Fresh is Everything. Produce and Seasonal Trends

Transcription

1 Fresh is Everything Produce and Seasonal Trends

2 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

3 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

4 Oranges What is Looking Good? 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

5 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

6 Orange Commodity Yield

7 Tomatoes Sketchy Commodities 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?

8 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

9 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

10 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

11 August-mid September Type Feature De-Emphasize Avoid Fruit Honeydew, Cantaloupe, Watermelon Oranges (Valencia) Clementines 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

12 Late-September-winter break Type Feature De-Emphasize Avoid Fruit Golden and Granny Apples Oranges (Valencia) (go with Navels around Halloween) Blueberries 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

13 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!

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

15 Always Have A Backup Plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

27 How Creative Can You Be?

28 Fresh is Everything