This magnificent soil and the area’s climate combine to grow what many people consider the world’s best asparagus. In 2004, Russ Parsons’ prescient article about the state of California’s asparagus crop, Delicate Harvest in Crisis,...

Read more

Local Farm Spotlight with Lady Moon Farms

Farm Spotlight: Lady Moon Farms Lady Moon Farms is a 2,400-acre farm in Punta Gorda, FL growing items such as lettuce. With a dream to live in the country, smell the fresh air and see the stars at night, Tom Beddard founded Lady Moon Farms in 1988 with his wife Christine on five acres in...

Read more

Food Waste: A trend we hope becomes a way of life

Food waste is on everyone’s radar; in the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30- 40% of the food supply. You may ask yourself a few questions like, “how can I help the environment and help feed the hungry?” We hope this “food trend” becomes a way of life. What started out as a...

Read more

Looking to get healthy in the New Year? How about more of this…

January is Fiber Focus Month According to NBC News, “Get Healthy” was the top 2017 New Year’s resolution search, with 62,776,640 Google searches—up 13% from last year. With over 60 million people asking how to get healthy, what about doing something simple, like adding more fiber to your diet? But fiber means bran muffins! Fiber...

Read more

Local Farm Spotlight with Frog Song Organics

Read more

It’s FreshPress Friday! Here’s what you should know…

The FreshPress movers and shakers: Our “Top 5” is a small summary of key items you should keep on your radar every week. For this week they are: asparagus, broccolini, citrus, green onions, and strawberries. What’s going on in key growing areas? Check the “Outlook,” are storms coming? Snow? Heat? get the scoop here. Let’s...

Read more

“Tropical flavors make winter bearable!”

Karen Beverlin, The Produce Hunter says, “Tropical flavors make winter bearable!” Every Rincon del Mar Ranch cherimoya is hand-pollinated, and every one is truly delicious. “It tastes like summer, but here it is, brightening up our winter—it is so delicious,” The Produce Hunter says.  Pictured above in the farmer’s hands, is beautiful Rincon del Mar...

Read more

The Farm-to-Fork Capital of the World

The morning started pretty early for the FreshPoint Central California and Sysco Sacramento team who partnered together to bring various educational activities for the whole family at this year’s Farm-to-Fork festival in Sacramento, California. As tables and displays were setup, the space came together with a demonstration stage where local high school students from the...

Read more

FreshPoint Central California is now Offering Locally Grown Farm Boxes

At FreshPoint, we know the value of working with small farmers and supporting the local economy. Read more about what our Central California location has been doing to promote their Locally Grown farm boxes.

Right from the farmer’s field and into their customer’s hands.

Read more

How Watermelon Rinds Changed Phil’s Way of Thinking…

Food Waste is a hot topic right now—the numbers are in, and they are staggering. The USDA estimates food waste at 30–40% of the food supply. Have you ever thought about all of the peelings or trimmings of fresh produce that go into the trash? Phillip Spencer, Culinary Development Specialist of FreshPoint Atlanta, had some...

Read more

UBU Goes to Washington!

HOUSTON, June 8, 2016 — At a recent House Agriculture Committee hearing on food waste, John Oxford, president and CEO, L&M Companies and chairman-elect of the Produce Marketing Association, spotlighted FreshPoint’s successful “Unusual But Usable” (UBU) Fruits & Veggies Program, aimed at reducing food waste percentages in the U.S. Click here to see the U.S....

Read more

FreshPoint Raleigh Joins Influential Roundtable Discussion with U.S. Senator

RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 24, 2016 — On Monday, Feb. 22, Preston Fletcher, President of FreshPoint Raleigh, joined 30 produce farmers and industry colleagues at a roundtable discussion with U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) in Raleigh, N.C.

Read more

Bananas for So Cal Bananas!

So Cal native son Andy Sheaffer is relatively new to farming. For years, he traveled the United States as a contractor specializing in slope stabilization and erosion control. Away from home six months of the year, Sheaffer wanted to spend more time at home with his wife and three children. Born, raised, and educated in Santa Barbara County, he put his feet firmly on home turf in 2008 by purchasing an Avocado and Lemon ranch with a 180 degree view of the Pacific Ocean. Soon after purchasing the land, Sheaffer made some big changes.

Read more