Happy Friday! Today we want to shine the employee spotlight on Paula Wade: Executive Customer Account Manager. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Paula has been a key member of the Produce Alliance team for nearly a decade. She thrives on collaborating with Fresh Division colleagues to drive success for both the team and clients. Beyond her passion for produce, Paula is also a devoted plant enthusiast and neighborhood gardening pro, known for her perfected blend of coffee grounds and Epsom salt that keeps her Crepe Myrtle trees thriving year after year. 🌲🧂☕🫑 Paula, your produce expertise shines in everything you do, both in and out of the office! ✨ (fb)

South Florida is quickly winding down for the season and will continue to see more items transition to South Georgia. In Nogales and McAllen, we are seeing transitions well underway, particularly on Tomatoes as Sinaloa wraps up for the season and productions moves to Sonora, Jalisco and Baja. Quality remains strong on new crop out of Mexico; Florida may see some issues due to rain. Items that remain light in supply are premium sized Green Bells, Pickles, Shishito Pepper, Tomatillo, and Habanero. The offshore Table Grape quality and supply are stable on reds; greens are tight this week. Mexico is starting to cross fruit this week. Offshore Melons are on the backside of the season and volume will steadily decrease over the coming weeks; transition to desert fruit will start this week. Banana and Pineapple availability remains limited; shippers are asking we continue to be flexible on Pineapple sizes. New crop available out of California on yellow/white Peaches, Cherries and Apricots, there are also Peaches available in the east out of Georgia and South Carolina; volume will gradually increase over the coming weeks. Plums are still a few weeks out. Avocado market conditions remain stable, with healthy industry supply and steady demand heading into June. The weather will be cool in Salinas with no rain in the forecast over the next week. It’s around 10 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year. Hopefully this will not impact growth too much. We are still keeping an eye on the insect pressure. It has been minimal so far, but it is still early in the season. Overall, supplies and quality are still looking good. Lettuce supplies and quality are starting to change a bit with some growers due to Sclerotinia and INSV. Brussel Sprouts continue to be light in supplies. The market is no longer at the extreme level, but it is still escalated. Quality and supplies are improving. Bok Choy, Napa, Endive, Escarole, Fennel and Leeks remain escalated, with supply shortages driving the market for those items. Overall production in Salinas is still steady. (fb)