NEWARK, DE - The Foundation for Fresh Produce team has been busy in 2025 re-imagining its website, fruitsandveggies.org, and turning it into the ultimate fruit and veggie hub for health professionals and consumers.

With over 250,000 monthly visitors, fruitsandveggies.org is a credible source and designed to drive demand for fruits and vegetables by making them deliciously easy to enjoy. It also serves as a centralized educational and resource hub for food and nutrition influencers, providing registered dietitians and health professionals with tools needed to help their clients and customers eat more fruits and vegetables.

Two of the most popular sections have been the extensive 1,000+ recipe collection from food and nutrition influencers and industry commodity boards as well as the Expert Q&A. These, combined with aggressive social media ad campaigns and a large donation of advertising from Google Ad Grants, have already helped billions find inspiration.

“As an industry, we have an incredible opportunity – and responsibility – to accelerate the global transition to healthier diets,” said Cedric Pauwels, Marketing, Communications & Public Affairs Director of Greenyard; and The Foundation for Fresh Produce Board Member, in a recent press release. “Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is essential to that shift. We need to come together across sectors and stakeholders to inspire and engage consumers in meaningful ways, and with one voice. That’s why Fruitsandveggies.org is such a powerful platform. It serves as a unique, go-to source for trusted information, inspiration, and tools that can drive real change in eating habits around the world. By aligning behind this resource, we can amplify our collective impact and help make healthier choices easier and more accessible for everyone.”

Special attention was given to a new section called “For Professionals,” a destination for food and nutrition professionals to expand their fruit and veggie expertise and find resources for their clients and patients. This attention reflects The Foundation’s priority to nurture these passionate fruit and vegetable influencers through professional development, research, and educational experiences; all of which can now easily be found on fruitsandveggies.org in the top navigation.

This section includes consumer-facing handouts for professionals who might be working with lower-income families who participate in federally funded nutrition programs like SNAP and WIC, as well as those who might be shifting their diets to serve a specific dietary need like type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, gluten allergies and more. Customized toolkits and recipes are also available to support specific segments such as retail dietitians looking to get more produce in shoppers’ baskets as well as school nutrition leaders serving school meals to children across the country.

The website now also better serves how people are using it, specifically highlighting recipes because that’s why most people go to the site and keep coming back for more. Recipes are continuously added and updated based on what’s trending online as well as key cultural moments. While they’re primarily for home cooking, new categories for health conditions have also been added to better serve health professionals and the evolving dietary needs consumers are faced with today.

“Poor diet is the leading cause of chronic disease, yet fruits and vegetables remain one of the most underutilized solutions,” said Emily Holdorf, MS, RDN, CDN, Influencer & Community Manager for The Foundation for Fresh Produce. “As a registered dietitian, I know that changing behaviors takes more than facts. It takes practical, credible and inspiring tools, and that’s exactly what fruitsandveggies.org delivers. With evidence-based resources and culturally relevant recipes, the site helps us turn education into action and empower people to enjoy more fruits and veggies every time they eat.”

For more information about what’s in season, and how to select, store, savor, and serve specific commodities, visit the Fruits & Veggies 101 directory.

For more information on how to donate or partner with The Foundation for Fresh Produce, contact Sharese Roper, Director, Industry & Partner Engagement, at [email protected].

IDAHO FALLS, ID - Fusionware, the fast-growing SaaS platform modernizing operations for the fresh produce supply chain, is pleased to announce the addition of Tara Stroud as Customer Success Manager and Daniel Owens as Growth Marketing Manager.

These strategic hires reflect Fusionware’s continued investment in delivering exceptional customer outcomes while accelerating its growth across North and South America.

Tara Stroud joins Fusionware with over a decade of experience in AgTech and auditing, bringing deep expertise in both food safety and accounting. Tara will play a key role in strengthening customer relationships and helping Fusionware customers unlock the full value of their digital operations platform. Her experience in auditing and compliance also positions her to contribute to process improvements and product alignment with industry standards.

Daniel Owens steps into the newly created role of Growth Marketing Manager. With years of experience in agricultural technology and B2B marketing, Daniel will lead Fusionware’s brand and demand-generation strategies, including content development, digital campaigns, SEO, and event marketing. His work will be instrumental in amplifying Fusionware’s message to new markets and driving qualified leads for the sales team.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Tara and Daniel to Fusionware,” said Creg Fielding, CEO of Fusionware, in a recent press release. “Tara’s industry knowledge and operational expertise will bring immense value to our customers, while Daniel’s marketing leadership will help fuel the next stage of our growth. Both embody Fusionware’s commitment to innovation, efficiency, and excellence.”

