This week, United Fresh is on the road in California to celebrate the return of its convention to San Diego, for the first time in seven years. A series of town hall meetings are being held to discuss issues in the produce industry and promote the upcoming June event.
On Monday, March 2, the roadshow kicked off and FreshPlaza attended a town hall meeting held at Raley’s headquarters in Sacramento. Raley’s Category Manager for Produce, Michael Schutt, hosted the meeting and United Fresh President and CEO, Tom Stenzel presented to the audience about issues affecting the produce industry.
Michael Schutt with Raley's and United Fresh' Tom Stenzel
Coronavirus hurts industry
One of the topics discussed was the coronavirus and its impact on the produce industry. “Whether we share the level of concern or not, the virus has become a crisis in business. United Fresh stays in close contact with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the key message for us to communicate is that the coronavirus is not being transmitted through food,” said Stenzel. On its website, United Fresh answers frequently asked questions and keeps its members updated. The economic impact is severe and hurts the produce industry. As an example, the restaurant business is suffering and produce sales to foodservice are down as a result. “A broccoli supplier of restaurants in San Francisco’s Chinatown mentioned that his business is less than half of what it normally is.”
Shortage of labor
“The shortage of labor is a very serious concern for the industry,” continued Stenzel. “Many of our farm workers crossed the border from Mexico to the US legally 15-20 years ago but are undocumented. They are hardworking people and outstanding community members, but they don’t have legal status in the US. We need to find a way for this group of more than one million people to get them legal status.”
Another problem is that the number of Mexican workers coming to the US is shrinking. “Hardly any new people are coming in as the border is shut. In addition, Mexico’s own produce industry is growing and the need for Mexicans to work in the US is not as urgent as it was before,” Stenzel said. The H-2A guest worker program has its shortcomings as it offers farm workers status for only 10 months. Some California companies have found a solution by having farm workers work at their Mexican facility for half year and then bring them to California for half a year. “The industry would benefit from a guest worker status for up to three years,” said Stenzel.
Another problem is that the farm worker population is ageing. The average California farm worker is in the upper 40s. “Just try to imagine bending over and picking strawberries all day when you are close to 50,” he commented.
Food safety advisories take too long
Food safety outbreaks still occur on a regular basis and in case of an illness it easily takes up several weeks to trace back the geographic area or farm that is the cause of the problem. “People usually don’t go to the doctor right away when they feel ill. By the time they are seeing a doctor and are being tested, easily several days or a week have passed.” Only then starts the involvement of the CDC and FDA.
We need to get through the recall process sooner. “A food safety advisory often comes so late. Too late to protect the consumer, but still really hurting the category,” commented Scott Horsfall with the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement.
United Fresh brings together members across every segment of the supply chain to build relationships. The organization empowers industry leaders to join forces to shape sound government policy around issues impacting the produce industry.
Click here for more information on the San Diego Convention and Expo.