Fresh Cut Magazine

To-Jo Mushrooms wins two awards in value-added line’s first year

Four generations of D’Amicos have grown mushrooms in southeastern Pennsylvania, and each generation has built upon the previous. Joseph A. D’Amico started growing mushrooms in 1932 after purchasing a stone quarry in Avondale that came with a small mushroom farm that could produce 50,000 pounds a year. He focused on the fresh market in a time when other mushroom growers were selling to canneries, and in doing so carved out a niche for the small farm. The second generation of D’Amicos took over the farm in 1955 and expanded the operation with a focus on quality for the fresh market, shipping product to 28 states in the eastern United States. Joseph J. D’Amico started with the family business in 1974, and in 1980 he established To-Jo Mushrooms – named after his two sons, Tony and Joe – to pack and distribute fresh mushrooms. He grew…  » Read more

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Economy hits restaurants hard

The year 2008 won’t be remembered as a good one for the foodservice industry. Rising input costs in nearly every market combined with a tightening of credit in the financial sector brought about a rapid decline in sales for restaurant operators. Sales for the total foodservice industry were projected at $552 billion – with full service restaurants seeing $181 billion and quick service restaurants seeing $157.5 billion in sales, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2009 Restaurant Industry Forecast. For 2009, the association expects an increase of 1 percent in the full service segment and an increase of 4 percent in quick service restaurants. Although sales are expected to increase slightly, when adjusted for inflation the outlook isn’t as bright. Real growth change for full service restaurants will be down 2.5 percent and quick-service restaurants will see little to no growth. This comes after years of…  » Read more

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Getting Excited About Fresh-Cuts

It’s not too often that my wife gets excited about a new product, especially a new food product. But that’s exactly what happened after she returned from a quick trip to Wal-Mart last week. We don’t keep much in the way of ingredients in our house, so when we do decide to make dinner at home instead of going out to eat, one of us has to go to the store. Jamie drew the short straw this particular day and opted to drive down to the superstore instead of going to our local supermarket. When she returned, she couldn’t wait to tell me about the new product she’d picked up. In looking for a bagged salad, she came across Organic Girl salad mix, and bought it because the shelf quality looked better than the other salads. After she tried it at dinner, she continued to rave about the…  » Read more

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Foodservice provider builds value into its supply chain

Sysco is the largest foodservice distributor in the United States with sales of $38 billion a year. The company employs more than 8,000 sales and has more than 400,000 customers worldwide. The distributor has more than 2,000 suppliers, including 23 produce houses that are under the FreshPoint name. While the company distributes a full range of products and brands, about 50 percent of its sales are Sysco brands – Sysco Natural for whole produce, Sysco Reliance for economy-priced products, Sysco Classic for competitive “first” product quality levels, Sysco Imperial for top quality products and Sysco Supreme for rare and unique items. FreshPoint, Sysco’s produce distribution company, offers whole produce as well as fresh-cut fruits and vegetables on a made-to-order basis in a wide selection of cuts. As with many companies, Sysco has been building sustainability into its supply chain – or value chain, as Shawn…  » Read more

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