FiveStar Gourmet Foods, Makers of Simply Fresh, is bringing aboard proven produce industry leader Michael Solomon as president, effective immediately. Reporting to CEO Tal Shoshan, Solomon will oversee all day-to-day operations out of the company’s Ontario, California, headquarters. Shoshan will continue to oversee the company’s innovation and strategic growth.

FiveStar Gourmet Foods is setting the trend by partnering with Beyond Meat to bring more salad protein choices to consumers. FiveStar, the nation’s premier salad brand, is introducing a new Simply Fresh Taco Salad made with Beyond Meat, featuring plant-based beef crumbles from Beyond Meat, a leader in plant-based meat. The new 7.5-oz complete salad recently debuted in Publix supermarkets. Available to retailers nationwide starting in January, the salad is just one of the many new product possibilities for the culinary giant.

FiveStar Gourmet Foods adds to their successful Family Size line of Simply Fresh Salads with their new Fig & Walnut Salad. As fall approaches, figs and fresh apples are in peak season and both are amazingly delicious. It is a wonderful pairing of fruit and nuts that provides freshness beyond what is expected. Other best-selling recipes in the Simply Fresh Salads Family Size line include Mexican Style Caesar Salad with Cilantro Cesar Dressing and limited-edition Harvest Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette.

With working and learning from home a new reality for many consumers across the nation, now more than ever the need for fresh, convenient, ready-to-eat meals is surging. FiveStar Gourmet Foods knew they could help and developed Simply Fresh 2Go, their first product line targeted concurrently to both retail and school foodservice channels. With 12 new SKU’s, each meal is nutritionally compliant to meet strict national school lunch dietary standards. Each item in the line is a ready-to-eat balanced complete meal including protein, grains, fresh vegetables and fruits -- even a healthy fruit and veggies drink.

Working with the Feeding America food bank network, FiveStar, the maker of Simply Fresh branded products, is now on the frontlines distributing fresh and wholesome foods directly to the community as part of a massive USDA-funded program known as “Farmers to Families.” FiveStar committed to providing hundreds of thousands of boxes filled with high quality, fresh, healthy products through the end of June. FiveStar’s Farmers to Families boxes include generous portions of Caesar Salad, Coleslaw Salad, Sweet Onion Broccoli Sauté Kit, Asian Stir-fry Kit, Almond Cranberry Salad, and Crisp Sliced Apples.

In the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, FiveStar Gourmet Foods is taking action by donating 15,000 pre-packaged complete meal salads under the Simply Fresh brand to Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, who will be distributing the salads to the local communities that they serve.