Well the big news is certainly how our entire foodservice industry is trying our best to find a way to stay in business during the Coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants and bars are pivoting their business models to offer more attractive take-out and delivery options and focusing on keeping revenue streams coming in. To help in this we’ve added additional take out boxes, cups and other disposable items as well as increased our par levels of protective gloves to keep your employee safe. If there’s anything that you need to keep your restaurant running, please don’t hesitate to ask us. We’re here to help you stay up and keep revenue flowing during these unprecedented and worrisome times we’re all experiencing right now.
In a typical year, the weeks leading into Easter are busy times with hot markets on asparagus, green beans, eggs and strawberries. This is definitely not a typical year though and with such limited demand from foodservice, these markets have remained flat.
Most produce markets for foodservice items are understandably at almost rock bottom right now. With the restaurant industry basically shut down, farmers have dropped prices to barely break even levels and still not getting buyers at those numbers. Many are electing to plow under their crops that are coming to maturity right now because they can’t afford to harvest them if there’s not going to be a market for them. Specialty items that many restaurants use like microgreens, heirloom tomatoes and fresh herbs are going to be increasingly hard to find with little to no demand bringing them to market. Like many other industries, the American farmer is going to have a very difficult time getting through this.
Another issue we’re seeing is that logistics are increasingly hard to manage for many trucking companies. For example, with many manufacturers on the east coast shut down, trucks can not find a back haul to take back to California to pickup products out there. Freight companies can only pay their bills and afford to run if the truck is full in both directions of a trip. They can’t run empty all of the way to the West coast.
Please stay safe in these uncertain and scary times and we’ll be here for you, our customers and friends to supply support and products to keep your business going in whatever manner you can until this is all over. Take care.
Q: Why do birds fly to warmer climates in the winter?
A: It’s much easier than walking.
