GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Food solutions company SpartanNash® announced Matt Plumb has been named Vice President, Marketing, Retail Banners, effective immediately. In the newly created role for the food solutions company, Plumb will lead shopper-focused marketing strategies for SpartanNash's portfolio of nearly 200 Company-operated retail stores, defining brand architecture and a differentiated experience for each banner based on shopper insights.

"As we continue to build shopper loyalty and enhance the in-store and online experience for Family Fare®, D&W® Fresh Market, Martin's Super Markets and beyond, we want to showcase what our banners offer to fit each family's preferences," said SpartanNash Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Erin Storm in a recent press release. "Matt will be key in working with our Retail and Merchandising teams to deliver freshness, value, convenience, and outstanding customer service to our guests – building on what they already know and love about each of our banners."

Plumb most recently served as an independent marketing consultant, developing customer segmentation and targeted marketing strategies for startup companies.

He has also held roles as Senior Director, Marketing for Suntory Global Spirits, overseeing the company's U.S. whiskey portfolio. Plumb started his career at Kraft Heinz, where he held roles from Associate Brand Manager to Category Head, establishing the portfolio strategy for the CPG company's mainstream coffee brands. Plumb earned his bachelor's degree and MBA at the University of Michigan.

UNITED STATES - You know it’s going to be a real summer when even the cooler-than-average areas come with a side of swamp. According to the latest summer outlook from The Weather Company, the U.S. is in for a season that turns up the heat, literally, especially in the Northwest, where July and August are set to bring unusually high temperatures.

June gets things started with the worst of it across the Central and Southern Plains. Think Denver, Dallas, and anyone in the Four Corners region wondering if asphalt was always supposed to be that hot. As we move deeper into the season, the core of the heat shifts west, stretching into the Great Basin and Northern Rockies, an area not exactly used to the heat season.

For the Midwest and Northeast? Not quite record-breaking, but definitely toasty. New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, you're not escaping this one. And while the Southeast might see slightly cooler-than-average air, that relief is kind of a bait-and-switch thanks to relentless humidity.

So, whether you're scheduling harvests, shipments, or summer promotions, it’s time to plan for more sizzle than usual. Keep cool, stay alert, and check back with ANUK as the forecasts, and the heat waves, roll in.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has imposed sanctions on four produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without USDA approval.

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

• WKS Ag Consultants Inc., doing business as Top Shelf Produce Sales, operating out of Dinuba, Calif., for failing to pay a $425,680 award in favor of a Calif. seller. As of the reparation order issuance date, William Slattery and Jeanette Slattery were listed as the officers, directors and/or major stockholders of the business.
• Rio Verde Food Service Inc., operating out of Des Moines, Iowa, for failing to pay a $29,600 award in favor of a Texas seller. As of the reparation order issuance date, Ruben G. Acosta was listed as the officer, director and major stockholder of the business.  
• IE AAA LLC, doing business as Citrus World, operating out of Brooklyn, N.Y., for failing to pay a $57,000 award in favor of a Texas seller. As of the reparation order issuance date, Olsian Noreci was listed as the manager of the business.
• Tall Hat Foods LLC, operating out of Orem, Utah, for failing to pay a $31,797 award in favor of a Calif. seller. As of the reparation order issuance date, Kent Andersen was listed as the manager/member of the business.

PACA provides an administrative forum to handle disputes involving produce transactions; this may result in USDA’s issuance of a reparation order that requires damages to be paid by those not meeting their contractual obligations in buying and selling fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables.  USDA is required to suspend the license or impose sanctions on an unlicensed business that fails to pay PACA reparations awarded against it, as well as impose restrictions against those principals determined to be responsibly connected to the business when the order is issued. Those individuals, including sole proprietors, partners, members, managers, officers, directors, or major stockholders, may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without USDA approval.

By issuing these penalties, USDA continues to enforce the prompt and full payment for produce while protecting the rights of sellers and buyers in the marketplace.

For more information, contact Penny Robinson-Landrigan, Chief, Dispute Resolution Branch, at (202) 720-2890 or [email protected].