Fresh Produce Discussion Blog

Created by The Packer's National Editor Tom Karst

Monday, March 8, 2010

Congress Gets Fed a New Taste of Food Safety

Congress Gets Fed a New Taste of Food Safety


March 8, 2010--Washington DC—The National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association (NICFA), along with a host of area restaurants and caterers who source food from local farmers, plans a buffet reception for federal legislators on March 10, 4:00 - 6:30pm Room SD-106, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington DC. Citing potential destruction of small farms as the unintended consequence of proposed federal food safety bills, the national advocacy group is bringing to Congress its message that small farms produce the safest food.



The buffet will cap off the fourth annual Farm Food Voices lobby day (10:00am-3:00pm). This year, Main Event Caterers is coordinating food from a number of fine dining restaurants around the metro area, including Nora's, Sonoma, Woodberry Kitchen, Poste Brasserie, Restaurant 3, Alchemy Caterers, Coppi's Organic, Lavender Moon Cupcakery, Suburban Trading Company and Food Matters. The lavish buffet will be served up to Senators, Congressmen and their staffs, with a request to spare small farms more legal hurdles.

"Small farms produce the safest food available, without regulation. Small farms are also increasing at about 13,000 a year, according to the USDA," says Deborah Stockton, Executive Director of NICFA. “The current Administration that wants to ‘rebuild’ rural America, is pushing food bills that will do the opposite. Just like family farms brought us out of the Great Depression, they can bring us out of the food safety problem and this recession, if they are allowed to thrive.”



NICFA asserts that federal agencies do not enforce measures already on the books to ensure food safety in the industrial food system.



“Do we really want to give sweeping new powers to agencies that do not do their jobs?” asks Stockton. “The main threats to food safety – by the government’s own admission - are centralized production, centralized processing and long distance transportation. The food safety bills will actually increase these risk factors by consolidating agriculture into fewer, larger industrial farms through enormous regulatory burdens that small farms cannot endure. There is not a history of food borne illness from farmers’ markets.”



Mrs. West Virginia International is also making a lobby day appearance at her representatives offices and the buffet. Beauty Queen, Mrs. Alexandra Booth will vie for the title of Mrs. America International with Local Food as her platform.



Advocates for the bills claim that exemptions in the bills will protect small farms. Consumers and farmers from around the country however, contend that the exemptions are insufficient and questionable, and they will ask legislators to reconsider these bills.

For more information on the Capitol Hill local-foods reception see http://www.nicfa.com.

Frugal Frances Says Wal-Mart Is Too Expensive - Taipan Publishing


Frugal Frances Says Wal-Mart Is Too Expensive - Taipan Publishing



Frugal Frances Says Wal-Mart Is Too Expensive
Todd M. Schoenberger, Managing Editor, Taipan's Tipping Point Alert
Monday, March 08, 2010
E-mail Print

The average salary for a typical shopper at Target is $55,000 a year. If you go to a Wal-Mart, you’ll see that its shoppers average $24,000 a year in annual income.

And during these horrific economic days/months/years (take your pick), more and more of these shoppers are driving by the Targets and Wal-Marts of the world and doing their grocery shopping at dollar stores and heavily discounted shops.

There used to be a time when shoppers considered stores such as Family Dollar, Dollar Tree and Dollar General as “taboo” and would never consider shopping there. Now, dollar stores are “in vogue” and, along with discount warehouses such as Costco, consumers have come to depend on these places to survive.

When North America economist Dave Rosenberg was employed by Merrill Lynch & Co., he used to talk about the “frugal future.” Rosenberg’s thesis was about the amount of debt individuals (who had very little margin for error) had on their household balance sheets. A drop in household wages, or even sudden expenses such as emergency healthcare, could cripple a family – economically – for the immediate future. Well, it seems the future is now.

Wal-Mart, for the first time in its corporate history, actually had a down quarter in terms of sales. The retail giant, which sells everything from clothes to milk to brake pads, reported same-store sales had declined 2.0% last quarter. To compare, Dollar General had a quarter-over-quarter retail sales boost of 9.2%, and 10.6% for the entire year.

Dollar Tree joined the party by reporting a jump of 6.6%, and Family Dollar saw its retail sales rise 2.4%. Even Costco got in on the act by having its sales rise 2.0% in the quarter.


al-Mart is fighting back, though. Its recent ad campaign, “Save Money. Live Better,” claims shoppers can save $55 a week compared to supermarkets. But a recent survey by WSL Strategic Retail showed that three-quarters of dollar-store shoppers believe those stores are even cheaper than Wal-Mart.

The point: These are frugal times! But, more importantly, how bad is our economy/sentiment/confidence when we can’t even think of Wal-Mart as the cheapest place to buy our groceries?!

