The Produce Report

Melons: We are seeing excellent quality on both cantaloupes and honeydews out of the California desert. Cantaloupes are showing good netting, full slip, a nice straw color on the exterior, and nice brix. Prices are settling down nicely. Seedless watermelon are also showing very good quality.

Berries: New crop Watsonville strawberries are showing excellent quality and size. The berries are eating very well and prices are very affordable. California blueberries are showing excellent size and flavor. Raspberry volume is up. We have begun to carry Stehly Farms organic blackberries and should have availability throughout summer barring any extreme heat waves or major rains. Size and quality is excellent.

Veggies: Growing area transitions on green bells and white corn, prices are on the rise. Next week we expect to have Connelly Gardens green bells in house. Red bells are by far the best buy of the three. Italian and yellow squash prices will slowly ease up. Green beans are from many different growing areas and prices and quality are varying greatly.

Tomatoes: Romas are good quality, volume is way up and prices are good. Grape and cherry tomatoes are also going nicely out of Baja. Round tomatoes are slow to build volume in smaller sizes.

Citrus: Valencia oranges are good and prices are very fair. The lemon market is tight as mild weather in central California is slowing production. The lime market has fully recovered and quality is improving every week.

Grapes & Stone fruit: California is really starting to show us some wonderful fruit and grapes. California red and green grapes are in full swing with great quality and prices. We are also seeing excellent quality on stone fruit.

The Specialties Report

Specialty Veggies- French beans are a really good deal right now. The cooler weather legumes are struggling along with snow peas being really expensive, snaps have come down but it could be a roller coaster. All of a sudden there is very limited baby sunburst, all the baby squashes were super cheap now it is just the opposite. Teardrop tomatoes appear to be coming down as well as heirlooms. Some of the local growers will be coming in soon with their heirlooms so we will have great supplies and selection.

Seasonal Items- Ojai Pixie Tangerines are on special, we want to offer the product at a discount to help the growers move the last of their fruit this season. Blood Oranges are very limited in the wholesale market right now, we are working together with a friendly local grower who will supply us until the market receives fruit again or they are out of product, Could be 3-6 weeks until the Australian blood oranges come on the market. Gold Raspberries are really up in volume and prices are decreased. Now is the time to take advantage of this cool looking and great tasting berry. Local- Connelly Gardens is producing a crop of exceptionally good yellow wax beans and blue lake beans, not far behind is a great crop of red bell peppers. A fantastic mix of specialty herbs in the Mixed Herb Tops is available for you to garnish a range of plates from salads and appetizers to main dishes and desserts. A complement of variegated sages and special mints is mixed with other culinary standouts. Stehly Farms Organic is producing an abundance of organic blackberries and we carry them now as our regular product as much as possible. Peterson Specialty is offering tasty organic strawberries to complement their exceptional organic mixed baby lettuce.

Organic Foods in Foodservice

This is a topic of interest for me as humanity grapples with the question of how to best use our resources. Organically grown and raised foods seem to force a fundamental question when one encounters them, "So what about all the other food I have been eating?" and "What makes this so special?"

Food over the last 100 years has made radical changes for the better and worse. The application of reductionistic science has allowed us to disassemble the process and apply many techniques and technology that has altered the face of farming and food. From plant and animal breeding to soil fertilization and pest control farming has changed drastically. Food processing, refrigeration, transportation and cultural integration has radically altered the food culture.

Organic Food is a type of statement proclaiming that not all of these changes are for the better. A concern about pesticides on the food and in the environment, artificial fertilizers in the groundwater and surface waters are two obvious major concerns folks have who have read or experienced problems associated with these changes. Another big concern is the use of transgenic modification to food crops, an example being to make them resistant to herbicides. This mode of tampering with the genetic fabric of life is seen by many to be a violation of basic laws of nature and a grab at commodifying life itself by controlling patentable processes in an organism.

All of these issues present a choice when a person is deciding what to eat. We have seen this choice about whether to buy and eat organic foods focused mainly on the personal and family level with the growth of the organic food sector by about 20% annually over the last 10 years. Mostly this has been in the retail sector catering to the individual buying for home use.





It is starting to become more apparent that the foodservice sector is starting to grow in this area. Restaurants and institutions such as universities, school districts, hospitals and nursing homes are beginning to seriously consider and incorporate the organic, local and 'healthier' food categories. The reason for a comparative lag for these sectors is that there is a definite structural difference in the way the products are marketed, distributed and packed as well as a pricing disparity with the conventional cousins of organic food products.

To get everyone to agree to the price increase is a different proposal than an individual man or woman making a purchase for their home.

I want to explore the processes at work in this growing sector and how to best manage the growth and capacity.

Please share your thoughts with me. More to come.