Important News

Hello

I hope everyone is doing well and your school year is off to a super start!  This year looks very different with serving and ordering many different ways but know that we are all in this together and we are here for you and your district.  I know we all face tough challenges ahead and are all learning some things as we go so to speak.  Please know that as you vendor we are always just a phone call or e-mail away.

Your produce order guide certainly looks different this year.  We have tried to add more variety across the board with local more choices and a huge variety of pre pack items to make packing a breeze.  Please note we also have more vast selection of pre pack items on our FF&V site so give us a call and we can get you linked up to more variety even if you need it.

We have had wonderful local items so far.  Apples have been great in red, gold, gala and more varieties will soon follow.  Tomatoes and grape tomatoes have been beautiful.  Our local farms have produced beautiful ones this year for sure.  Cabbage, cucumbers, varieties of squash, peppers, and cuties have certainly been a treat.

Remember to use such items as grapes….all colors are great, kiwi….my favorite super fruit, apples, plums, cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, and many varieties of local apples.

The list goes on and on with great fruit and veggie choices that are pre packed and ready to go.  Please note and keep in mind that with the exception of sliced apples and carrots that MOST pre pack items have an average shelf life of 5-7 days.  Many items such as sliced strawberries and sliced kiwi will be more in terms of 3-5 days as this heat continues.  When menu planning make sure you serve the more time sensitive items asap and hold the other longer to get the optimum quality from your product.

Keep in mind to use the different sections of your cooler for optimum storage of your produce.

You know with produce new I always try to give you the good, bad and ugly.  Right now the ugly is the extreme heat and fires in California.  It is making broccoli tight and also the quality not  as good as we would prefer.  Hopefully the heat on lettuce products and broccoli will soon be over and they will return to normal.

Also……several weeks back you should have received our Covid plan and the steps we are taking to keep everyone safe on both ends.  If you encounter a driver not following any part of our safety plan or yours please contact us immediately as this is for the good of everyone.

If you need anything at all please do not hesitate  to contact us!!   We are here for you and your school needs.  We depend on you and your business to keep us working through this trying time.

Thanks……Don

Our drivers are now required to wear some type of protective face covering. This can be a mask, face shield, or a face covering. They should enter your building with these on. If a driver does NOT have one of these, we ask that you kindly require then to go back to the company vehicle and get one before you allow them to enter your facility. Also, if you have any issues with this, please contact us immediately to let us know our drivers are not in compliance with the policy. Keep in mind that this is a new normal and may take a little bit to get used to. We may all look a little different when all you can see is eyes, but you should recognize your driver by uniform. Feel free to ask them to lower their mask or face covering at the door to be identified. We are not out to scare anyone.

Our drivers are encouraged to do very FREQUENT hand washing throughout the day. Each driver will be carrying hand sanitizer and disposable gloves with them during every delivery or when needed. We encourage them to sanitize their hands as frequently as they can.

Our employees are also told if they are experiencing ANY symptoms, they are to stay home and not enter out building at any time. If they experience ANY symptoms during business hours, the are told to immediately report it to us and to not enter any of your facilities.

We have equipment here at Carolina Produce that we use daily to monitor our driver’s temperatures. We hope that this will help in keeping everyone as safe and as healthy as possible.

Re:  Romaine Recall November 2019

All of our products containing Romaine Lettuce came from Newma, AZ and all the Romaine involved in the recall came from Salinas, California.  Any product you have from us would be safe. As always, if you have any questions please feel free to give us a call.