I suppose the next step below the dollar stores will be soup lines. And if we get to that point, then you know the economic apocalypse is probably upon us.

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest in financial market news, company updates and exclusive special promotions.

Stop & Shop strike averted - Boston Globe

Stop & Shop strike averted - Boston Globe


Grocery workers approved new contracts yesterday with Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., ending months of tense negotiations and averting a threatened strike.

A day after reaching a tentative agreement with the supermarket chain, five unions representing employees in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island ratified three-year deals that will boost wages and preserve benefits, according to a spokesman for the regional chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers.

“Through the hard work of negotiators, we were able to reach an agreement that maintained our great health and pension benefits and provided general wage increases,’’ said Jim Carvalho, a spokesman for UFCW Local 1445, which represents 36,000 Stop & Shop employees in southern New England.

A majority of union members ratified the deal by secret ballot after an intense two-hour meeting at a Randolph function hall, Carvalho said. Most were extremely relieved the dispute had been settled, he said.

“Obviously, it’s a big load off our shoulders,’’ he said.

Carvalho declined to provide specifics on what broke the impasse, but said the terms had become more favorable for workers and that union leaders recommended the deal to members. The accord raises hourly wages and preserves benefits.

Meanwhile, unionized workers at the Shaw’s Supermarkets distribution center in Methuen went on strike after overwhelmingly rejecting the company’s contract offer yesterday morning.

Workers said the contract would have raised health care contributions, eliminated their pension for a 401(k) retirement plan, and provided only mimimal wage increases.

“The members were basically insulted, to say the least,’’ said Peter Derouen, a spokesman for United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 791, which represents 309 workers at the Methuen facility.

Shaw’s said it “worked hard’’ to try to avoid a strike and is developing a contingency plan to keep the strike from affecting shoppers, according to a statement to NECN-TV.

In the Stop & Shop vote, Local 371 in New Haven voted unanimously to ratify the deal, and a union official in Providence said Rhode Island members were delighted with the agreement.

Negotiations had centered on the lack of wage increases and the rising health insurance contributions, according to the union.

The union said the company had sought unsuccessfully to reduce pensions for new full-time workers and reduce the number of holidays for new part-timers.

In a statement issued after the ratification votes, Stop & Shop said it was pleased with the new accords, which the company described as fair.

“Our goal during the negotiations was to reach fair agreements that will allow us to continue to provide good jobs to our associates and serve our customers for many years to come,’’ the company stated. “We are pleased to have met this goal with these ratified agreements.

“We thank our customers and our associates for their patience and understanding during the negotiating period and look forward to continuing to offer them great value and a great shopping experience.’’

On Saturday, the company said the agreement offered “very competitive wage packages and retirement benefits as well as access to quality, affordable health care.’’

The agreement is retroactive to Feb. 20, when the previous contract expired.

The Quincy-based company runs more than 350 supermarkets in New England, New York, and New Jersey. It is owned by Ahold USA.

In its last earnings release, the company reported that net sales at Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover had increased 10.5 percent to $4.4 billion.

The company said in negotiations that its compensation packages are appreciably more generous than its industry competitors.

Customers, too, were relieved a strike had been avoided.

“I am glad they found some kind of resolution. I was going to start going to Shaw’s if they went on strike,’’ said Paul Simmons, 56, from Dorchester, as he loaded groceries into his car yesterday afternoon at South Bay Center. “These people work really hard and people keep trying to take everything from them’’

Globe correspondent Michael Corcoran contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.

Advocates: Cigarette tax would save lives and close budget hole AJC


Advocates: Cigarette tax would save lives and close budget hole AJC



Health care advocates on Monday urged Georgia lawmakers to pass a dollar-a-pack cigarette tax as a way to save lives, reduce teen smoking and partially close an estimated $1 billion hole in the state budget.


The state Capitol rally by the Georgia Alliance for Tobacco Prevention kicked off a tug of war between those hoping to increase cigarette taxes and opponents who will hold an anti-tax rally Tuesday, partially sponsored by the tobacco industry.

More than 100 health care professionals and members of the faith community showed up Monday, many of them wearing “Pass the Buck” badges with dollar bills pinned to them.

The proposed tax would raise an estimated $354 million annually and -- proponents say -- decrease the number of smokers.

“Tobacco takes a huge toll in Georgia,” said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the American Cancer Society’s national deputy chief medical officer. “Thirty people in our state die every day due to tobacco.”

Lichtenfeld said there are 1.4 million smokers in the state and about 10,500 deaths linked to smoking annually.

State Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) said during the rally that he is a fiscal conservative, but he said the Legislature should pass HB 39 to help close the budget deficit and bring state cigarette taxes in line with the rest of the nation. He said the state tax in Georgia is 37 cents, compared with a national average of $1.34 per pack.

