Articles Tagged with ''COVID-19''

Frozen food sales rose significantly the final week of April, according to new research by the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), 210 Analytics, and IRI. The +50.3% increase was the highest since the height of mid-March stockpiling by consumers, when frozen food sales peaked at +94.4% compared to 2019 sales for the same time period. The +50.3% increase translates to $1.3 billion compared to $442 million in 2019.

This week on our From the Cold Corner podcast, I talk washdown motors for food processing with Regal Beloit’s John Calloway. We also discuss how the IoT (Internet of Things) is creating new efficiencies for motors, and how Regal Beloit is pivoting its business strategy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) announced that its farmer-owners have committed $4 million to a comprehensive COVID-19 relief plan to help its employees, the communities where the company operates, and industry partners respond to and recover from burdens created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the Trump administration considers the evolution of Coronavirus Task Force and states move to reopen, the Consumer Brands Association called on federal leaders to improve interagency coordination and deliver clearer, integrated federal guidance.  Urging stronger interagency cooperation, Consumer Brands called for immediate coordination between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to address public health and worker safety questions, ensure supply chain reliability and respond to operational demands.

Smithfield Foods will resume pork processing operations in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after being shut down since April 12. Smithfield receiving positive confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that the company is in full compliance with all CDC and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidance. 

John Soules Foods donated 168,000 pounds of prepared chicken and beef products to the East Texas Food Bank in its hometown of Tyler, Texas, near Dallas, and an additional 37,400 pounds to the Montgomery County Food Bank in Conroe, Texas, near Houston. 

US Foods has donated more than $10 million in food and supplies to local food banks and charitable organizations across the country since the beginning of March. The donations include items such as meat, dairy, produce and other non-food supplies. Given the impacts of COVID-19, many food banks are struggling to meet the increasing needs of their communities as more Americans seek support. According to Feeding America, school closures, rising unemployment and rising poverty due to stay-at-home orders will disproportionately impact people already at risk of hunger and could result in an estimated additional 17.1 million people experiencing food insecurity.

The Consumer Brands Association is launching the Critical Infrastructure Supply Chain Council (CISCC), a coordinated effort of more than 35 trade associations committed to addressing both long- and short-term supply chain challenges and weaknesses, including those made apparent by the coronavirus pandemic.

Tyson Fresh Meats, the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods, announced it will resume limited production at its Waterloo, Iowa, facility on Thursday, May 7. Team members have been invited to tour the facility Wednesday to view the enhanced safety precautions and protective social distancing measures installed throughout the plant.

Carrier Transicold is providing a Model 35X direct-drive refrigeration unit to Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan. The unit will be used to support the School Food Mobile program, which delivers food and milk to school-aged children who are not receiving meals at school due to coronavirus-related closures. Separately, Carrier Transicold is donating a Supra 950 truck refrigeration unit for a new 28-foot box truck that will support Gleaners’ expanded emergency response efforts, including 66 new drive-up food distribution sites, modeled after Gleaners’ School Food Mobile program.