Page 58 - 0419

SAN FRANCISCO MARKET PROFILE
success because his company this year is cele- brating 50 years in business. The wholesaler sells fruits and vegetables to restaurants and more than 400 stores.
“We live in a very competitive area, and that impacts everything,” says Kevin Sommerfield, owner of Banner Fruit Company, at the Golden Gate Produce Market in South San Francisco. “A lot of us on the market carry the same produce items, so for us our business is about carrying the right products for the right customers.”
Banner Fruit’s customer base ranges from high-end buyers and mom-and-pop shops (which many are also considered high-end) to processors and caterers. The main items sold are berries, melons, assorted squash, grapes and citrus. Sommerfield says the catering side of his customer base remains strong, and he anticipates continued growth in that area.
When discussing the Bay Area’s food and meal kit delivery surge, Guy Davidoff, co-owner and chief financial officer of Twin Peaks Distributing Inc., voiced his concern about the seemingly blasé food safety attitude of consumers ordering meal kits and food for doorstep delivery. “I can’t believe there is such little regard for food safety from those people
Peter Carcione at the Golden Gate Produce Market.
who order food and the box sits on the door- step for who knows how long. What about maintaining the cold chain for quality and food safety?”
In Northern California, Twin Peaks Distributing has represented Prime Time International since the Coachella-based pepper growing company was formed in 1997. “We all have to conform to follow food safety rules and regulations. Growers put so much money into the ground when they plant crops. It’s unthinkable to me that all of these investments in food safety and cold chain management seem thrown out the window
58 / APRIL 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
FOOD RECOVERY SUCCESS
By Carolyn Lasar, Food Recovery Program coordinator for The SF Market
Since 2016, our Food Recovery Program at The SF Market has recovered almost two million pounds of fruits, vegetables and other food items. The additional items include meat, dairy, prepared foods and other foods that are carried by merchants in our market that offer on-line, full-service grocery sales. Our merchants have bene- fited in several ways, including reducing their compost waste-re-
moval fees, opening
up valuable space in
refrigerated and floor
storage and simplifying
the process of donating
good quality surplus food
to those in need. We
have also been collecting
substandard donations and diverting them to a pig farm, resulting in less product going to compost.
The Food Recovery Program provides high-quality, fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables to groups who otherwise may not have access to a healthy varied diet. We partner with a wide variety of groups, including high school culinary training classes. Students are exposed to a variety of common and unusual ingredients, which they incorporate into teaching/cooking lessons. In addition, these donations provide much-needed meals to many students who otherwise may simply not have enough to eat.
These culinary programs, as well as the food pantries, soup kitchens and senior and community meal services, all benefit from the additional interest, variety and nutrition provided by our merchants’ dona- tions. Every free food donation received from our program means money saved for our community partners. We also provide fruits and vegetables to our neighbor, The Southeast Health Clinic’s Food Pharmacy program, which provides nutrition and health education to patients, along with a weekly grocery bag of healthy foods.
Without the capacity to deliver, our program requires partners come to the market to collect their donations. This has increased the visibility and strengthened relationships between the market and our local neighborhoods. pb
Carolyn Lasar