Tag: 2021

To say the pandemic has been stressful is a bit of an understatement.

The 2020 pandemic created unprecedented complexities in ensuring food safety.

U.S. consumers opted for packaged produce in the early days of the lockdown.

Even with the uptick in purchasing, Covid hasn’t moved the needle much when it comes to produce consumption in the U.S.

Understandably, the virus has caused changes in consumer purchasing behavior. While increased demand for produce was widespread in the lockdown’s early days, it did not include all SKUs.

The virus and government decisions to battle it started in 2020, but they’re far from over.

Despite a few hiccups at the beginning of the pandemic, the fresh produce supply chain not only held its own, but often went above and beyond to get fruit and vegetables from field to fork.

While governments forced many in the foodservice sector to close in 2020, on the retail side, most suppliers and grocers were positioned to handle higher volume, but not 25 percent or more.

The government shutdowns of restaurants and other foodservice outlets in 2020 was devastating, and unfortunately, there seems to be no real end in sight.

The year 2020 was like no other, and many produce leaders expect uncertainty about the future to remain as the dominant issue in 2021.