Fusionware continues to scale rapidly, helping growers, packers, and shippers move beyond legacy systems and manual processes with a real-time, cloud-based platform built specifically for the produce industry.

CHICAGO, IL - Restaurants will continue to thrive by empowering a future-ready workforce and embracing technology to unleash breakthrough efficiency in a rapidly changing and competitive marketplace. This was the message of National Restaurant Association President & CEO Michelle Korsmo during her keynote address delivered to attendees at the annual National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. Korsmo emphasized to the owners, operators, and suppliers present that the path forward requires investing in people and adopting technologies that enhance the restaurant experience.

“We should celebrate the nearly 16 million people who make up this workforce. The competition for talent is fierce. It’s not just about filling jobs; it’s about inspiring people to choose this industry, to see it as a career that offers purpose and fulfillment,” said Korsmo during her remarks.

Empowering a Future-Ready Workforce

According to the National Restaurant Association’s 2025 State of the Restaurant Industry report, 60 percent of food service employees are under 35. This generation craves more than just a paycheck. They’re looking for a community and workplaces that value developing the potential in their teams, provide flexibility, and use technology to improve the employee and customer experience.

Korsmo highlighted the restaurant industry’s unique role as both a training ground and a launchpad for meaningful careers. She pointed to programs like ProStart®, where high school students gain hands-on culinary and business experience that prepares them to be the next generation of industry leaders.

Unleashing Breakthrough Efficiency

“Gone are the days when restaurant operators could simply balance the checkbook at the end of the month to know if they were profitable. Today, meeting the demands of the modern restaurant environment requires a whole new level of insights and tools. That means tighter control over inventory, smarter purchasing decisions, and more strategic supply chain management. It also means managing labor costs more effectively, with better scheduling, predictive tools, and automation that enhances operations, rather than replacing people,” said Korsmo.

Leveraging technology is key, and Korsmo noted that 83 percent of restaurant operators say that using technology provides a clear competitive advantage and 4 in 10 say their tech investments have directly improved overall customer satisfaction. As labor and food costs continue to rise, Korsmo noted, improving efficiency can be the difference between struggling and staying profitable.

Korsmo closed her remarks by emphasizing that consumers continue to love the restaurant experience and are choosing to spend their discretionary dollars in restaurants – with sales projected to reach $1.5 trillion this year and strong demand across every segment of the industry. Korsmo encouraged restaurant operators to get involved and let their voices be heard, noting that there is no better advocate for the restaurant industry.

Read Korsmo’s full remarks here.

YAKIMA, WA - FirstFruits Farms is proud to celebrate another impactful year of the Take a Bite Out of Hunger program, a core expression of our mission to nourish communities and support families in need with fresh apples.

Since 2010, Take a Bite Out of Hunger® has worked alongside our valued retail partners to deliver fresh apples to food banks across the United States and Canada. In 2025 alone, the program donated 126,922 pounds of apples, pushing the total past an incredible milestone: over 3 million pounds donated since its inception. Each apple donation is a step toward bridging the nutrition gap in our communities and reflects FirstFruits Farms' enduring commitment to agricultural philanthropy and community wellness.

This year's success would not have been possible without the incredible support of our 2025 retail collaborators:

• Bashas'
• Dave's Marketplace
• Raley's Supermarkets
• Stater Bros.
• United Supermarkets

United Supermarkets holds a particularly special place in this year's celebrations as they mark 15 years of participation in Take a Bite Out of Hunger. In 2025 alone, United Supermarkets donated 50,000 pounds of fresh apples, reinforcing their longstanding dedication to nourishing their local communities.

"If you look at our history as a company, this milestone simply reinforces what's always been true for FirstFruits - that serving the underserved, particularly families, allows communities to flourish," said Emily Cox, Marketing Manager at FirstFruits Farms, in a recent press release. "Take a Bite Out of Hunger™ is more than a one-time donation — it’s a reflection of strength through partnership, and we are always grateful to those who take on this mission with us".

FirstFruits Farms extends heartfelt thanks to each of our retail partners for their dedication to fighting hunger and making the 2025 campaign another meaningful success.