Fresh is Everything Produce and Seasonal Trends Today What is - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Fresh is Everything… Produce and Seasonal Trends

Today • What is happening in the produce world right now? • Calendar for the year and menu planning • Affordable seasonal produce; Fun and creative Ideas • Questions

The Produce World in November 2017 � Transition of the major growing area from Salinas, CA to Yuma, AZ � Normally comes with quality challenges � Watch your chopped lettuce items closely; keep tight inventory � Church Brothers: The Move � A lot of items moving offshore, which means off-DOD � Watermelon long gone � Cantaloupe and Honeydew � Grapes � Plums � Lowest point in the year for DOD availability

What is Looking Good? � Oranges � Clementines (will appear on DOD December 4) � Outlook for west coast vegetable items is not totally clear, but stable at the moment: � Lettuces � Broccoli � Cauliflower

A Little More About Oranges � We’ve heard about Florida devastation, but Navels Oranges primarily from CA; will there be an osmosis effect? � Price creep likely due to less acreage and yield � Expect to pay more for Oranges on average for the next 2-3 years � Window of availability may shrink � Not necessarily the same impact on Clementines

Orange Commodity Yield

Sketchy Commodities � Tomatoes � Hurricane Irma devastated Florida, and the effect is cycling through the commodities, started with Beans, now onto Tomatoes � Consider Plum Tomatoes to save money ($0.16 per serving versus $0.28 for round tomatoes) � Strawberries (due to be activated Dec. 4) � Scary due to Florida being unreliable � If US supply gets bad, what does your distributor do, short you?

Returning from Break � Focus on Citrus: (Oranges roughly $0.20PS; no labor) � Kiwi: Always affordable: $0.45PS � Banana Singles: $0.15PS � Potatoes � Jicama � Tomatoes should be okay

Return from break-March Type Feature De-Emphasize Avoid Fruit Oranges (Navel) Strawberries Grapes Fruit Clementines Melons Fruit Grapefruit, Tangelos, all Citrus Stone Fruit Veg Potatoes Celery Corn (Fresh) Veg Jicama Squash Veg Tomatoes Peppers

April-June Type Feature De-Emphasize Avoid Fruit Strawberries Granny & Golden Apples Stone Fruit Fruit Blackberries & Blueberries Pears Fruit Melons Clementines Veg Arugula & Spinach Beets & Root Vegetables Brussels Sprouts Veg Beans Squash Veg Cauliflower & Broccoli

August-mid September Type Feature De-Emphasize Avoid Honeydew, Cantaloupe, Fruit Oranges (Valencia) Clementines Watermelon Fruit Plums Grapefruit Granny Smith Apples Fruit Strawberries and Blueberries Pears Avocado Veg Cucumbers Beets & Root Vegetables Brussels Sprouts Veg Peppers Potatoes Asparagus Veg Squash (Yellow and Zucchini) Onions

Late-September-winter break Type Feature De-Emphasize Avoid Oranges (Valencia) (go with Navels Fruit Golden and Granny Apples Blueberries around Halloween) Fruit Pears Stone Fruit (Plums, Peaches) Mangoes Fruit Red Grapes Strawberries Veg Squash Broccoli & Cauliflower Corn (Fresh) Veg Carrots Romaine Veg Beets & Root Vegetables Tomatoes

Conclusions � Look at your calendar in 4 blocks: � August – mid September � Menu variety � Creative and exciting things for return to school � Local � Late September-winter break � Heavy on Apples, still get lots of variety � Pears and Grapes � Be sure to wind down reliance on west coast vegetable � Return from break-March � Citrus time! � Lean on Root Vegetables � April-June � Variety is back � End school with a bang; try new things!

Common Threads � Fruits � Red Apple Varieties � Banana Singles � Kiwi � Pineapples � Vegetables: � Cabbage and Kale (supplement your salads) � Arcadian Harvest

Always Have A Backup Plan

Baby Kale Full Year: Use in Salads: $0.17-$0.20 per serving

Rainbow Baby Peeled Carrots Full Year: $0.21-$0.26 per serving

Kumquats November-January: $0.60-$0.65 per serving

Cocktail Heirloom Tomatoes September-October: $0.30-$0.35 per serving

Parsnips November-May: $0.45-$0.50 per serving

Tangelos February-April: $0.17-$0.22 per serving

Kohlrabi February-April: $0.20-$0.25 per serving

Rainbow Cauliflower March-May: $0.45-$0.50 per serving

Pea Pods March-May: $0.45-$0.50 per serving

Romanesco September, October: $0.50-$0.55 per serving

Starfruit September-February: $0.35-$0.40 per serving

How Creative Can You Be?

Fresh is Everything…