Stephens took a shot at Americans for Prosperity, the sponsor of Tuesday’s anti-tax rally, and the group's tobacco-industry sponsors.

“They ought to be ashamed,” Stephens said. “I though they were smarter than that.”

Dr. Douglas Morris, an Emory University medical professor, said smoking damages human health, harms the environment and can lead smokers to other addictive behaviors.

Pamela Perkins, coordinator of the Interfaith Children’s Movement, urged lawmakers to act now on the tax.

“This is the right time to do what is right for the children of Georgia,” she said.

Hard Times Turn Coupon Clipping Into the Newest Extreme Sport WSJ


Hard Times Turn Coupon Clipping Into the Newest Extreme Sport
WSJ
Penny Pinchers Deal for Discounts; Mr. Engels's 6-Foot Tower of Jell-O



Under a futon in her Charleston, S.C., apartment, Stacy Smith has stashed boxes of soy bars, bags of potato chips, bottles of vitamin water, canned vegetables, soup, barbecue sauce and antibacterial wipes. Her bedroom closet is jammed with soda and shampoo, her bookcase with garlic salt and meat marinades.

No, Ms. Smith isn't stocking up for a hurricane. The 39-year-old's apartment is stuffed with groceries because she's one of a growing flock of "extreme couponers."

These discount devotees have formed vast online communities that collectively unearth and swap digital, mobile-phone and paper coupons. The cleverest shoppers combine dozens of coupons and go from store to store buying items in quantity, getting stuff free of charge.

"If you can get 100 packs of toilet paper for free, you're going to," says Erin Libranda, 38. When the resident of Katy, Texas, has amassed enough coupons to buy many months' supply of eggs, she puts tiny cracks in them, adds lemon juice and freezes them.

Jill Lansky, 34, of Kalamazoo, Mich., likes to amuse friends by opening a cupboard to reveal 150 bottles of Powerade she bought for 25 cents each, thanks to coupons she collected on CouponForum.com.
[EXTREME]

Jody Wilson, 33, got turned onto the couponing Web site AFullCup.com last March. Since then, she's posted nearly 9,500 messages to the site's forum. "I became extremely addicted," says the credit analyst from Battle Creek, Mich. "There's deal after deal after deal."

Couponers trade deal information and coupons themselves through cellphones, Twitter, Facebook, and message boards on Web sites like Slickdeals.net and TheKrazyCouponLady.com, motivated as much by competitiveness as by frugality.

Some sites, which tend to make their money from online ads, organize contests to see which member can spend the least cash in a month on essentials. Some couponers brag online about stockpiling free groceries, then selling them at yard sales.
Coupon Fraud Grows

Read more about how the use of counterfeit coupons for groceries and other items has risen as budget-conscious consumers increasingly get their coupons from online sources.

Proud shoppers post photos of themselves posing with their latest hauls. Nathan Engels of Villa Hills, Ky., can't resist loading up on free products. Mr. Engels recently erected a 6-foot-tall tower featuring the 1,142 packages of Jell-O he had got for nothing. He brags about his jam-packed freezer holding 30 pounds of meat, 50 pounds of cheese and 200 bags of vegetables.

"I'm going to buy as much as I can—I don't care if it's a year's or two-year's supply," says Mr. Engels, 28, who is married and has a young daughter.

For decades, shoppers clipped coupons from newspaper circulars, magazines and coupon booklets. Redemptions peaked in the early 1990s, and couponing gradually declined as grocers launched loyalty-card programs that rewarded repeat shoppers with discounts.

But amid the recession last year, the number of coupons redeemed rose 27%, to 3.3 billion from 2.6 billion in 2008, says Inmar Inc., a coupon-processing agent. The year-over-year percentage increase was the largest since Inmar started tracking the statistic more than 20 years ago.

Fueling the increase isn't the general populace but heavy coupon users, people who redeem 104 or more coupons over six months, according to an August report by The Nielsen Co. These users tend to be females under the age of 54 with college degrees and household incomes above $70,000, Nielsen says.

The upsurge mirrors the growth of Web sites dedicated to couponing. CouponMom.com, which appeals to a broad range of savers, has 2.2 million members, up from one million last January, says site founder Stephanie Nelson, author of the book, "The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half."


Hotcouponworld.com, which has seen its membership grow to 200,000 from 80,000 in the past year, targets couponers who think "there's an economic value in buying all your peanut butter for the year in one week in September," says site founder Julie Parrish, 35, of West Linn, Ore. Two years ago, she bought 50 18-ounce jars of Skippy creamy peanut butter for 17 cents each; last September, she paid 35 cents each. At retail, they cost around $3.59.

Ms. Smith, the Charleston woman whose closet doubles as a pantry, says she disliked grocery shopping until she got laid off last year from her clerical job and, to economize, turned to couponing Web sites. On two recent trips to her local supermarket, she says she paid $5 for $78 worth of items, and $2 for $40 worth of goods.

When Ms. Libranda, the Texas shopper, needed 500 coupons for flavored water last summer, she posted a request at Hotcouponworld.com. Within days, she had exchanged postage stamps and cereal box tops with half a dozen other members. "We had free water for a long time," Ms. Libranda says.

All the deal making isn't great for grocers, some of which have seen their profits squeezed by discounting. Craig Herkert, chief executive of Supervalu Inc., operator of Jewel, Albertson's and other supermarkets, recently told analysts that shoppers with an eye for discounts were "executing with surgical precision."

Carrie Petersen of Columbia, Md., says she tries not to abuse discounts. Recently, Ms. Petersen, 38, took 50-cent coupons for meat seasonings to a number of supermarkets that were doubling the coupons' value. Because the seasonings were already on sale for $1 each, Ms. Petersen got them for nothing.

Instead of scooping piles of packets into her shopping cart, she bought just five at a time at each of the stores she visited. "I never clear the shelf: I don't think that's right," Ms. Peterson says. "I probably only got 30."

Bringing home huge piles of stuff doesn't always work out. Julie Felton, a 39-year-old respiratory therapist from San Marcos, Texas, says she was ecstatic when she combined 20 coupons from a retailer and a manufacturer to get $5 bags of dog food for nothing—a six-month supply.

Ms. Felton's dog didn't like the food. Neither did her cat, nor the deer that wander into her yard.

She wound up donating it to a local animal shelter.

Write to Timothy W. Martin at timothy.martin@wsj.com

Fruits and vegetables: What's so good about them? Houmatoday.com


Fruits and vegetables: What's so good about them?
Houmatoday.com

Evelyn L. Washington
Columnist

Published: Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 5, 2010 at 3:00 p.m.

( page all of 3 )

Eating fruits and vegetables provide health benefits.

Studies have shown that people that eat more fruits and vegetables are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Fruits and vegetables provide vital nutrients for health and maintenance of your body.

Research from the LSU AgCenter and USDA Center for Nutrition offers the following health benefits:

- Eating foods, such as vegetables, that are low in calories per cup instead of some other higher-caloric food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.

- Eating fruits and vegetables rich in potassium as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce the risk of developing kidney stones.

- Eating fruits and vegetables rich in potassium may help to decrease bone loss.

- Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetable as part of an overall healthy diet may protect against certain cancers, such as mouth, stomach and colon-rectum cancer.

- Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as fruits and vegetables, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

- Vitamin A keeps eyes and skin healthy and helps to protect against infection.

- Vitamin E helps protect vitamin A and essential fatty acids from cell oxidation.

- Vitamin C helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps teeth and gums healthy.

You can receive a nutrition fact sheet, in addition to Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government commodities, at the following locations:

- 8-10 a.m. Tuesday at the Mechanicville Gym, 2814 Senator St., Houma.

- 1-3 p.m. Tuesday at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, 346 Civic Center Blvd.

- 8-10 a.m. Wednesday at Bayou Towers, 7491 Park Ave., Houma.

- 1-3 p.m. Wednesday at the Ward 7 Citizen Club, 5006 La. 56, Chauvin.

- 8-10 a.m. Thursday at the Bayou Black Recreation Center, 3688 Southdown Mandalay Road.

- 1-3 p.m. Thursday at the Evergreen Cajun Center, 4694 W. Main St., Houma.

- 8-10 a.m. Friday at the VFW Post No. 4752, 7587 Grand Caillou Road, Dulac.

Commodities will be given on a first-come, first-serve basis to all registered applicants for a particular site.

Registration of new clients will begin once all food is distributed to the registered clients. Registration can also be done in the office by appointment only. For information, call 873-6817.

DID YOU KNOW

Did you know the food-stamp program name has been changed? SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is the new name for the Federal Food Stamp program.

The SNAP program helps families buy the food they need for good health.

Nutrition-education classes are scheduled from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at the Office of Family Support, 1012 W. Tunnel Blvd., Houma. The classes are free to SNAP applicants. For information, call 857-3620.

Q AND A

Question: What counts as 1 cup for fruits and vegetables?

Answer: A cup is equal to two medium-sized carrots, one large tomato, three broccoli spears, one large ear of corn, eight large strawberries, one small apple, one mango, 32 seedless grapes or one medium-sized pear.

To learn more about the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables to eat for the whole family, visit www.mypyramid.gov.

Evelyn L. Washington is a nutrition educator with the family-nutrition program at the Terrebonne Parish LSU AgCenter office, 511 Roussell St., Houma. She can be reached at 873-6495 or EWashington@agcenter.lsu.edu. For information, visit the state agency's Web site at www.lsuagcenter.com.